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Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, a porn actress, a cigarette chain store owner, a medical marijuana activist, and a 100-year old woman who says her age shouldn't be a barrier as she's made plans until she's 105. (Ed. Note: This 100 year old woman was ultimately denied a ballot spot because she fraudulently listed her age as 99) In California anyone who wanted to invest $3500 and 65 signatures for filing requirements could jump into the governor's mansion lottery. The more people on the ballot the less votes it takes to squeeze out a victory.
The media is freely labeling the California mess the "California Circus" and the label is accurate.
There is confusion over the form of the ballot, the rights of those involved, the massive costs of the recall election and a host of other problems. The double-crossing by one politician to another has begun. Schwarzenegger, although having never held office and thus not trained in the rough and tumble arena of politics, he seemed politically adroit after apparently promising the former Los Angeles mayor he wouldn't run, clearing the way for Mayor Riordan to jump in, then Riordan found out from TV accounts that Schwarzenegger indeed had decided to run. Davis' own Lt. Gov. said he wouldn't be on the ballot then reversed himself and filed to run.
The California Circus continues but while it may be entertaining it is not a healthy situation for the nation's largest state running a government qualifying it as the 5th largest economy in the world.
The state has serious problems that require serious answers. With potentially hundreds of names on the California ballot, voting becomes laborious picking through columns and pages of names finding one particular candidate. The process becomes less of a privilege and more of a chore. An extreme minority, perhaps 20% of the vote could choose the next governor.
All the candidates skip the winnowing process of a state primary. The election process has been compacted to 60 days, allowing little time for in-depth discussions of state problems. If Davis is recalled, outside of the lieutenant governor the winner of the replacement ballot will stand a good chance of being a novice, untested and inexperienced in running a small business let alone a huge government machine serving the needs of millions of citizens. Politics is the art of compromise and it's unclear if the replacement winner will have a clue when it comes to dealing with state personnel issues, unions, economic interests, constitutional issues or state legislators.
The California government is being hijacked, plain and simple. White House fingerprints belonging to Karl Rove are all over the mess. Top operatives closely associated with Rove and the White House were on site with Ueberroth and Schwarzenegger before they even filed. Destabilizing the California government with the chance of inserting a Republican governor has the potential for many dividends for the GOP. While California's electoral votes may not be in play next year for the GOP, a Republican in the governor's mansion will make the Democrats spend resources there.
Already domain names such as recallschwarzenegger.com have been registered for retaliation and quick future use. Gov. Davis may not be the most likable person but he was elected to a second term and sworn in just last January. In the remaining days of the campaign Californians should wake up and vote their own self interests and vote against the recall effort.
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