The California Recall: Jeopardizing Normalcy
The California Recall: Jeopardizing Normalcy
Many are worried that the heated up California recall election; could jeopardize normalcy, not only of California politics, but that of the United States. Worried, read on.
By William Jones and D. S. Mitchell
Make no mistake about it, California Governor Gavin Newsom is in trouble in the upcoming Recall Election. The recall process in the State of California is screwy and that doesn’t help the embattled governor.
Gavin Newsom
The current governor of California is Gavin Christopher Newsom. Gavin was born October 10, 1967 in San Francisco, CA. Newsom, a handsome 6’3″, was fortunate enough to be born into an old and privileged San Francisco family. He is the son of an appellate court judge. He graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989. In 1992, he obtained a loan from the wealthy Getty family to start PlumpJack Wine Shop. The business eventually grew to a multi-million dollar empire. Expanding to restaurants, theaters, a wine label, and a hotel/ski resort.
Early Political Steps
Newsom became interested in politics at an early age. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1996 to 2004, where he became well-known for his “Care Not Cash” initiative. That policy slashed cash benefits to the city’s homeless policy. Newsom was elected the 42nd mayor of San Francisco in 2004. He became the youngest mayor in over a century. In February 2004, he made national headlines when he allowed same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses.
Larry Elder, One Of 46
The front runner in a bloated field of contenders in the California Recall is Larry Elder. Elder, is black and far right Republican. He was born on April 27, 1952, in Los Angeles, California. In 1974 Elder earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Three years later, he earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Upon graduation, Elder began practicing law for a firm based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Done With All The Sheepskins
In 1980, he formed his firm in Cleveland, Larry A. Elder, and Associates. While still practicing law, Larry Elder began working as a talk show radio host. By the late 1990s, Elder had his television show on a local Fox Network affiliate. From 2001 to 2002 he started hosting Moral Court, a court series aired by Warner Brothers Television. Elder went back to political talk radio and television with a nationwide program syndicated by ABC. Today, he runs a nationally aired talk radio program, however, now syndicated by Salem Communications.
The Eccentricity Of The California Recall System
California’s recall system was created in 1911, during the Progressive Era. Contrary to the modern-day use of “progressive” as a term for those on the left, these capital-P Progressives were “an anti-party, anti-partisan, anti-special interest movement of reformers” in both parties, says Raphe Sonenshein, a political scientist at Cal State LA.
For Your Information
Someone said that ‘California hasn’t elected Republican to any statewide position since before the advent of the iPhone.’ That may change September 14th, 2021. Gavin Newsom, the current California governor, is trying to beat back a recall, funded heavily by national Republicans, anti-vaxers, anti-maskers, and Pro-Trump groups. Democrats are confronting the possibility that Newsom could be recalled.
Two Questions
On Election Day the voters will face two questions: Should Newsom be removed, and if so, who should replace him? A simple majority of yes votes on the first question will result in his ouster. Whoever wins the most votes on the second question — even if less than 50% — would become the next governor. Newsom, 53, can’t by law appear as a candidate for that.
Democratic Strategy
There’s no prominent Democrat among the slate of 46 replacement candidates. The state Democratic party, urges a ‘NO’ to the recall question, and is recommending a blank response on who should succeed Newsom if he is removed. As a result, Republicans would comprise more of those votes cast. And given the recent rankings of contenders, if a majority of voters decide to expel the former San Francisco mayor, the next governor of California will likely be from the GOP.
Historical Flash Back
It has happened before — in 2003 when voters rejected the deeply unpopular Democratic Governor Joseph Graham “Gray” Davis and tapped the international movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger as their replacement governor. The Republican, Schwarzenegger was then re-elected in 2006. That could happen again pollster are warning. Since 2006 the current Republican piece of the electorate has shrunk, it is important to note, while that of Democrats has grown. The election of a Republican to the top state office could dramatically upset the predictability of West Coast politics.
A State Of Uncertainty?
Despite the challenges of the Recall Election, Democrats are optimistic that all of these hurdles will be overcome, and that the fundamental partisan dynamics of California will reassert themselves and save Newsom. Most polls show Newsom narrowly leading on the recall question. But that outcome can hardly be taken for granted. In oddly-timed elections, weird things can happen, as Democrats learned when Republican Scott Brown won a Massachusetts Senate seat in January 2010, or as Republicans learned from Doug Jones’s Alabama Senate seat victory in December 2017.
Democrats Need To Get Voter’s Attention
So there is a possible slow-motion disaster unfolding in California for Democrats — but there’s also still time for them to avert it if they can communicate the stakes to their base voters. A Republican win would have major implications for the state’s pandemic response policies over the next year (the governorship will be up for election again in November 2022).
Think National
But the biggest consequence could be national: The United States Senate is divided 50-50, and the oldest senator is 88-year-old Dianne Feinstein (D) of California. If she were to die in office, as oldsters frequently do. California’s governor would choose her replacement — and a Republican governor could flip control of the Senate to Mitch McConnell’s GOP. That ought to light a fire under anyone who is thinking of skipping the election.
Just Imagine
A GOP governor would mark a sharp reversal for California, which championed itself as a foil to the Trump administration and has led the nation with progressive policies. If Newsom loses the recall, his successor as governor will be decided by who gets the most votes on “part 2” of the same ballot. In that case, you might logically ask, isn’t the “part 2” winner a safe bet to be a Democrat in such a heavily Democratic state? Actually, no.
Democrats Stay Home At Your Own Risk
More broadly, it would send a message to Democrats that complacency poses a risk in the 2022 Congressional races and to their agenda in Washington. The Democrats can’t lose a single Senate seat; or more than three in the House, if they are to maintain control of the legislative branch. Traditionally, the mid-term elections fall to the party out of power. The Republicans hope to pick up a lot more seats than the Democrats can afford to lose.
More Than A Local Recall Election
Deep-pocketed funders, sensing anti-vaxxer anger, and COVID-19 exhaustion teamed up with the state’s Republican Party. The groups gained enough signatures to force a recall election. Liberal optimism assumed that the GOP was overplaying its hand. But the recall effort has kept gaining momentum. Now there’s every indication that Republicans will vote at a significantly higher rate than Democrats, a fact that speaks not only to conservative fervor but also to the chronic apathy of Democratic voters.
References
https://calmatters.org/gavin-newsom-recall-election/
https://www.vox.com/22617048/california-recall-gavin-newsom-larry-elder
