I changed my mind...

[vraiblonde]

...about Gray Davis. I think the Californians should have to live with him. It sets a bad precedent when you can just recall a Governor in the middle of their term. I heard someone on a pol show say that recalling Davis means that nothing is settled by having an election - that they can be overturned if you get enough people to sign a petition. It was some Dem saying it, sticking up for Davis, but it rang true to me. After the 2000 fiasco, I think we should learn a lesson and only remove an elected official from office if there's a real reason, like criminal behavior or something.

 

[Frank]

Now I'm going to have to check, but an online friend of mine told me that there's a provision in California law specifically allowing a recall if the voters want it AND that not every state has it. He told me it amounts to more or less the same thing as a no-confidence vote that occurs in some nations.

NOW I suppose to ease my curiosity I will have to find out if it's true the way he told me, but that's what I heard.

 

[Heretic]

The way they do it its really pretty hard to recall him. They have the vote to recall him and the new election all at the same time.

I still think its screwed up, he was voted in office the way he was supposed to be not too long ago. Californians knew what they were getting in that election since he had already been govenor.

 

[Sharon]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
I think the Californians should have to live with him.

I used to think that way too, BUT imagine if we could've gotten rid of Parris Spendenning.

Now I'm going to have to check, but an online friend of mine told me that there's a provision in California law specifically allowing a recall if the voters want it AND that not every state has it.

I heard that too, it was along the line of "dereliction of duty" or "gross malfesance" (something like that) then he can be recalled.

 

[Bruzilla]

Your argument makes sense Vrai, but then again we aren't facing a 40+ billion dollar deficit either. There are 18 states that have these laws on the books, and what I'm finding distasteful is that Davis and his lawyers are once again doing what Dems do... they are trying to change the law to meet their requirements. They want to change the timeframe that the election can be held in and they want to have Davis on the ballot as a candidate even though the law specifically states that the official being recalled cannot be listed as a candidate. I can understand the timeframe argument, but what on Earth makes Davis think that someone would vote to recall him and then vote for him as his own replacement???

Have you also noticed that despite Terry McAuliffe's stern statements that there would be no Democrats opposing Davis there are more and more Dems talking about tossing their hats in before this Saturday's deadline? So much for the trustworthiness of the DNC chairman.

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by Bruzilla
So much for the trustworthiness of the DNC chairman.

Okay, but we knew that - Terry McAuliffe has never presented himself as anything other than a mean, vicious, irrational ranter. It speaks volumes that the Dems put him in charge of their party.

Larry and I were talking about this yesterday - how people just vote without knowing anything about the candidate. Certainly a large percentage of Californians just voted for the D, without knowing anything about Gray Davis.

I think you should have to pass a test in order to vote - you should have to at least know something about the person you're voting for. Remember how we were only a few votes away from having KKT as our Governor? It just stunned me that anyone would vote for her - she was such an obvious idiot and was very upfront that she intended to continue the spending that made our deficit go crazy.

 

[Larry Gude]

I can't find the column...

...but George Will covered this about six months or so ago.

The law came into being in the early 1900's and it is a state, not national, deal.

I am all for Californians living with the choices they make. A re-call creates nothing but chaos. Davis has done nothing anyone is alledging to be criminal, so, live with him.

The insanity of his regualtion/deregulation deal with the power companies, one of the major negatives on Californias economy, blew up in his face because it was stupid to begin with.

Whomever becomes gov when all this pans out will hopefully be able to fix things but Davis will never be held responsible because, in his defense, you can't know what he would have done had he finished his term. He COULD have fixed things.

I think one of the reasons Ehrlich won is because of the reasonable nature of an orderly process; had Paris' protege won we knew we would have to deal with at least four years of her vapidity.

How would an average Californian ever truly take voting seriously if they know in the back of their mind that there is an out? That they don't have to live with their choices?

 

[Penn]

As far as I can see...

..it is part of the Democratic process. If an elected official screws up the state economy as much as he did, well the citizenry should have the right to replace him or her through that same process; it's still a votive, elective-type scenario, yes?

Come on, the guy took a state with a $12 million dollar surplus to a deficit of $38 million!! It's called mismanagement.

(I'm truly astounded Hitlery hasn't tried to insert some of her well-heeled Hollywood types to take over the Governors Office in the same modus operandi she employed in Travelgate.)

If that isn't a crime, it sure as hell ought to be.

I read in prior posts that the people will never know what he might have accomplished if left to run out his elected tenure, but wait a minute; do they really want to find out how much more he could conceivably "do better"?

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by penncam
Come on, the guy took a state with a $12 million dollar surplus to a deficit of $38 million!! It's called mismanagement.

Wanna go for it, ST? Tys Mommy? Or shall I?

 

[Bruzilla]

Normally I would agree with you Larry, but unfortunately there are too many electoral votes in California and when those POSs whine they get attention. Davis could spend the state right into bankruptcy and the Republicans would rush to bail the state out in the mistaken belief that it would lead some Dems to vote for the Right.

I would rather see a change at the executive level so that some damage control can start soon rather than wait to see Republicans lining up at the California door to see who can give away the most money.