California governor Gray Davis advocates breaking the law

[MoralValues.info]

California governor Gray Davis advocates the violating of California law code section 18620 prohibiting the obstructing of recall petition signature gathering.

Davis's "Taxpayers Against the Recall" web site tells the believers at http://www.stoptherecall.com/helping.html to "Engage [petitioners] in conversation; the longer they talk to you, the less time they have to collect signatures, they have a limited period of time to collect over 1 million signatures." and adds: "Remember, the longer you engage them, the fewer signatures they can collect."

The California law reads: "every person who seeks" or "obtains advantage" of a "person" to "perform an act that will prevent or aid in preventing the ... recall petition from qualifying ... is punishable by fine and imprisonment." (up to 3 years in state prison).

For those who haven't the time to obstruct recall signature gathering, Davis wants them to call his "hotline" at (213) 382-4111. Davis worshippers should "keep your eyes open for recall petitioners at all times ... [a]s you go about your daily routines (driving to and from work, shopping, going to the movies, the doctor, etc.)" and snitch by calling the hotline so that paid Davis goons can violate law section 18620 and obstruct the recall petition gathering.

Here's the unedited California code section:

18620. Every person who seeks, solicits, bargains for, or obtains any money, thing of value, or advantage of or from any person, firm, or corporation for the purpose or represented purpose of fraudulently inducing, persuading, or seeking the proponent or proponents of any initiative or referendum measure or recall petition to (a) abandon the measure or petition, (b) fail, neglect, or refuse to file in the office of the elections official or other officer designated by law, within the time required by law, the initiative or referendum measure or recall petition after securing the number of signatures required to qualify the measure or petition, (c) stop the circulation of the initiative or referendum measure or recall petition, or (d) perform any act that will prevent or aid in preventing the initiative or referendum measure or recall petition from qualifying as an initiative or referendum measure, or the recall petition from resulting in a recall election, is punishable by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by imprisonment in the state prison 16 months or two or three years or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.

Davis has some additional dirty tricks reserved for California voters that he doesn't post on his web site. Voters have complained that they signed the petition believing it is an anti-tax petition, but "Taxpayers Against the Recall", an organization created by top Davis aides, doesn't actually claim to be against taxes, but is presumably a group of of "taxpayers" for higher taxes. Others approached by the anti-recall petition said it was presented as "the Davis petition" and they signed it, believing it was the recall petition. There's apparently no law against misrepresenting the petition because it is not a real petition, it is a bogus petition holding no legal weight. <p? Coming to my mind are these words: Charles Colson (Nixon era); Billy Clinton. Davis is a good friend of Clinton and had been very close to Rep. Condit (Chandra Levy).

[GigaDittos]

It's hard to believe that even the liberals in California would allow any politician to run their precious state into the ground. I'm sure they can find plenty of liberals to run for governor. Of course if Ahnold runs, he may end up being "da party poopa" (Kindergarten Cop) for them.

[Commander8]

I wonder what would actually happen if the recall effort succeeds, will Davis step down gracefully, will he damage the state further before leaving, will he engineer some "emergency" as a false pretext for not surrendering the governorship, will he be dragged from his home in a straitjacket ala Jimmy Bakker or will he give some sore loser speech telling us how "stupid" we are?