We like this because it has many good points that support our position.
~The recall campaign was going nowhere until Issa arrived with his open checkbook
~Issa is trying to hijack the recall process so that he can be elected Governor
~Darrell Issa is aligned with the extreme right wing of the Republican Party
~Darrell Issa has put in more than $1,000,000 in an attempt to buy a spot on the ballot.
Issa's fund raising for the recall violates McCain/Feingold
~McCain/Feingold bars federal officials from raising money for soft money campaigns, whether for state or federal campaigns
~Issa has made numerous public statements indicating that he is raising money for the recall campaign
"I don't expect to be the largest donor. I certainly won't be the only donor." Issa said, adding
he already has several pledges ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. (AP - 5-6-03)
You don't have to love Gray Davis to think the recall is a bad idea
~The California Business Roundtable, a collection of CEOs of both parties, opposes the recall
~The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce opposes the recall.
~Sen. Dianne Feinstein wrote an opinion piece urging people not to sign.
~The Los Angeles Times editorialized against the recall, saying "There is no honest cause for undoing an election that occurred seven months ago; the risk of putting the state into a deeper fiscal hole and partisan political chaos is too great." The San Diego Union Tribune and the LA Daily News, two conservative newspapers, also editorialized against the recall.
The recall is a waste of taxpayers' money
~The cost to the state of a special recall election is between $30 and $60 million.
~With the possibility that reimbursement could be required if the recall fails, the total cost could run up to $75 million.
~With $75 million, you could ...
Hire 2000 new teachers in California
Pay the starting salary of nearly 1,500 firefighters in Los Angeles
Qualify another 50,000 poor children for health coverage under the Healthy Families program.
Pay the fire service costs of all of the cities in 49th Congressional District combined, and still have about $30 million left over.
~The recall is an attempt to get taxpayers to foot the bill for a Republican-led "do over" of an election
held just seven months ago.
The recall is blocking efforts to solve the state's budget crisis
~In these tight budget times, vital resources should be used to help real Californians, not to bankroll the ambitions of an opportunist who is out of California's mainstream.
~A recall campaign is a formula for permanent gridlock in Sacramento and an endless cycle of divisive elections.
~California families don't need another election. California families need leaders who will put their needs ahead of personal ambition.
HOW TO ANSWER THE CONSERVATIVE SPIN
Gray Davis is costing Californians $70 million a day in bigger deficits, so the cost of the recall is actually a bargain.
~If there is a $70 million budget clock ticking, it's ticking on the Legislature, not Davis. You may not like his choices, but the Governor has put two budgets on the table. It is the Republicans in the Legislature who refuse to vote for the Governor's budget.
~The federal debt grows by more than $1 billion a day - who do we recall about that?
Gray Davis is a corrupt Governor who has put his office up for sale to the highest bidder.
~If there is evidence of corruption, that's a matter for the courts and the Legislature, not a recall election.
~This was the central issue used against Gov. Davis in the election held just seven months ago, and Gov. Davis won the election. Nothing has changed since then.
By hiding the true extent of the budget shortfall, the Governor deceived the public during the election. That's fraud and he should be removed.
~That is a rewrite of history. There was plenty of evidence that there would be a huge budget deficit this year. In fact, Bill Simon spent millions on television ads pointing out the size of the deficit.
~The Governor never denied that there were huge budget problems to be dealt with in the coming year.
~Nobody, including Gov. Davis, ever claimed that last year's budget solved all of our problems.
The effort to support the Governor is funded mostly by unions who want to keep the gravy train rolling.
~You don't have to love Gray Davis to think the recall is a bad idea.
~California Business Roundtable is not a union organization, yet they've taken a position against the recall
~Sen. Dianne Feinstein has absolutely no love for Gray Davis, yet she wrote a May 29th op-ed piece urging people not to sign - "We don't need the distraction of a mean spirited recall that will only divide our state further and make finding solutions that much more difficult."
~The Los Angeles Times, in its lead editorial Sunday, June 8th, said "There is no honest cause for undoing an election that occurred seven months ago: the risk of putting the state into a deeper fiscal hole and partisan political chaos is too great."
The recall is a grassroots revolt, not a partisan effort.
~Nearly all the signatures obtained in the attempt to qualify the recall were collected by paid signature gatherers, not "citizens on the revolt."
~Issa and his conservative cronies spent nearly $2 million dollars financing the signature gathering effort.
~Sal Russo, one of the consultants running the recall campaign, was the campaign consultant for failed-GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon.
~Bill Simon is now saying that he might run in a recall election
~The main financial backer of the recall - Republican Darrell Issa - is also running for Governor
~He has said that he won't run if it's not on an expensive special election
~Every dollar raised for the recall effort has come from conservative Republicans.
~Not one Democratic elected official or leader supports this effort and no Democrat has made a significant contribution to the effort.
~The California Republican Party has endorsed this recall attempt. The California Democratic Party is opposed. The Green Party is neutral.