|
|
 |
|
|
Volume 4
Issue # 5
August 19, 2003
"The Orgy of Campaigning"
By Guest Commentator Joseph Planta
In California, they're preparing for the orgy of campaigning and rampant
public attention that will accompany their upcoming recall vote this fall.
Democratic Governor Gray Davis is fighting for his political life, having
to re-fight an election he won fair and square just last November. Opportunists
at the Californian Republican party have lobbied for Davis's ouster and
now there's a recall election he's gotta fight.
|
|
|
|
|
It'll be a two part ballot that Californians
will have to wade through this October. Part I asks if they'd like to recall
Governor Davis, yes or no. If the majority is yes, then Part II's result
will kick in, the winner derived from a lengthy list of wannabes. Anyone
and everyone from Larry Flynt to Gary Coleman, Arianna Huffington to Gallagher,
and of course the real newsmaker, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
|
Porn King Larry Flynt
|
It wouldn't be the first time that
Californians would elect an actor, should the Terminator star take up residence
in Sacramento. Remember Ronald Reagan? Unlike the Gipper, however, Schwarzenegger
has done precious little in terms of public policy or political advocacy.
Gray Davis by all reasonable and objective accounts has done a rather poor
job. On top of it all, rather than do the job he was elected to do, he's
distracted with the fight of his political life, to save his hide. His own
party has slowly reduced its support, what with his lieutenant Cruz Bustamante
campaigning for the job also. Californians by and large do not approve of
the job the governor is doing, and with the personality of a door knob,
he's calling in the big Democratic guns, Bill and Hilary Clinton. |
Were I an American, I suppose I would
be of the Republican persuasion. I like the group of Republican politicians
over all those of a Democrat stripe. And though I would by and large support
Republicans, I think Gray Davis was duly elected barely one year ago and
thereby should be permitted to serve out the balance of his mandate. Recall
and other similar initiatives are awfully noble and tend to generally increase
democracy at face value. However recall as we are seeing in California,
and have seen in British Columbia, is often abused by political opportunists
who are willing to overturn the democratic will of the majority in order
to re-fight elections for no other reason than political expediency. I am
not a fan of recall initiatives. I believe the people should endure the
madness that they elect. There is of course an insurance policy, and that
is exercised every four or five years and only then should that be relied
upon.
|
"What you talking about?"
Gary Coleman
|
Arnold Schwarzenegger is hoping to
parlay movie success and celebrity recognition into votes, thereby propelling
him into the governor's mansion. The Republican establishment in America's
most populous state are backing him because they want power -- plain and
simple. They're bitter that Bill Simon couldn't get the job done last fall.
Schwarzenegger for all his lack of political moxie, tries to make up for
it with firebrand populism. He fails miserably though. The entire recall
effort is populism gone wrong, as Jeffrey Simpson rightly opined recently.
When Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on the Jay Leno Tonight Show,
he made the prescient comment, that Californians should be "given the ballot"
of recall candidates and be allowed to vote for whom they want. Alas, someone
should point out to Schwarzenegger that Californians did just that barely
a year ago, electing Gray Davis.
|
"Children's issues and all
that stuff"
Arnold Swartzenegger |
A thorny issue in California at the moment is the paid family leave law.
Asked whether he favoured it, Schwarzenegger was equivocal at best: "I
. . . I will have to get into that. I mean, because you know, I'm very
much for families, I'm very much for children and children's issues and
all that stuff. I think that the children should have the first call in
our treasury. This is the . . . the most precious resource that we have.
We have to think about the future of the state. Children are the most
important thing, and we have to help families."
Huh? Clearly he's sincere about children, but what is also clear is that
he's got a lot of work to do to brush up on the pressing issues of the
day in his state. It's fine and dandy, he's willing to fix what's wrong,
but how will he do that? What's his platform? It's great Warren Buffett
and Rob Lowe are on board, part of his team, but what will they do. He
has the apparent ability to come to the views he supposedly holds, at
the precise time his handlers's polls say they're the ones to promote.
|
|
|
One hopes Davis is returned, so that
Californians can realise the sincere flaws in their absurd recall system.
Republicans in California deserve to fail. And most of all Schwarzenegger
should stick to making decisions he's equipped to make, namely whether to
get that bikini wax or not. God help Californians. |
|
