I am against the recall in California- but it is a legitimite constitutional exercise, and clearly the voters of California have some real grievances with the slimebag Davis. Having said that, it appears to me that the Blumenthal wing of the party of Clinton is now firmly in control, for if a republican wins, Democrats will immediately begin a new recall- out of retribution.
I wish I hadn’t predicted this, but you have to understand the way some of these Democrats think. Their guy was recalled for being a hideous Governor through a perfectly legal (although stupid) device. Clearly the solution is to recall the next Governor to get even.
FWIW- If I had a vote, I would vote no on the recall initiative, and yes for Bustamante- he was elected Lt. Governor for a reason and although I dislike his policies, he is not the criminal that Davis is and should deserve the right to govern. The people did, after all, choose him. After that, the only other serious politician and person I would want running my state is McClintock. To hell with the weightlifter, the debutante, and the Green party candidate.
Dodd
I take it that would be no on the porn star, too?
S-Train
You are 110% on point, JC. 110%! Bustamante should be governor since he’s a democratically elected Lt. Governor. And the Democrats will have sour grapes if a Republican wins. Good ole Cali.
TM Lutas
S-Train – When won’t the Democrats have sour grapes? It’s always the Republicans fault, no matter what.
I’m not a CA resident but I think that a simple revenge recall will first be defeated and the party that does it is going to be punished at the polls at the next regular election.
The Davis situation is arguably quite special as it involved a great deal of misrepresentation and incompetence. A newly elected governor would be a very different situation.
As for Lt. Gov Bustamante, he lost his shot at inheriting the governorship when Davis refused to do the right thing and resign as the recall gathered strength and it became obvious that it was resign and spare the state an expensive special election or try to avoid responsibility for his past lies and misrepresentations about the state of the State.
Andrew Lazarus
First, I expect Davis to win. Second, in the alternative, I expect Bustamante to win. However, I can see one situation where a revenge recall against a Republican winner would make sense, and that’s if the weird nature of the special election allowed a Republican to slip in. Because Bustamante is the only Democrat, I don’t see that happening. But if, say, Shwarz was the only Republican and the Dems split two or three ways, since there isn’t any primary phase, well then I’d have viewed the revenge recall as mandatory. We let you Republicans push us around, and OK, maybe that’s the rules of the game. So now it’s our rules too.
(For example, Arnold came out for an independent redistricting panel, so he must not know it already requires a 2/3 vote, cutting down on partisan gerrymandering. Why doesn’t he take that show on the road to TEXAS? Why only for us??)
David Perron
I find I can’t summon the will to care. It’s CA’s problem; however they choose to address it is also up to them.
Still, I have to wonder about your Bustamonte comments, John. I may be wrong, but it seems to me the Lt. Governor isn’t elected separately. I do, however, laud your willingness to consider that the governorship ought to go to the next in line. It just depends on whether the next in line looks more like part of the problem than part of the solution.
But, as I said, I can’t bring myself to care all that much.
John Cole
Andrew- HE isn’t trying this in TExas because he is a Californian. Not everyone i Hilary.
Ken Hahn
Davbis will be recalled. Either McClintock or Arnold will replace him. Davis has managed to make corruption unpopular in California. The Democrats will immediately try to mount a recall and fail, it is very difficult. The recall is a safety valve. It is a nonviolent revolution. Bustamonte may even finish third if he keeps up his current pace.
Kimmitt
Wanna bet?
Ten bucks says:
1) Davis beats the recall, or
2) Bustamante picks up the spare.