Ravenwood - 07/24/03 10:30 AM
Fox News reports that the effort to recall Gray Davis has enough signatures to force a recall election. The California Secretary of State reported that the state wide tally of valid signatures had surpassed 1.3 Million, far more than the 897,158 required.
I'm going to go on the record and predict that the people of California will never get to vote on it. Once Davis exhausts all of his legal challenges, and realizes his fate, he'll resign. That would give the presiding Democrats the option of naming his successor. They'll make a big show of it, and Davis will say something like "For the good of California..". I seriously doubt Davis will give the voters the pleasure of tossing his ass out of office, and I know that the democrats don't want to lose the governorship. After all the legal appeals are exhausted, the only option to short circuit a recall would be for Davis to resign.
There is an outside chance that Davis will take a Plan B approach, and take his chances with the recall vote. If he loses, the Lt. Governor could just name himself governor. Of course, he would have to make that decision prior to the actual vote, to ensure that no candidates were allowed on the ballot. It's complex and politically risky, so don't look for it to happen. Davis will either try to win through the courts (the Way of the Democrat) or resign. I don't think the courts will risk the political backlash of breaking state election law, so look for the latter to happen. Either way, it won't be Arnold sitting up there in Sacramento.
Steve:
Two points you overlook:
1. The people of California already voted - that's how Gray Davis became Governor.
2. We have a Republican president right now because he took his case to the Supreme Court. (the "Democrat Way")
I know you know this so I'm confused as to why you would try to smear the Democratic process and Democrats.. oh wait, who am I talking to? It's the reason I call you a Republitarian.
When are you going to come out of the closet and stop pretending to be
libertarian?
Posted by: Lope at July 24, 2003 6:40 PMHow exactly did I smear the democratic process?
Posted by: Ravenwood at July 24, 2003 7:20 PMFirst, you take the story out of context by not starting at the front - Gray Davis being re-elected last November. Second, you fail to point out the recall effort was driven by Republicans - one in particular who wants to be Governor.
Further, you denigrate any options for Gray Davis short of being defeated in a recall election:
"I seriously doubt Davis will give the voters the pleasure of tossing his ass out of office"
The voters just put "his ass" in office Steve.
Your last paragraph is the real winner though, suggesting that Democrats would ("outside chance") circumvent the "process". (Ironically, as Republicans are now doing.)
I hope if a Republican prevails concerned voters will sign up for another recall election. It may then become clear to you folks why this kind of partisan election-fixing-after-the-fact is not a good thing..
Now, I've answered your question. Answer mine.
Posted by: Lope at July 24, 2003 8:38 PMNone of that has anything to do with the democratic process. I don't think you understand that the democratic process in California includes the recall process. The voters established it as a mechanism to remove a public official from office. To circumvent that process via the courts, is circumventing the democratic process.
I also don't understand where you get the notion that one election has something to do with the other. The fact that they just voted for Davis, has nothing to do with putting him on the ballot again.
Of course Davis winning the election is a possible outcome. I never said that it wasn't. I merely stated that I don't think Davis would ever let it get as far as an election. (I could be wrong.) If it does go as far as a recall election, I think he will probably lose. I'd be willing to bet money on it, if I weren't so sure that he'd resign first.
Either way, the people of California are getting another opportunity to vote on Davis. I fail to see how that is outside the democratic process. Especially when it's written quite clearly into California election law.
Now, the fact that a Republican drove the effort is a non sequitur. In a largely two party election system, it should be plainly obvious that a Republican would drive the effort. Who would you expect? A Democrat?
Now, which question did you want answered? You only asked two, and I thought both of them where rhetorical.
Posted by: Ravenwood at July 24, 2003 9:30 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
