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Posted on 09/28/2003 3:01:48 PM PDT by B-bone
Vote 'no' on the recall ...
THREE months ago, as petitioners closed in on the 900,000 signatures needed to put the recall of Gray Davis on the ballot, we urged our readers not to sign the papers because the case for removing the two-term governor from office "hasn't been made." It still hasn't. And, even though we have many misgivings about Davis' years in California's highest office, we don't think he deserves to be tossed out on his ear, for several reasons:
A recall is an inappropriate response to the situation. Davis has been indecisive and inept, but he has neither broken the law nor done anything immoral in office that could pass for malfeasance.
The recall process and partisan political hijinx it spawned paralyzed state government throughout the 2003 legislative session, preventing a compromise on the budget deficit and the passage of other bills.
The uncertainty created by the pending recall has been a drag on California's economy and business climate, compounding an already complex set of problems.
Yes, since first being elected governor five years ago, Davis has been slow to react to crises -- specifically, the energy debacle and two budget deficits -- displaying a lack of leadership and inabil-
ity to rally lawmakers and the public. Equating his failure to respond to Nero fiddling while Rome burned was hyperbole, but not far from the mark.
He also had a penchant for nonstop fund-raising and pandering to prison guards, Indian gaming and other large contributors who generously fed his political pouch the green stuff that enab-
led him to hand-pick his GOP opponent in 2002 and win two statewide elections against well- and self-financed Republicans. For his pay-to-play approach to politics and his leadership ineptness, we chastised Davis -- often. But it isn't grounds for removal of a properly elected official.
Elections are the cornerstone of our governing system. They must be honored and observed under all but the most extreme circumstances. Californians had two prior chances to vote against Davis for the state's top job. Indeed, we could have voted him out of office by electing someone else less than a year ago -- and didn't do so.
Nothing he has done since warrants the extreme act of overturning a bona fide election and booting him from office. We therefore recommend that readers vote "no" Oct. 7 on the front portion of the two-part question that asks: "Shall Gray Davis be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?"
... and yes to Schwarzenegger
VOTING on whether to cast Gray Davis from office is only half of our responsibility in the state's first major recall election on Oct. 7. We also have a duty to pick someone to replace the governor if he is recalled. Never have voters had a wider selection for one elective office -- 135 candidates of almost every political stripe, background and special interest imaginable. Yet, seldom have we been called upon to make an uglier choice.
Quite frankly, none of the 132 candidates still in the race fit our ideal criter-
ia for governor. Yet 1.3 million of our fellow Californians have earned the right to try to dump our top elected official.
We therefore have a responsibility to make a recommendation if the recall is successful. If that change takes place, the candidate who shows the leadership skills sorely needed in the state's highest office, and promises to be pliable on social issues while bringing a tough but flexible approach to fiscal problems is actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yes, he's a novice, inexperienced at politics -- and that bothers us. But he's smart, determined and committed to turning things around in Sacramento, admitting to the public, "This is a little bigger than I am. I need your help."
His learning curve promises to be long, but more fruitful than that of politicians who have spent the past few years fumbling California's cornucopia of problems.
We're also somewhat wary of the fact that ex-Gov. Pete Wilson and other members of his administration populate Schwarzenegger's advisory team. The candidate used a Reaganesque approach to put that issue in perspective at Wednesday's debate, responding to an Arianna Huffington taunt by saying, "On Oct. 8, it won't be Governor Pete Wilson...it will be Governor Arnold."
Such are the growing pains of a newcomer to politics, but if his populist tendencies and appeal translate to Sacramento, he could be a catalyst for much-needed change.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is Gray Davis without charisma, reflecting some of the ideas and extremes we find most discomfiting about the governor. And, state Sen. Tom McClintock is too far out of the California mainstream on social issues.
As Schwarzenegger has begun fleshing out his policy stands, we've been pleased by his centrist-to-progressive stances on several issues, illustrating that he's not bound to any one ideology. He supports a constitutional amendment ensuring public access to meetings and documents that could make California public records law the most advanced and open in the nation.
He also wants to: minimize the partisan politics that tainted redistricting after the 2000 Census by having a panel of retired judges redraw political boundaries. And, he'd weaken the influence of special interests on lawmaking by banning fund-raising during the budget season -- January through summer -- in Sacramento. That may seem minuscule, but this past June, 66 money-making events were held while legislators should have been hammering out a budget.
An immigrant from Austria, he's pro-abortion, gay adoption and the environment, and tilts toward the left on many social issues. But his fiscal stance is conservative. He brands the current administration's approach to economics "an addiction" to "spending, spending, spending" and "tax, tax, tax."
"Overburdened" California businesses should find relief in his vow to ease the workers' compensation load. He also warned Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante that adding mandatory insurance plans to business burdens may foster "no jobs, no businesses and no health care."
The URL is to the second of the two (... and yes to Schwarzenegger) but that site has a link to the first editorial as well (Vote 'no' on the recall ...)
Talk about a bad case of bipolar disorder...
Wow, I'm impressed with such honest use of the English language. Is this normal for this particular editorial page? Are Boxer and Feinstein referred to as pro-abortionists?
It does appear that some of Tom's motivation for acting the way he has is his biiter grudge against Pete Wilson. I would not trust to a leadership role, someone who is so bound up in this very unhealthy character flaw.
Of course not.
He took huge donations and allowed sewage to be dumped in the bay (yoo hoo, where are you Sierra Club???), and he took huge donations and placed said donors onto high-paying committees and boards....let's see, he also forgave the LA school district $120 million for students they claimed to have but in reality didn't.....just recently signed into law a bill that would give Calif. Drivers' licenses to CITIZENS OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY....
....but none of this could be even remotely construed as lawbreaking or malfeasance.
Can anyone tell me where I might find the hallucinogenics these clowns are taking?
After three weeks of silence on social issues, GOP gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger aligned himself with a majority of voters Wednesday by supporting abortion rights ...He said he supported domestic partnerships at a time when polling shows Americans are becoming more accepting of same-sex relationships.
...the action star said he supports the assault weapons ban, the Brady bill and trigger locks the state now requires for each handgun sold.
And he is "Catholic"? http://www.djwebster.com/webart/arnolds_platform_big.jpg
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