New rule: No do-overs. Once you elect an official, unless he
runs off with public funds or gets caught with kiddie porn,
you’re stuck with him,” said notorious comedian Bill
Maher on a recent HBO airing of his show, “Real
Time.”
Considering what’s going on in California, it
doesn’t seem like many would agree with Maher.
In my last column, I talked about how Arnold Schwarzenegger was
a viable candidate against Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election.
But as everyone knows by now, Arnie won’t be the only one on
the ballot. Come Oct. 7, Californians will have a Hometown Buffet
of candidates from which to choose. Everybody wants a piece of the
golden opportunity, forcing Californians to take a closer look at
the candidates “¦ and the insanity.
As San Francisco mayor Willie Brown said in an “ABC
News” interview, “(The recall situation) says that
we’re a wacko state, basically. California is a democracy
with too much democracy.”
If the mayor’s comments seem harsh, it’s probably
only because he’s been paying attention. The last successful
recall occurred in 1921, when the governor of North Dakota was
voted out four years after coming to office. If Brown isn’t
already upset about resurrecting the practice of recalling a
legitimately elected official, he’s probably a little upset
about the “diverse” roster of potential candidates
wishing to unseat Davis.
In addition to the option of having a former Mr. Universe govern
us, our choice of candidates will include, as ABC reports, “a
shy 18-year-old, who never won a high school election, a racy
Hollywood billboard vixen (the prominent Angelyne) and a former
homeless man who now lives at a rest stop.” That’s not
mentioning Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, millionaire businessman Bill
Simon and smut-“Hustler” Larry Flynt. Sounds like the
cast for “Survivor XII: Sacramento.”
Since this is a recall election, those interested in taking
office need not run a traditional political campaign. The state
only requires $3,500 and 65 signatures for a potential candidate to
land on the recall ballot. What this means is that for the first
time in California’s history just about anyone can run for
governor ““ and just about everyone is: A total of 158 people
filed as of the deadline.
While a victory for believers in Rousseau, who thought everybody
should participate in government, the recall and ensuing flock of
candidates have inadvertently made a “Real TV”-sized
joke of our electoral system.
In fact, the entire recall process, it seems, has been abused.
Although California’s economy is in ruins, it doesn’t
make much sense to blame the governor. As Maher humorously points
out: “Here’s why the economy turned: The dot-com bubble
burst (Obviously on the orders of Gray Davis). The airline industry
collapsed (Just as Gray Davis planned). We fought two wars (Playing
right into Gray Davis’ hands). And Dick Cheney’s
friends at Enron “˜gamed’ the energy market and ripped
off the state for billions. So, you can see the problem: Gray
Davis.”
Removing Davis won’t solve anything except to cost the
state another $35 million. Regardless of whether Schwarzenegger,
Flynt or Angelyne wins the election, our economy will still be in
the gutter.
We don’t need another ineffective quick-fix. There are
already enough diets for that. The best course of action is
probably just to ride it out until our national economy starts
picking up again, which it’s supposedly starting to do. After
all, if markets and economies are controlled by the collective
force of millions of individual participants, what good will
removing one man achieve?
Davis is definitely not the most charismatic governor
we’ve had, but he doesn’t deserve to be recalled.
Let’s not forget these poignant words from Mr. Maher:
“He’s the governor, not some dude you married in Las
Vegas.”