A California DU'ers View of the Recall Election

[Flying_Pig]

Well, the deed is done. The unions, Hispanics, and others the Dems thought were going to help them pull off a save, deserted the party. California will now be an international laughing stock, as "The Terminator" moves into the governor's mansion. Bush, Rove, and their minions, will now attempt to control the political apparatus of California, using "Ahnold" as their front man. They will also attempt to finish what they started with the California "energy crisis", and gut the state, just as they are doing to the nation.

How could this happen in a state that is overwhelmingly Democratic? Well, here's the view of someone (me), who has 35 years experience in politics and the media business (listed in order of impact):

1. Grey Davis was/is, perhaps one of the most ineffectual public speakers ever to hold a political office in this entire country. How he got as far in politics as he did, is amazing to me. In this era of "media candidates", Davis was almost painful to watch (for us Democrats), as he meekly pounded a podium to make a point, and spoke with all the conviction of a wet, limp, noodle.

Add to his lackluster (understatement) campaigning abilities, he also managed to overlook a brewing anger in the electorate. He ignored it, hoping it would go away, never a smart thing for a politician to do.

2. He was wrongly accused (fostered by the Bush/Rovians) of leading the state down the tubes. Fact is, what started it, not only for California, but also nationally, was California's phony "energy crisis". This boondoggle allowed Enron, and other "Bush friends", to suck tens of billions from the state. Davis had nothing to do with this. He was not in office when the energy deregulation laws were passed, ...a Republican (Wilson) was.

Still, Davis got the blame for it all. His mistake, was not going on the offensive enough, and laying the blame where it should have gone: Enron, and Bush/Cheney. He let them skate, rarely publicly laying blame on them. I have always wondered, why? Was Davis in Enron's pocket too? If not, then why wasn't he screaming his fool head off, as they destroyed California's economy, which then led to a national economic meltdown? He failed here, big time.

3. California has a terrible law that requires a 2/3 vote to pass a budget. Because of this, it takes the votes of several Republicans to pass the bills. This year, the Republicans banded together to choke the operation of the government, as they refused to raise taxes enough to allow the state to pay its bill properly, and to fund existing programs. I have no doubt that Bush/Rove were behind this, in a concerted attempt to "overthrow" California state government, and in aiding and abetting the coup that was the recall election. The Republicans did all they could to set Davis up. Davis' meek protestations about this, came off as shrill and meek.

4. The press coverage about Ahnold's peccadillos, backfired. Davis was warned not to run a "dirty" campaign", and seemingly, he ran cleaner than he usually does this time. But, whether he was behind the latest revelations about Arnie or not, he was blamed for them, and the voters rebelled, because they are sick of this type of politicking.

5. The media. The media coverage of the candidates, and Davis (who technically, was not a candidate), was overwhelmingly in favor of Ahnold. Even liberal icons like the San Francisco Chronicle fawned over him, though they did not endorse him. In this case, rather than the media doing the bidding of their Republican masters, I think they just felt , that over the next couple of years, they could sell a lot more newspapers, with Arnie in office, than Davis. Self-serving interests at work, more than ideological concerns.

In the end though, the #1 factor was Davis' "Pink-tutu" image. No one in this state could envision sitting down and having a beer with Davis. He just wasn't that kind of guy. He was a milk-toast hetero, with an image softer than a pile of cotton balls, that neither women, nor men, could get excited about. When times are tough, people want a leader they feel can lead. Davis had already proven he couldn't lead the legislature in getting the people's business done. He failed, and he was punished for it.

There are some very important lessons here for the Dems nationally. Number one, is the party damned well better get a solid, strong, populist voice for its nominee, someone who can fight just as dirty, and as well, as the Republicans, or they're going to lose their ass. At present, we've got national leadership very similar to Gray Davis. Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, et al, all come off as weak, ineffectual, pink-tutu politicians, and in these times of turmoil, terrorism, and dissension, the voters are not going to trust them to solve the nation's problems. especially those that concern the security of the country.

Right now, we've got a bunch of "Barney Fifes" playing to Bush's John Wayne, and in the shoot out at the OK Corral of American politics at this point in time, "Barney" ain't the horse people are going to put their money on.

If we're going to have a chance at all of restoring the Democratic party to leadership in this country, we're going to have to fight just as hard, and just as nasty, as the Republicans. Failure to do so, is as good as handing everything over to the Republicans on a silver platter. The California recall election proved this point very well.

We need to overhaul the party, top to bottom (hear that Terry McAullife?), and put in some fighters. No DINO's, pink tutu's, or Republican-Lites need apply. We fail in 04', and this country is toast, and so is the Democratic Party. We need to start fighting like it's for all the marbles, ...because it is.