According to the California Secretary of State, it is pretty clear that Arnold has won in a landslide, and that is not even counting the million or so absentee ballots (which are unimportant because the margin is so big it can not be overcome). Here are the numbers as of right now:
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Rep – 3,624,154 – 48.3%
Cruz M. Bustamante – Dem – 2,400,264 – 32.0%
Tom McClintock – Rep – 996,968 – 13.3%
As of right now, that means approximately 61.6% of the voters chose a Republican candidate, and the left is already spinining this as meaningless. Oliver Willis, fresh off the Democrat defeat, states rather confidently:
Unless Arnold works a miracle, the next governor will be a Democrat and the state will remain firmly in the hands of the Democrats, alleged 60% GOP notwithstanding.
I am not sure how he concluded that, but I will agree that if Arnold turns out to be as bad a governor as Davis, his time in office will indeed be short.
Other attempts to deligitimize the election have come in various forms. Atrios is blaming the media:
Anyway, I had optimistically predicted that Davis would survive. I based that on one major premise – that after about a month or so, the media would stop with the Access Hollywood coverage of Arnold and actually point out his ties to Pete Wilson, Enron, etc…
Of course, I was wrong. They’re a lazy bunch of SOBs, and if they can point a camera at a Nurembourg rally and call it news, they’re going to do it. I knew Arnold would have untold hours of free media on AM radio, etc… but I actually made the mistake of thinking the respectable news media would eventually realize they had a responsibility.
Typical Atrios- he has it bass-ackward again. The media does hold a lot of responsibility for Arnold’s win, but the real truth to how the media helped appears to have been recognized by Jeralynn Merrit at TalkLeft (who always seems to have a nose for the high road):
Finally, we’re glad the smear campaign failed. It was irrelevant, trash politics. We’re glad he won. Congratulations, Arnold, you earned this. We wish you good luck and hope you accomplish great things for California. And we hope you thank your lucky stars every night that you have Maria by your side.
Jeralynn nails it- the voters rejected the sleazy, corrupt, and incompetent Gray Davis, and they rejected the smear campaigns that were his hallmark. As Henry Hanks noted in the form of pictures, not only was Gray Davis recalled, so was the LA Times and their cronies in the California Democrat leadership who orchestrated the smears.
Senior Democratic strategists knew the particulars of last Thursday
Moe Lane
“but the real truth to how the media helped appears to have been recognized by Jeralynn Merrit at TalkLeft (who always seems to have a nose for the high road)”
And is now paying for it, if her comments section is any indication.
HH
“campaigns that compare Democrats directly to Osama bin Laden”
Every word of this is false… it was one campaign (unless Drum has more examples) and it was one ad that noted Cleland voting against the Homeland Security bill solely to satisfy the unions, then showed video of Osama and Saddam to show the threats to homeland security. This video was removed, the political ad equivalent of a retraction. You didn’t see that with the NAACP’s ad, you didn’t see that with the MoveOn ads, etc.
HH
It appears, by the way, that many Dems are under some illusion that “Bush stole the election!” and “Bush lied!” are graceful concessions of defeat and now they REALLY need to get tough.
Moe Lane
“It appears, by the way, that many Dems are under some illusion that “Bush stole the election!” and “Bush lied!” are graceful concessions of defeat and now they REALLY need to get tough.”
There’s no -way- Karl Rove is being compensated enough for his work.
David Perron
Nasssty Republicans! Wicked! Tricksy! False!
Democrats as Gollum?
the talking dog
This is kind of a one-of-a-kind; Gray Davis is (was!) a uniquely bad governor, and extrordinarily unpopular. Arnold is a uniquely popular movie star, and drew a lot of voters who would otherwise have stayed home.
“Puke” tactics, October surprises, etc., hey: the big popular celebrity won anyway.
The Republicans now have the governorships of CA, TX, NY and FL. In TX and FL, the GOP ALSO controls the legislature, 1/2 houses in NY and 0/2 houses in CA.
I’m not going to deny that it was a big event, and a big GOP win. But its a little too early to start calling this “seminal”, and I think the extrapolations are a little over the top.
I suspect Arnold is about to find out just how much fun being governor of a state with insane constititional and legislative limitations on just what can be accomplished really is. Maybe this will PROVE to be a seachange in California politics– back to the GOP which once dominated.
But I’ll believe that when I see it.
Oliver
Do you think in a head to head matchup Davis would have lost to a standard-issue republican like Simon or McClintock? Nope. As bad as Gray was as governor, he would beat these two. The only way the California GOP wins post-Arnold is if they get Stallone or someone to run.
John Cole
Oliver-
I guess I am the only one to note the irony of the party who annointed the celebrity known as Hillary to a NY Senate seat now bitching about Arnold’s celebrity?
David Perron
Some take this kind of thing in stride. Others are reduced to a sort of spluttering incoherency.
dave
What makes you think Mclintock and Simon are “standard issue” Republicans? Maybe in Des Moines, but there’s no standard issue anything in California- it’s a freakshow. Don’t blame the GOP if the Dems showed up to a gunfight with a bat. Get some better candidates next time.
And quite frankly, I don’t think there IS a “standard issue” republican any more. A sizable portion of the GOP is now comprised of a new breed of Republicans who hold views much closer to the Libertarians on many issues, but know that Libertarians will never win a major election. That’s the problem with you moonbats, Ollie- you think anyone who isn’t a Democrat MUST be a one-size-fits-all right wingnut. It just ain’t that way. As it turns out, there are people from all across the political spectrum who realize that Terry M. and his ilk are completely full of shit and don’t want anything to do with them.
Moe Lane
“Others are reduced to a sort of spluttering incoherency.”
Good Lord, this election may have been worth it just for the next-morning rantings.
Kimmitt
Dave has a good point — there are multiple wingnut factions which make up Republican Party leadership.
David Perron
Kimmitt evidently forgot to take his reading-comprehension meds today.
dave
Actually, Kimmitt proves my point for me.
David Perron
Nice of him. He’s not always that obliging.
Mithras
Gloat away. It only took $2 million to get a recall petition with more signatures than will be required to recall Arnold. It doesn’t have to come from the Democratic Party or any major Democratic candidate – just someone who can raise the money. All the while, Arnold will have to fight the lesgislature and defend the civil suits (and – I hope- criminal prosecution) for his sexual assaults.
David Perron
So, it’s your contention that the signatures were bought? What led you to that conclusion?
John Cole
I am not sure what made him think I was gloating- I was against the recall and would have voted for Bustamante.
Shanti
“an indecent and truly morally bereft performance following Paul Wellstone’s death”
I thought it was the Dems who put on a show at the funeral, laughing, partying and in general living it up – what did I miss?
HH
It’s truly “indecent and morally bereft” to point out that it may not be such a good idea to use a memorial service broadcast nationally to say this:
“”We are going to win this election for Paul Wellstone…. We can redeem the promise of his life if you win this election for Paul Wellstone…. A week from today, Paul Wellstone’s name will not be on the ballot. But there will be a choice just the same … either keep his legacy alive, or bring it forever to an end!… If Paul Wellstone’s legacy in the Senate comes to an end just days after this unspeakable tragedy, our spirits will be crushed, and we will drown in a river of tears. We are begging you, do not let this happen.”
To U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn.: “You know that Paul loved you. He needs you now…. Help us win this race.”
“For Paul Wellstone, will you stand up and keep fighting for social justice? Say YES!”
“We will win! We will win!”
John Scalzi
“Some take this kind of thing in stride. Others are reduced to a sort of spluttering incoherency.”
I resent that. I don’t splutter. I fume.
David Perron
It was an awful lot like a hunk of sodium being thrown into a sink full of water. Lots of spluttering in addition to the fuming. Maybe even some flames, as hydroxy ions are energetically ripped away from the naked hydrogens…
Well, certainly caustic.
Oliver
you think anyone who isn’t a Democrat MUST be a one-size-fits-all right wingnut
Yeah, because I certainly said that. Sheez. Read before you allege.
As far as Arnold vs. Hillary, I tend to give a lot more credence to a lawyer-turned first lady/political adviser over the guy who brought us Commando and Conan the Barbarian.
Pauly
Dude, Commando ROCKED! You know that he won the action movie prize because he killed more guys in the movie than any other action movie at the time? It was like an unofficial contest the big stars (Stallone, Chuck Norris, Arnold) were having in the 80s.
Ricky
Arnold personally accomplished more by the time Clinton was elected than Hillary ever has (exempting childbirth, of course).
Get real…a lawyer & someone who sleeps with the President is preferrable to someone who achieves the top status in two separate industries (and those two being among the hardest to compete in…unless you think everyone can get a $30 million paycheck for acting & get 21 inch biceps, 54 inch chest and a 32 inch waist).
You may not agree with the guy, but Arnold has accomplished his goals on his own (until this election, where he relied on folks to vote for him). I don’t think you want to compare personal accomplishements between the two (unless you consider “caring about” or “talking about” or “worked on” to be accomplishments).
HH
So if Maria Shriver announces she plans to run against, say, Martin Sheen, I’m sure the Dems will welcome her with open arms…
Andrew Lazarus
I’m not quite sure why John ridicules Democratic anger and rallying the base. The recall campaign itself (although perhaps not Arnold’s subsequent run) was unquestionably fueled by anger at Gray Davis. Some of it (energy) was not his fault, other parts (hiding budget mess until after election) were. And Republican anger WORKED. He lost. I don’t see unfavorable implications for the Dean campaign in that. I mean, there weren’t any Meet-Ups for Davis!
RW
Andrew,
You need a blog.
Andrew Lazarus
Thanks, Ricky, I guess. (Or is it to keep me from polluting John’s comments with heresy?)