[carbon14]

After releasing commercials proclaiming profound competence and unsurpassed knowledge of government, candidate MadClintock managed to shut himself out of appearing in the recall election voter guide. In the fine tradition of lifetimer statesman Al Gore, lifetimer pol MadClintock quickly filed a lawsuit and managed to hit a wall in that process as well.

[Rome2000]

Unbelievable.

Oh well, nobody reads those things anyway.

[risk]

Rreading the article is quite instructive. Some quotes:

McClintock's lawyer, Richard Ackerman, believes Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, a Democrat who opposes the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, is taking advantage of the opportunity to put a wrench in the senator's campaign.

And:

McClintock's chief strategist John Stoos declined to pin the blame on the secretary of state's office. He told WND the problem is California's Fair Political Practices Commission – an independent panel that regulates campaign financing and spending – sticking by its guns on a technicality "because they are bureaucrats first and public servants second."

It's just like a Democrat to refuse to allow unformalized bureaucratic solutions to problems. This is exactly the kind of red tape that McClintock (or Schwarzenegger for that matter) should be able to help sweep aside.

[Neanderthal]

A day late and a dollar short . . .

[Russell Scott]

Like President Bush, if the Good Lord wants Tom in the Governor's office, nothing can stop him, including voter fraud, hanging chads, the Terminator, liberal judges, and Democratic dirty tricks.

[Jeff Gordon]

Tom McClintock <=== ROTFLMAO

[ButrosButrosButrosGolly]

If Arnold wins, he should write a check to Isa.

[Ronin]

This is a goof and a no-brainer, but I seriously doubt anyone is going to make up their mind about who to vote for based on what they read in an "offical recall election voter guide."

If McClintok is petty enough to sue about this, I am disappointed. Hell, it's not like they are trying to keep his name off the ballot, is it?

Conservative contempt should be reserved for cases like New Jersey where in total violation of the established rules, the Torch bugged out and another name was substituted well PAST the deadline.

Nobody should be complaining because the rules are being FOLLOWED. Lord knows that happens seldom enough as it is.

[George W. Bush]

McClintock will have to get his voters out on his own anyway.

I don't think this hurts him. If he'd won the little court dispute, it wouldn't have helped him either.

I think it's meaningless news, of interest only to news and political junkies.

[Drango]

But , with a straight face, McClintock claims he can run the State of California.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

McClintock all the way. He's not only good for California, he's good for the country. What better message to send Washington: no more illegal alien pandering.

[A Broken Glass Republican]

This guy can't follow simple rules (Kind of like FloriDUH voters) and he wants to run California?

Snicker.

[joesnuffy]

Black Robbed robbers strike again
assuring that Ahnold "Perot" gets the nod
and when his past is revealed in a timely manner....pow..
why else have a "Kennedy" Republican handy?
La Raza "Cruzes" Right On...in

[nwrep]

McClintock looks like a moron in this. I am disappointed in him.

[nwrep]

McClintock looks like a moron in this. I am disappointed in him.

[Atlas Sneezed]

This happened recently in Oregon when a Dem-appointed liberal supreme court justice facing a credible challenge from a conservative failed to submit his on time.

The Dem Secretary of State waived the deadline for his pal.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

Rest assured,the RINOS are drinking from the same trough as Bustamonte on this.

[Dave S]

But McClintock insists this technicality is superceded by his First Amendment right to communicate his platform to the voters.

Is this an example of strict constructionist thinking? Where in the Constitution is there a first ammendment right to be heard. The first ammendment is for the press, not the politicians.

Is this failing to know and follow the laws of the state of California the profound competence and unsurpassed knowledge of government that McClintock supposedly brings to the party over his challengers?

[harpo11]

Be of good cheer McClintock fans, at least he doesn't need to sue the State because his constituents are not too stupid to know how to find their polling place, and know how to punch a ballot card, and do know who he is and stands for.

Demos say they are there to help the little guys, but when the little guys are conservatives, their motto is screw 'em! It's obvious they fear us, our knowledge, our strength, our power. Go get 'em and vote the rats out!!!

[SteveH]

California election pamphlet rules are rather detailed.

I would be surprised if several candidates did not meet the letter of the specification, at least the first time around.

Amendments are acceptable, at least at the local level, and the same therefore should logically go for the state level.

It sounds as if the McClintock campaign sent the amended statement by fax. If so, one observation is that fax machine delivery is technically unreliable-- the receiving fax may malfunction.

I don't think we know the full circumstances yet. McClintock may have gotten a verbal OK to fax the amended statement in, but the SoS may have reneged on the OK.

Let me state this: last night I saw the Friday evening (PBS affiliate) KQED program on politics, "This Week in Northern California". It "covered" the recall election by covering only Arnold and Bustamante, and only Arnold's platform was described. Why not Bustamante's, as well as McClintock's? I think either the media is herding the public towards Arnold or they've changed their spots and come out with a republican bias (which alternative is more likely?) In this context, the shutout of McClintock statement from the state ballot fits into a rather familiar pattern. McClintock is the neutron bomb of California politics and the best and only defense the liberals have is to find any and every excuse to shut him out and deny him "face time".

I guess we'll see as time goes on how this unfolds...

[Cultural Jihad]

Here's the distillation of this issue from the article:

---

The senator's setback began when he filed a form required to enter the race and checked a box indicating he would not abide by a voluntary fundraising cap of $6 million, established by voters through Proposition 34 three years ago.

He did not realize that by checking "I do not accept the voluntary expenditure ceiling" the proposition's rules barred him from filing a candidate statement in the voter's guide. The apparent rationale, says Ackerman, is that candidates who are able to raise larger amounts can afford other media to communicate with voters.

Article 6 of the proposition says: "The Secretary of State and local election officers shall designate in the ballot pamphlet those candidates for elective state office who have voluntarily agreed to expenditure limitations … ."

---

Apparently, lawmakers think that ignorance of the law is a valid excuse.