Why Davis deserves to be recalled

San Diego Union Tribune ^ | June 20, 2003 | Joseph Perkins

[Jimbaugh]

Why Davis deserves to be recalled http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/perkins/20030620-9999_mz1e20perkin.html Joseph Perkins SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE June 20, 2003

Gray Davis is a dead man walking. The most unpopular governor in California history very well could become the first occupant of the state's highest office to be recalled by the voters. Davis suggests that the recall campaign – which he previously dismissed as quixotic – is nothing more than a nefarious attempt by Republicans to overturn the result of California's last gubernatorial election. " It's being organized and financed by a bunch of rich losers," Davis told The Orange County Register. "Nothing but a bunch of losers running around talking to one another. His Grayness is particularly ticked off at Rep. Darrell Issa, the Vista Republican, the multimillionaire car-alarm magnate, the prospective gubernatorial candidate, who has ponied up more than $800,000 to gather signatures for the recall petition. " He just wants to run for governor on the cheap," Davis sneered, in recent remarks to a San Francisco radio station. But the Davis recall would not be headed to the California ballot – either this fall or next spring – were it supported exclusively by the state's Republican minority. No matter how many hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars Issa spent on signature gathering. Indeed, recall drives have been waged against California governors on 31 previous occasions. All failed. In fact, not even one proposed recall made it all the way to the state ballot. Davis faces the ignominy of actually facing a recall election, of becoming only the second governor in U.S. history to actually be recalled, because of his unfavorable standing among California residents across the board. That was borne by a recent poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California, a San Francisco think tank. It found that the Democrat's approval rating has fallen to a historic low of 21 percent. It also found that most of the Golden State's likely voters can hardly wait to kick Davis to the curb, including not only an overwhelming majority of Republicans, but also half of independent voters and a third of the governor's fellow Democrats. So why has his Grayness fallen into such broad and deep disfavor with the California electorate? Because he has grossly mismanaged the Golden State's affairs. Indeed, in the space of roughly a year and a half, Davis turned a record $12 billion state budget surplus into a record $34.8 billion deficit. He insists that it was not his fault, that the state economy simply went bust. But the fact is, under Davis' watch, the state government increased its spending a whopping 36 percent – far in excess of inflation, far outpacing growth in California's population. Had the governor resisted the urge to spend, to buy off special interests like California's powerful teachers union, the state would not now be facing the mother of all budget crises. California would not be borrowing billions of dollars on Wall Street to pay its bills, downgrading its bond rating to one the nation's lowest. And the state's taxpayers would not be facing the prospect of surrendering even more of their paychecks to Sacramento to close the budget gap that Davis and the spendthrift legislature created. Davis' mismanagement of the state's budget is matched only by his mishandling of the state's recent electricity crisis. He did not cause the crisis, as he so often reminds. But his failure to lead when the crisis first reared itself cost California businesses and residents tens of billions of dollars in higher electricity prices. Indeed, Davis got an early warning of looming trouble in the electricity market in the form of sharply rising wholesale power costs, as the Sacramento Bee's Dan Walters recounted this past spring. " California utility executives begged Davis and state utility regulators to allow them to raise rates and sign long-term supply contracts," according to Walters, but they "delayed for six critical months, until the utilities had their financial backs to the wall." Had Davis been a real leader, had he gotten the state's utility regulators to act sooner rather than later, California taxpayers wouldn't have gotten stuck with more than $40 billion worth of highly unfavorable long-term contracts with energy generators. And California residents wouldn't be facing higher electricity prices than consumers in almost every other state. Opponents of the Davis recall, including not only the governor's hardcore Democratic loyalists, but also a few Republican pragmatists, say his ouster will plunge the state into political chaos. But the state already is in chaos, not the least because Davis lacks the leadership prowess to navigate California out of the fiscal abyss into which he steered it. A new governor, lacking the albatross Gray Davis has draped around his neck, could hardly do any worse. And there's a good chance that his successor would do a considerably better job as California's chief executive. Perkins can be reached via e-mail at joseph.perkins@uniontrib.com.

[traditionalist]

Davis deserves it, but it's stupid political strategy. If the new governor is a Republican, the Dems in the legislature will savatage him at every step. He will become the most hated politician in CA, and the GOP will become an even smaller minority party in the next election.

The Dems made a fine bed. Now we need to force them to sleep in it. By 2006, the voters will hate them so much that our chances of gaining both the governorship and the state legislature will be high.

[Cicero]

I'll weigh in on this too. The worst thing that could result from this recall effort is for the recall to succeed. It's a golden opportunity for the Republicans to cover themselves with the same disgraceful ignominy that covers Davis.

I don't blame anyone for wanting to recall Davis. But it's a bad mistake, especially with the Republican party in disarray, Simon probably out of it, and that corrupt idiot Gerald Parsky running the party.

[Nachum]

I agree. The recall is a ill advised move for Republicans. As much as I dislike Doofus, he should be the Guv until the next election.

[eureka!]

FYI, a lot of good FR commentary on this thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/935117/posts

[SpaceBar]

California deserves every stinking moment Gray Davis is in office. They voted for the guy, and if they had their way, Gore would be President. No, I say let the man serve out his term just like his idiotic constituency wanted him to. This is just a lesson in being carefull what you wish for.

[ken5050]

The Dems will fall prey to their own assumed political brillance..they'll induce davis to resign...Bustamonte wiull take over, the recall will be moot, and because the dems control the legislature, California's economic problems will worsen...enough to piss off a lot a folks inthe state, so that W carries in in 04, and even better Boxer loses...and the GOP makes inroads in the State legislature.....remember, these are the same political geniuses who gave us the Wellstaone memorial service..

[traditionalist]

I hope you're right, but I fear the Dems are too smart for that. They know that a recall is good for them and bad for us.

[ken5050]

They are incapable of giving up power...they will do anything to get Davis to resign, to moot the recall...they can't think in bigger strategic steps.....Davis will resign, Bistamonte will succeed, the Dems will claim how they outsmarted the GOP, and it will blow up in their faces big time in the '04 election...

[GSWarrior]

Something about holding politicians accountable makes me hope this recall succeeds.

In long run, does anyone really care if Davis is recalled or not?

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

He will become the most hated politician in CA, and the GOP will become an even smaller minority party in the next election.

This is not a popularity contest. You are thinking like a liberal. It a job of governence, and important one when it is mismanaged to the degree it has been, "forcing" tax increases the likes of which no state has ever seen.

The Dems made a fine bed. Now we need to force them to sleep in it. By 2006, the voters will hate them so much that our chances of gaining both the governorship and the state legislature will be high.

Excuse me, Massachusettes citizen, this may be an entertaining political sport for you out of staters, but you are forcing me to sleep in that bed. 'Splain to me what magical transformation is going to take place in 2006? By your own defeatist logic, cutting back the yearly increases in spending of 41% by that time will appear to be even larger "cuts" than they do now. That will make the new Gov "savatage"d at even more steps, and the uber most hated politician in CA.

Think this through, your logic does not make any sense.

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

It's a golden opportunity for the Republicans to cover themselves with the same disgraceful ignominy that covers Davis.

It is a golden opportunity to cut spending by 9.5% and hold it at the current rate for 18 months, eliminating the debt. Read here

I don't need to explain the political fallout of a governor stablizing and fixing this artificial crisis.

Simon probably out of it,

That's fine, because we are voting for McClintock.and that corrupt idiot Gerald Parsky running the party.

No arguements here. He is quietly opposing the recall, which should be a litmus that the Recall will a resounding succeed because Parsky couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag.

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

California deserves every stinking moment Gray Davis is in office. They voted for the guy, and if they had their way, Gore would be President. I say let the man serve out his term just like his idiotic constituency wanted him to

I hope everyone reading this is paying attention, because this is the primary out-of-state-er motivation for opposing the recall as I am seeing it; irrational hatred of the people of California.

I didn't vote for the guy, he campaigned on a lie that the deficit was about half what it is, and the conservative that ran against him wasn't supported by the RINO CA GOP won every county in the state, except for 2, San Fran and LA, which gave him a 52-47 win.

Didn't your mother ever tell you if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut?

[SpaceBar]

The above is typical of the provincial attitude of most Californians. I was born and raised in that bastion of liberalism, so don't for a nanosecond think this New Mexican isn't acutely aware of the level of ignorance on the left coast. My illustrious state voted Bill Richardson into office, and he can remain there as testimony to the wishes of the majority voting constituency. I have no problem with the reap-sow cycle.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for posting this!

calgov2002:

calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. 

calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. 

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[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

The above is typical of the provincial attitude of most Californians.

Meaning exactly...what? Define this disguised slap.

this New Mexican isn't acutely aware of the level of ignorance on the left coast.

So the Californians are trying to stop a disastrous Lefty, humiliating the Democratic Party and exposing their Tax and Spend platform painfully, appear by all accounts to being well on their way to doing it, and this is your "acute" analysis? hmmmm... that makes no sense. I see the same motive as I said before, a belief that the state is entirely Left, and you would enjoy seeing it destroyed.

My illustrious state voted Bill Richardson

Why do I care? You think this is simple partisanship?

he can remain there as testimony to the wishes of the majority voting constituency

And probably will, you see even I have heard that he is talking about tax CUTS, he certainly won't turn a $12 bil surplus into a -$39 bil deficit by increasing spending 38% every year.

[cake_crumb]

Via Davis' attack dogs, I heard something this morning about Issa having some prior arrest record? Know anything about this?

[Brad’s Gramma]

California deserves every stinking moment Gray Davis is in office. They voted for the guy, and if they had their way, Gore would be President.

Let's reword this, shall we SpaceBar? America deserves every stinking moment Bill Clinton was in office. They voted for the guy, and if they had their way, Hillary! would be President.

Better?

[NormsRevenge]

Rep. Issa was charged in San Jose auto theft by Carla Marinucci - SF Chronicle

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

Let's reword this, shall we SpaceBar? America deserves every stinking moment Bill Clinton was in office. They voted for the guy, and if they had their way, Hillary! would be President.

Much better Brad's Gramma. Americans elected a guy who sold nuclear secrets to the Red Chinese, they deserve every nuked city they get.

Stupid Americans, they are all adulterers and neoSocialists, right? I wish those hippies would just have an earthquake and have it fall into the ocean.

its so clear now.