Books reviews, current events, and other musings

I'm so pissed that the Terminator will be governor. I’ll channel my anger into an effort to figure out why it happened.

There's one broad reason why he was elected: several right-wing memes have spread to the general population. Biased media coverage was responsible for propagating those memes into the mainstream though processes. The news emphasized conservative attitudes regarding Davis, Schwarzenegger, the recall, the problems facing California, who’s responsible for them, and possible solutions.

The following ideas motivated many independents and Democrats to vote for the recall. In case it’s not obvious, the italicized statements are the right-wing memes that I strongly disagree with.

It’s reasonable to recall an official who hasn’t been accused of any improprieties.
This notion is quite radical, which is why only one other governor has been recalled in US history. Policy disagreements, bad economic times, and unpopularity have never been considered sufficient reason to force anyone from office. However, the media didn’t question the appropriateness of the recall, coming less than a year after Davis we re-elected.

Gray Davis is largely responsible for the problems in California’s economy.
Of course, nobody ever gave him credit for the state's economic boom of the late 90’s. Besides, conventional wisdom attributes economic strength to business cycles, US economic policies, and factors beyond anyone’s control. However, the media parroted conservative claims that California’s downturn was all the governor’s fault. They downplayed the possibility that the Bush administration might play some role in the nationwide economic troubles.

Raising taxes is a counterproductive way of dealing with a budget deficit.
A poor economy always leads to budget deficits, since revenues decline while social needs increase. Leaders can raise taxes or cut programs to address the deficit. Normally, both approaches are used; Ronald Reagan, for example, raised taxes after being elected governor of California. Davis was vilified for his car tax, despite the massive government cutbacks that were necessary even with the tax increase. Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger called for lower taxes without explaining what programs he’d cut, and the media let him get away with it.

Davis was responsible for the energy problems.
Deregulation under Pete Wilson, greedy energy companies, and federal inaction were the primary reasons for the energy shortfalls, which were artificially created, and skyrocketing prices. Throughout that entire debacle, I never heard a proposal of how Davis could have handled things better.

Schwarzenegger was qualified to be governor.
I have this crazy idea that experience actually matters. Even though Schwarzenegger is brighter than his action-star image, it takes a lot of expertise to deal with budgets, policy issues, the legislature, and the bureaucracy. Plus, with a budget crisis, weak economy, and abrupt transition, this is a very difficult time to for anyone to govern California. As another serious concern, nobody knows what Arnold, who doesn’t have a political history, will do as governor.

Special interests controlled Davis and Bustamante, but not Schwarzenegger.
The Schwarzenegger campaign spent more than the others, much of it from businesses who will have a great deal of influence on him. And corporations already corrupt government policies vastly more than labor unions or Indian tribes do.

Similar trends explain why there was so much popular support for removing Clinton and Davis, but not Bush, from office. The conservative worldview is seeping into the mainstream media, augmenting talk radio and Fox news. As a result, lots of moderates are, unfortunately, voting Republican.

posted by Julian at 5:45AM

I'm waiting for the polls to close in a few minutes, to find out the initial recall results. In the mean time, here are some of today's developments (from Eschaton).

Some of the Freepers made a minor mistake.

The only thing I'm a little nervous about is with all the Schwartzenegger buzz, people are forgetting to vote YES on the recall. It's the first question on the first page and since Arnie is on the last page people have the tendency of just going right to the page with his name. Even my husband almost forgot. People have been calling the radio shows saying the same thing. A few cried and said they forgot.

And some pro-Arnold fanatics attacked poor Georgy.

Gubernatorial candidate Georgy Russell was pushed, shoved, hit and kicked yesterday by supporters of Arnold Schwarzenegger at a rally in Pleasanton CA. She was repeatedly called a "bitch" and one of the Arnold Supporters wrote on her clothing with a permanent marking pen.

Now all we need is a ballot question split right down the middle, leading to recount debates and lawsuits.

posted by Julian at 7:50PM

With the recall election happening tomorrow, remember to vote YES on more Arnold Schwarzenegger movies coming out next year. Still, I have this morbid fantasy of Schwarzenegger being elected and then suffering a fatal heart attack, making Cruz Bustamante governor.

Meanwhile, Florida Senator Bob Graham withdrew from the Presidential race. That's good news, since he'll probably be able to hold onto his Senate seat in next year's election. Despite his opposition to the Iraqi War, I could never get excited about his candidacy.

One final piece of political news is an upcoming Supreme Court case.

The case, Vieth vs. Jubelirer, is an appeal by Pennsylvania Democrats, who account for about half the state's voters but who hold only seven of the state's 19 congressional districts after redistricting in 2002.

It will be amusing to see the Republicans, who bitched and moaned that the Texas Congressional districts were unfair, explain why the Democratic lawsuit is totally unreasonable. They could argue that it isn't the Supreme Court's role to establish fair elections, except for the little matter of Bush vs. Gore.

posted by Julian at 8:40PM

Well, it looks like Schwarzenegger will be elected governor on Tuesday, though I haven’t yet given up hope that the voters will come to their senses. Sigh. Venting about it might be a good catharsis, not that I have anything novel to say.

To start off, it's totally ridiculous to recall someone who hasn't been accused of any improprieties. The US system of government is based on electing official and keeping them in office until the next election, no matter what. Violating that policy is only justifiable in the most extreme of circumstances, which Gray Davis’s governorship and Bill Clinton’s Presidency are far from satisfying. In both of those cases, Republican efforts to remove an elected leader are complete undemocratic and un-American.

I’m no fan of Gray Davis, but he has served his constituents better than many government leaders, including most Republicans. He’s not responsible for the dot-com bust or the nationwide economic downturn of the last two years. Every state in the nation, except Vermont, if facing an budget deficit, and raising taxes is a necessary part of the solution if you want to avoid drastic cuts in social programs in times of increase need. Republican deregulation programs were the main reason for the California energy crisis, and it’s not clear how Gray Davis could have dealt with the situation better.

So, Darrell Issa spent $1.7 million of his own money to bankroll the recall drive, with the vote scheduled less than a year after Gray Davis was re-elected. With enough paid signature gatherers, you could probably put anything on the ballot, though I wonder what motivated people to sign those petitions: blaming the governor (but not the President) for economic problems, the car tax, the budget deficit, simple partisanship, or talk radio.

I won’t bother to summarize the gyrations since then, such as candidates entering and leaving the race or the election being postponed and un-postponed. For the previous few weeks, the population tended to support the recall and Schwarzenegger passed Cruz Bustamante in the polls. The sexual harassment charges against Schwarzenegger have reversed those trends, but probably not enough to keep Schwarzenegger from becoming governor.

I wonder why a Democratic state like California would replace a Democrat with a Republican in the recall election. Davis doesn’t have many strong supporters, and the recall proponents are more motivated to vote. Democrats, unhappy with Davis for various reasons, are more likely to support the recall than Republicans are to oppose it on principle. The economic and budget problems are driving many people to try something different. And, of course, Schwarzenegger’s celebrity is attracting supporters, who seem to feel that experience is irrelevant, or a negative, in a politician.

It’s all very depressing and discouraging to a liberal who opposes everything the Republicans stand for. Things keep going in the wrong direction: Republicans taking the House in 1994, all the anti-Clinton bullshit, Bush stealing the 2000 election, and now the Terminator as governor. Despite the obvious Republican shortcomings, such as Bush’s disastrous policies or Schwarzenegger’s groping, the voters keep giving them power over this nation. I’m very pessimistic about where things are headed.

posted by Julian at 11:20PM