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November 06, 2003
Arnold Shwarzenegger interview with Oui magazineTo me, the funniest line was this one, when Arnold was talking about his then-new acting career, and where he wanted it to lead: "I realize there's only one Arnold in the world, that there's never been an Arnold before, and the one thing that won't work on the screen is my being an ass-kicker." Yeah...that would never work. ;-) Arnold's interview in Oui magazine, 1977 That links to a scanned-in bunch of pages from the magazine, courtesy of The Smoking Gun. This page here, at the same site, is a story about the article, featuring excerpts from the interview and weaving them into an article. Read It Rating: 5.5 Reason Online: Is Arnold good for the libertarians?Muscled Out Tim Cavanaugh Is there any good news for libertarianism in Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor of California? Not much, if the hope was to see the two major parties undermined in an electoral free-for-all. One of the fondest third-party wishes for the recall—and a critical selling point for voters disenchanted with both the Republicans and the Democrats—was that its 135-strong roster of candidates would open the field up to everybody, and possibly create a wild-card situation where a fringe ticket might actually win. Fat chance. Schwarzenegger's win dramatically demonstrated the immovability of the major parties, and the absolute hopelessness of third-party challengers. The last-minute candidate not only received more votes, both in total numbers and as a percentage of the total electorate, than Gray Davis did in his re-election less than a year ago, but did so with a split Republican ticket, against a Democratic challenger who was widely (and wrongly) expected to lock up the Latino vote. (That Schwarzenegger, the pick of the statewide and national Republican establishment, was able to get a near-majority despite Tom McClintock's drawing more than a million hard-conservative votes should scare the Democrats even more than it discourages the third parties.) ... In the longer term, Schwarzenegger's surprisingly total victory points to some interesting trends in voters' views toward governance. In a post-election dispatch, Slate columnist Mickey Kaus said of the governor-elect, "If he's going to keep our loyalty it will have to be by producing actual results: a slimmed down government, a balanced budget, better schools, a better business climate, etc." Kaus is a consistently interesting commentator on Golden State politics, but such good-government pieties seemed laughably out of place in the context of the recently concluded circus. If people had wanted good government, they'd have voted for Tom McClintock. Instead they voted for Schwarzenegger, and logic indicates that they voted for him not in spite of his lack of political experience, but because of it. On the principle that any day people turn against the government is a good day for liberty, Schwarzenegger's win was good news indeed. It also takes some of the sheen off the Republican Party. If the Republicans had not brought in a Hollywood ringer, we would almost certainly be hailing governor-elect Bustamante right now. It was only the presence of an actor/bodybuilder with a funny accent that kept the vote from splintering 135 different ways and propelling a true minority choice into office with a tiny fraction of the vote. Both parties should take note: They're selling a product fewer and fewer people want. If they want to stay in business, they should soon be reduced to bringing in some of the many co-stars Schwarzenegger has worked with over the years. As that group includes everybody from surfing legend Gerry Lopez to former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura to funnyman Sinbad to Verne "Mini Me" Troyer, the sky is definitely the limit. Read It Rating: 4.5 The Economist on Arnold: Flower power, three decades lateFlower power, three decades late Oct 9th 2003 IN 1966, Californians elected a Hollywood actor as governor of their state. Fourteen years later, he changed America as the country's 40th president and the embodiment of a conservative revolution. Is history repeating itself? Perhaps as farce? It is easy to count the reasons why Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory may be a special case, without wider significance. He won partly because of his exceptional celebrity, and partly because the recalled governor, Gray Davis, had all the popularity of a cat at a dog show. That circumstance may not repeat itself very often. He won as an outsider in a state that is peculiar anyway, in an election that was more than peculiar, when voters were uncommonly angry with elected officials. Yet the fact remains that Mr Schwarzenegger has instantly become the second-best-known Republican in the country. He has become governor of a state with 55 Electoral College votes—a state, moreover, that many Republicans had almost written off (Al Gore won California by 1.3m votes in 2000, and 44% of Californian voters now register as Democrats, compared with 35% as Republicans). He brought a disaffected cohort of voters into the electoral process and into his party. Republicans would be foolish to write this off as merely another weird consequence of Californian voters spending too much time in the sun. The key to the wider meaning of Mr Schwarzenegger's victory lies partly in his policies—much more liberal than those of most Republicans—and even more in the kind of person he is, including the sexual accusations that surfaced in the last days of the campaign. He is the first nationwide political figure to have embraced the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s (in its weaknesses as well as its strengths) and still stayed a Republican. ... ... the elected governor is a reminder that there is a strand of Republicanism which was always more in tune with the counter-culture than the Bible-thumping variety that has dominated the party for the past decade. This is the libertarian wing associated with Barry Goldwater, another western Republican. In some ways, Mr Schwarzenegger represents a return to that tradition. His victory could begin a contest, against the current dominance of southern conservatism, for the party's soul. Read It Rating: 5 A Ready-Made Budget For Would-Be GovernorsA Ready-Made Budget For Would-Be Governors Attention, candidates - whether frontrunners, longshots or fantasy play- ers. There's a detailed state budget proposal available that combines reform, restructuring and selected cuts in duplicative programs to promise a $1.5 billion surplus in 2005 - with no tax increases, no cuts in services deemed vital by most Californians, but with improvements in the business climate sufficient to permit the creation of an estimated 600,000 new jobs over two years. In a recall election whose inescapable backdrop is a state spending crisis that the Legislature and governor punted into next year, the Citizens' Budget offers a benchmark by which candidate seriousness can be judged. It was prepared jointly by the Performance Institute of San Diego, a think tank dedicated to advocating performance-based management practices for government agencies, and the free-market Reason Public Policy Institute in Los Angeles. We wrote about the proposal when it was released April 30, but it has become even more relevant in this season of recall. (The proposal is online at www.rppi.org/cacitizensbudget.html.) Read It Rating: 8.5 Charley Reese on Arnold and amateur politiciansby Charley Reese I can't recall ever having written a commentary on California politics. That's because, from afar, politics in California seem to be as complex, byzantine and sometimes downright weird as those in the Middle East. And I've had more experience in the Middle East than in California. Nevertheless, I can say this: Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly qualified to be a governor. Whether he will be elected or not is another question, and I don't have a clue. I can't think of anything more uncertain to bet on than the outcome of a California election. But let me tell you why he is qualified and at the same time poke the air out of a myth created by politicians that holding public office in this country is somehow complex and difficult. That's a load of self-aggrandizing horse apples. Buying into the notion that people need an "experienced" politician is like deciding you need an "experienced" prostitute. Read It Rating: 5 Federal judge may postpone recallFederal judge warns he may postpone election / U.S. must ensure minority rights not harmed Saturday, August 16, 2003 A federal judge in San Jose threatened Friday to postpone California's unprecedented recall election unless Monterey County and state officials can get federal clearance to proceed with the vote. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ordered attorneys from the state Department of Justice and Monterey County back into court on Aug. 29 to show why the election should move forward. In the meantime, he told the county's election officials to refrain from sending out 200 absentee ballots to overseas voters. Fogel's orders came hours after civil rights groups argued that the unusual election is so rushed that it is forcing changes in the voting process that require federal approval. TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page) Read It Rating: 6 Recall chaosContra Costa Times | Recall chaos Ballot likely to be radically different, confusing to voters Elections officials across the state face a possible meltdown if too many candidates jump on the Oct. 7 recall ballot to replace Gov. Gray Davis. "Counties are not ready to handle this," said Contra Costa County voter registrar Steve Weir. "Every elections official in the state is concerned about how this will look for the voter (and) how it's going to be organized." Read It Rating: 5 Libertarian billing himself as "the smokers' candidate"thedesertsun.com | Libertarian billing himself as "the smokers' candidate" Ned Roscoe wants governor’s seat to be his first public office By Rick Davis PALM DESERT -- Leave the grandstanding and promotional stunts for others, says Ned Roscoe. The Northern California Libertarian claims he is running for governor of California because he fancies the opportunity -- and realizes it is a rare one. "This situation is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Roscoe said during a hastily planned campaign visit to the Coachella Valley on Monday afternoon. "And so here I am. This is no stunt." Roscoe is on that lengthy list of 195 Californians who qualified to appear on the ballot for the Oct. 7 recall election of Gov. Gray Davis. On Monday, Roscoe, 42, of Napa made the desert one of his first stops. Here's another article along similar lines. Read It Rating: 3 August 16, 2003
Poll: Bustamante In Lead to Succeed DavisPoll Places Bustamante In Lead to Succeed Davis (washingtonpost.com) Schwarzenegger Tops the Other Calif. Hopefuls LOS ANGELES, Aug. 15 -- Before the first television ads have aired, the race to succeed California Gov. Gray Davis (D) if he is recalled came down to just two men, Republican action star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante, according to a nonpartisan statewide poll to be released Saturday. The California Field Poll found 25 percent of registered voters opted for Bustamante followed by 22 percent for Schwarzenegger. The other candidates trailed in single digits: State Sen. Tom McClintock took 9 percent; businessman Bill Simon won 8 percent; former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth received 5 percent; all three are Republicans. Independent and columnist Arianna Huffington got 4 percent, and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo received 2 percent. The poll also found Davis in deeper trouble. The beleaguered governor earned the dubious distinction of being the most unpopular governor in the 56-year history of the Field Poll.... Read It Rating: 8 "Wacky California" puts on electoral circusA perspective on the recall (pre-certification of the candidate list) from an Indian media source. "Wacky California" puts on electoral circus - Sify.com Saturday, 09 August , 2003, 07:47 In the state known for nurturing alternative lifestyles and for pioneering everything from roller-skates to freeways and movie celebrity, almost anyone can run for office. And they do. Armed only with the signatures of 65 friends and a 3,500-dollar fee, residents of the most populous and culturally diverse US state can register as candidates for the October 7 recall polls aimed at unseating its governor. ... Three Libertarian candidates will appear on California recall ballotI am very disappointed in the California Libertarian Party for making what looks likely to be an insubstantial (if not downright embarrassing) showing in the California recall. To a lesser extent, I'm disappointed in myself for deciding not to go for it (even though I think it was the right choice...I think). LP News Online: Three Libertarian candidates will appear on California recall ballot Three Libertarian candidates will be on the ballot in California's upcoming special gubernatorial election -- including the president of a national chain of discount cigarette stores who is running on a platform of "smoker's rights." According to the list released by the California secretary of state on August 14, Ned Roscoe, Jack Hickey, and Ken Hamidi have qualified to appear on the October 7 ballot under the Libertarian Party banner. Read It Rating: 4 |
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Gary Coleman to be political analyst on comedy radio network
Gary Coleman to be political analyst on comedy radio network
Posted on Mon, Oct. 13, 2003
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Former childhood actor Gary Coleman didn't win California's recall election, but he'll still get a political platform on the new Hollywood-based All Comedy Radio network.
Coleman, 35, has been tapped to become the network's political analyst and said his experience as a candidate will come in handy in this new assignment.
Read It Rating: 3
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 90%
October 09, 2003
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
Commentary by Bill O'Reilly
August 27, 2003
Excerpt:
The polls show that even many poor people aren't buying the class warfare stuff anymore. We are all in this together. When the power went off, everybody got hosed. And when al Qaeda strikes, it doesn't matter what your tax bracket is.
As with most things in life, we have now been warned. The collapse of California's political system, the blackout, and Sept. 11, 2001, have all been signals sent. We Americans better wise up and start electing people who have a sense of urgency about protecting us and solving problems. For Americans, remaining in the dark is simply not an option anymore.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: R3
Freedom Rating: .03
Learning Percentage: 3%
October 08, 2003
Repairing California Government
Repairing California Government
By David S. Broder
Wednesday, October 8, 2003; Page A29
Now that the miserable recall experience is over, California can finally get serious about repairing the damaged structure of its government.
...
One would hope that Californians would draw the right conclusion and be less willing to sign the next recall petition. But the reality is that the Progressive-era trio of populist experiments in direct democracy -- initiative, referendum and recall -- remains wildly popular with millions in the state.
That being the case, the next two California elections are likely to feature initiatives proposing serious structural changes in the way the state government operates and the way people gain office in Sacramento.
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
Fineman: Recall Lessons for the President
The important part of this article, for me, was this:
There is a straight line of voter protest running from Ross Perot through John McCain and on to the Internet-based campaigns of Wesley Clark and even Howard Dean. To some extent, all were or are powered by a sense of voter alienation from the centers of authority in government politics—whether those center are in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. The bigger and more remote the government, the more ignored and misunderstood the voters feel.
He left out Jesse Ventura, but the point remains. That point -- that voters are super-willing to embrace the an 'outsider' candidate who has momentum -- is one of the driving factors that inspired me to run for president so long ago.
Recall Lessons for the President
Voter alienation will not stop at voting booths in California
By Howard Fineman
Newsweek
Tuesday 07 October 2003
It would be nice to think that the ending of Election Day here will bring peace to the politics of California, and to the country. It would be nice, but wrong. Don't expect an end to partisan rancor, voter anger and alienation, here or elsewhere. This state's political warfare will resume long before Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger actually takes office. And the same forces that are shaking Sacramento could materialize on the doorstep of the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
There are a lot of reasons. Starting with the winning candidate, here are some:
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 5%
Campaign on wheels
Posted on Fri, Oct. 03, 2003
ARNOLD: "LET'S START THE ENGINES"
BY MARY ANNE OSTROM & LORI ARATANI
Mercury News
SAN DIEGO - Moments after uttering regrets for having behaved like a boor over the years, Arnold Schwarzenegger declared to a crowd of 1,500 cheering, sign-waving supporters in the cavernous San Diego Convention Center that it was time to ``terminate Gray Davis.''
He then lowered his voice an octave, and said: ``Let's start the engines.''
In dramatic fashion, a curtain rose to reveal a large bus plastered with Schwarzenegger's face and the campaign event's slogan, ``California Comeback Express.'' The actor jumped on the bus as it circled the floor in the indoor convention center and the crowd ran to greet him.
...
At times, the rolling circus felt more like a tour promoting a movie than a candidate for governor. The bus carrying Schwarzenegger was named ``The Running Man,'' and featured satellite television and bunk beds. His entourage followed in a bus dubbed ``Total Recall.'' Some 200 reporters and photographers hailing from as far away as India, Japan and his native Austria followed in buses the campaign had dubbed ``Predator'' 1 through 4.
At the Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Schwarzenegger ignored protesters and repeated his campaign promise to repeal increases in the state vehicle-license fee.
``I was 25 years in show business. In the movies, if I play a character and I didn't like something, you know what I did, I destroyed it. I wiped it out, I wiped it out.''
At that instant, a 3,600-pound wrecking ball was dropped 50 feet, crushing an older-model Oldsmobile on which the words ``Davis Car Tax'' had been spray-painted.
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 35%
Recall Arnold
From Brian Flemming:
Recall Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger
October 7, 2003
Dear Scared Californian,
I know. Me too.
This site, created more than a month ago, was at first a semi-joke intended to illustrate California's chaotic future if the right-wing recall succeeded. I guess it's not so funny anymore.
Because this site gets a lot of search-engine hits on "recall Arnold" and the like, I want to make sure this traffic does not go to waste. If you're interested in joining a recall petition effort, please click on the link in the right column and send me your email address and other information.
There are many groups currently being formed to recall Arnold Schwarzenegger. I will send you notifications about these efforts as they develop, so you will know exactly how to get involved. If you give me your specific permission to do so, I will pass your information on to other Recall Governor Schwarzenegger groups.
As a lifelong Californian, I'm as shocked as you are that our state has done such a surreal, horrible thing. Please volunteer to set things right again.
Sincerely,
Brian Flemming
That's followed by a ton of messages of support that people have apparently sent in. I presume there will be future developments there as well.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 0%
It's hard to predict whether the Recall Arnold movement will have legs, politically speaking. We're deep into surreal politics now, so who's to say what might come? From a certain perspective, another recall right away makes all the sense in the world. With Arnold Schwarzenegger being governor-elect, somehow nothing seems politically weird anymore.
California Recall Election results
Updated recall election results from the CA Secretary of State office.
Here are the current results:
Shall GRAY DAVIS be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Votes Percent
Yes 3,763,848 54.2
No 3,184,259 45.8
County Returns
Leading Candidates to succeed GRAY DAVIS as Governor if he is recalled:
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Candidate Party Votes Percent
Arnold Schwarzenegger Rep 3,198,508 47.8
Cruz M. Bustamante Dem 2,181,952 32.6
Tom McClintock Rep 881,744 13.2
Peter Miguel Camejo Grn 188,479 2.9
Arianna Huffington Ind 38,936 0.6
Peter V. Ueberroth Rep 19,592 0.3
Larry Flynt Dem 13,693 0.3
Gary Coleman Ind 11,370 0.2
October 07, 2003
Arnold is no conservative
Arnold is no conservative
by David Freddoso | Oct 5, 2003
Moderates are not the only ones backing Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's gubernatorial recall election. Particularly among politicians, many true conservatives, such as Representatives Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, are taking up the Terminator's standard, as are conservative icons such as Ann Coulter.
In better times, the famous actor's social liberalism might have alone precluded such support. But California's GOP is at an historic nadir. It has drifted downward ever since 1995, when a Jeffords-style defection and clever Democratic legal maneuvering disastrously cost Republicans their hard-won State Assembly majority.
Conservatives have never recovered. Their party is now out of power and out of favor with voters, and they think the Arnold gimmick can save them.
But these "Arnold Conservatives" -- not his moderate or liberal supporters, but those reluctantly backing him as the "electable" Republican candidate -- are wrong. They underestimate the extent of Schwarzenegger's liberalism, which guarantees his leadership will fail California and further harm Republicans if he wins.
...
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R5
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Unplugged
I want to go on record as saying that the closing lines of this article --
I asked Mr. Muscle's PR people to comment on the new Enron memos -- and his strange silence on Bustamante's suit or Davis' petition. But Arnold was too busy shaving off his Hitlerian mustache to respond.
-- are really weak. Really, really weak. Palast could have appeared more mature (and just as journalistically honest) by saying "Arnold has poopie in his pants."
Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected
Friday, October 3, 2003
It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal.
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.
Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. ...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
Davis keeps the heat on Schwarzenegger over women's allegations of groping. 'A lot of these are made-up stories,' the GOP front-runner says.
By Gregg Jones, Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writers
With polls showing the recall race tightening in a last dash to Tuesday's election, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday questioned the truthfulness of Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to sexual misconduct allegations while the Republican tried to shift the focus to his rival's shortcomings as a leader.
Davis challenged the GOP candidate to respond in detail to accusations by women that he groped or humiliated them. Schwarzenegger, dogged by the allegations for the fourth day, sought to lay them to rest in two nationally televised interviews.
"A lot of these are made-up stories," Schwarzenegger told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in a campaign-bus interview on "Dateline NBC." "I never grabbed anyone and then pulled up their shirt and grabbed their breasts, and stuff like that. This is not me. So there's a lot of this stuff going on.... "
"So you deny all those stories about grabbing?" Brokaw asked.
"Not at all," said Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women. "I'm just saying this is not — this is not me."
...
TruhOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 15%
Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Calif.'s Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Sun October 5, 2003 08:14 PM ET
By Gina Keating and Adam Tanner
SAN JOSE/SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Buoyed by fresh reports of sexual misconduct by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger and a poll showing more erosion in efforts to recall him, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday renewed his attacks on the actor turned politician, who in turn rallied thousands to the capital.
Davis charged into the final stage of the wild recall battle demanding Schwarzenegger, his chief rival for the state's top job in Tuesday's recall election, explain in detail what was behind the sexual harassment charges he now faces.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Support strong to recall Davis
Support strong to recall Davis
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 06, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The latest polls show that several days of reporting on accusations of sexual harassment against Arnold Schwarzenegger have dented only slightly support for recalling Gov. Gray Davis in the vote tomorrow.
The Austrian-born actor's campaign tour of California came to a roaring conclusion at the state Capitol yesterday in front of 10,000 people buoyed by the poll figures and a live performance by 1980s rock star Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.
A poll released by the San Jose Mercury News yesterday showed that 54 percent of likely voters support the recall, and 41 percent are opposed. Mr. Schwarzenegger led the 135 replacement candidates with 36 percent, compared with 29 percent for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall, Jack Leonard and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
Four more women have come forward to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger fondled, spanked or touched them in incidents they said took place as recently as 2000 and as long ago as 1979.
In all, 15 women have now accused the Republican candidate for governor of grabbing or groping them. On the campaign trail Saturday, Schwarzenegger denounced as a "puke campaign" news reports that he has behaved abusively toward women.
The women who agreed Saturday to tell their stories publicly are:
A 51-year-old woman who said Schwarzenegger pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him at a West Los Angeles post-production studio in 2000.
Tamee Smith, 46, who said Schwarzenegger followed her into a bathroom on a studio lot and grabbed her breast during work on the movie "Predator" in 1986.
Jan Prinzmetal, 50, who said Schwarzenegger reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks outside a Venice gym in the mid-1980s.
Elizabeth Rothner, 45, who said Schwarzenegger lifted her sweatshirt at a popular Santa Monica bar in 1979, exposing her bare breasts before a crowd.
The Times provided details of each of the new allegations to Schwarzenegger's campaign Saturday. The candidate's spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Schwarzenegger had said that the accounts of three of the women were untrue. Walsh said Schwarzenegger had no recollection of the alleged Venice gym incident.
...
TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
Fight to the finish before historic vote
Fight to the finish before historic vote / Davis wants criminal investigation
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Fresno -- Gov. Gray Davis, spending the final days of the recall campaign surrounded by women and prominent Democrats, suggested Saturday that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger committed a crime of sexual battery and should be investigated by law enforcement.
The governor's comments were a significant escalation of his rhetoric against his chief Republican rival in Tuesday's recall campaign. The allegations about Schwarzenegger's conduct with women, and statements he is reported to have made about Adolf Hitler, provided the Davis campaign with a dose of optimism -- mixed with astonishment at the extraordinary events over the past couple of days.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L.4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 06, 2003
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
By Jill Stewart
Excerpts:
I couldn't have been more shocked to see the lurid stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the things several women allege he uttered or did to them. But it wasn't over the allegations, which I had read much of in a magazine before. I was most shocked at the Los Angeles Times.
Some politicos dub the Thursday before a big election "Dirty Tricks Thursday." That's the best day for an opponent to unload his bag of filth against another candidate, getting maximum headlines, while giving his stunned opponent no time to credibly investigate or respond to the charges.
It creates a Black Friday, where the candidate spends a precious business day right before the election desperately investigating the accusations, before facing a weekend in which reporters only care about further accusations that invariably spill out of the woodwork.
Dirty Tricks Thursday is not used by the media to sink a campaign.
Yet the Times managed to give every appearance of trying to do so. ...
...
If the Times were a tabloid, this would hardly matter. But the newspaper is influential at times, and claims it has high standards. In this case, the paper gave in to its bias against Schwarzenegger:
Here's my proof:
Since at least 1997, the Times has been sitting on information that Gov. Gray Davis is an "office batterer" who has attacked female members of his staff, thrown objects at subservients and launched into red-faced fits, screaming the f-word until staffers cower.
...
Weeks ago, Times editors sent two teams of reporters to dig dirt on Schwarzenegger, one on his admitted use of steroids as a bodybuilder, one on the old charges of groping women from Premiere Magazine.
Who did the editors assign, weeks ago, to investigate Davis' violence against women who work for him?
Nobody.
...
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 70%
October 05, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
October 04, 2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
This is a pretty extensive analysis of the poll in question and the race, but it's over a week old now.
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
September 12, 2003
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
September 15, 2003
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
September 07, 2003
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
Commentary by Bill O'Reilly
August 27, 2003
Excerpt:
The polls show that even many poor people aren't buying the class warfare stuff anymore. We are all in this together. When the power went off, everybody got hosed. And when al Qaeda strikes, it doesn't matter what your tax bracket is.
As with most things in life, we have now been warned. The collapse of California's political system, the blackout, and Sept. 11, 2001, have all been signals sent. We Americans better wise up and start electing people who have a sense of urgency about protecting us and solving problems. For Americans, remaining in the dark is simply not an option anymore.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: R3
Freedom Rating: .03
Learning Percentage: 3%
Repairing California Government
Repairing California Government
By David S. Broder
Wednesday, October 8, 2003; Page A29
Now that the miserable recall experience is over, California can finally get serious about repairing the damaged structure of its government.
...
One would hope that Californians would draw the right conclusion and be less willing to sign the next recall petition. But the reality is that the Progressive-era trio of populist experiments in direct democracy -- initiative, referendum and recall -- remains wildly popular with millions in the state.
That being the case, the next two California elections are likely to feature initiatives proposing serious structural changes in the way the state government operates and the way people gain office in Sacramento.
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
Fineman: Recall Lessons for the President
The important part of this article, for me, was this:
There is a straight line of voter protest running from Ross Perot through John McCain and on to the Internet-based campaigns of Wesley Clark and even Howard Dean. To some extent, all were or are powered by a sense of voter alienation from the centers of authority in government politics—whether those center are in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. The bigger and more remote the government, the more ignored and misunderstood the voters feel.
He left out Jesse Ventura, but the point remains. That point -- that voters are super-willing to embrace the an 'outsider' candidate who has momentum -- is one of the driving factors that inspired me to run for president so long ago.
Recall Lessons for the President
Voter alienation will not stop at voting booths in California
By Howard Fineman
Newsweek
Tuesday 07 October 2003
It would be nice to think that the ending of Election Day here will bring peace to the politics of California, and to the country. It would be nice, but wrong. Don't expect an end to partisan rancor, voter anger and alienation, here or elsewhere. This state's political warfare will resume long before Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger actually takes office. And the same forces that are shaking Sacramento could materialize on the doorstep of the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
There are a lot of reasons. Starting with the winning candidate, here are some:
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 5%
Campaign on wheels
Posted on Fri, Oct. 03, 2003
ARNOLD: "LET'S START THE ENGINES"
BY MARY ANNE OSTROM & LORI ARATANI
Mercury News
SAN DIEGO - Moments after uttering regrets for having behaved like a boor over the years, Arnold Schwarzenegger declared to a crowd of 1,500 cheering, sign-waving supporters in the cavernous San Diego Convention Center that it was time to ``terminate Gray Davis.''
He then lowered his voice an octave, and said: ``Let's start the engines.''
In dramatic fashion, a curtain rose to reveal a large bus plastered with Schwarzenegger's face and the campaign event's slogan, ``California Comeback Express.'' The actor jumped on the bus as it circled the floor in the indoor convention center and the crowd ran to greet him.
...
At times, the rolling circus felt more like a tour promoting a movie than a candidate for governor. The bus carrying Schwarzenegger was named ``The Running Man,'' and featured satellite television and bunk beds. His entourage followed in a bus dubbed ``Total Recall.'' Some 200 reporters and photographers hailing from as far away as India, Japan and his native Austria followed in buses the campaign had dubbed ``Predator'' 1 through 4.
At the Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Schwarzenegger ignored protesters and repeated his campaign promise to repeal increases in the state vehicle-license fee.
``I was 25 years in show business. In the movies, if I play a character and I didn't like something, you know what I did, I destroyed it. I wiped it out, I wiped it out.''
At that instant, a 3,600-pound wrecking ball was dropped 50 feet, crushing an older-model Oldsmobile on which the words ``Davis Car Tax'' had been spray-painted.
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 35%
Recall Arnold
From Brian Flemming:
Recall Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger
October 7, 2003
Dear Scared Californian,
I know. Me too.
This site, created more than a month ago, was at first a semi-joke intended to illustrate California's chaotic future if the right-wing recall succeeded. I guess it's not so funny anymore.
Because this site gets a lot of search-engine hits on "recall Arnold" and the like, I want to make sure this traffic does not go to waste. If you're interested in joining a recall petition effort, please click on the link in the right column and send me your email address and other information.
There are many groups currently being formed to recall Arnold Schwarzenegger. I will send you notifications about these efforts as they develop, so you will know exactly how to get involved. If you give me your specific permission to do so, I will pass your information on to other Recall Governor Schwarzenegger groups.
As a lifelong Californian, I'm as shocked as you are that our state has done such a surreal, horrible thing. Please volunteer to set things right again.
Sincerely,
Brian Flemming
That's followed by a ton of messages of support that people have apparently sent in. I presume there will be future developments there as well.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 0%
It's hard to predict whether the Recall Arnold movement will have legs, politically speaking. We're deep into surreal politics now, so who's to say what might come? From a certain perspective, another recall right away makes all the sense in the world. With Arnold Schwarzenegger being governor-elect, somehow nothing seems politically weird anymore.
California Recall Election results
Updated recall election results from the CA Secretary of State office.
Here are the current results:
Shall GRAY DAVIS be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Votes Percent
Yes 3,763,848 54.2
No 3,184,259 45.8
County Returns
Leading Candidates to succeed GRAY DAVIS as Governor if he is recalled:
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Candidate Party Votes Percent
Arnold Schwarzenegger Rep 3,198,508 47.8
Cruz M. Bustamante Dem 2,181,952 32.6
Tom McClintock Rep 881,744 13.2
Peter Miguel Camejo Grn 188,479 2.9
Arianna Huffington Ind 38,936 0.6
Peter V. Ueberroth Rep 19,592 0.3
Larry Flynt Dem 13,693 0.3
Gary Coleman Ind 11,370 0.2
October 07, 2003
Arnold is no conservative
Arnold is no conservative
by David Freddoso | Oct 5, 2003
Moderates are not the only ones backing Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's gubernatorial recall election. Particularly among politicians, many true conservatives, such as Representatives Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, are taking up the Terminator's standard, as are conservative icons such as Ann Coulter.
In better times, the famous actor's social liberalism might have alone precluded such support. But California's GOP is at an historic nadir. It has drifted downward ever since 1995, when a Jeffords-style defection and clever Democratic legal maneuvering disastrously cost Republicans their hard-won State Assembly majority.
Conservatives have never recovered. Their party is now out of power and out of favor with voters, and they think the Arnold gimmick can save them.
But these "Arnold Conservatives" -- not his moderate or liberal supporters, but those reluctantly backing him as the "electable" Republican candidate -- are wrong. They underestimate the extent of Schwarzenegger's liberalism, which guarantees his leadership will fail California and further harm Republicans if he wins.
...
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R5
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Unplugged
I want to go on record as saying that the closing lines of this article --
I asked Mr. Muscle's PR people to comment on the new Enron memos -- and his strange silence on Bustamante's suit or Davis' petition. But Arnold was too busy shaving off his Hitlerian mustache to respond.
-- are really weak. Really, really weak. Palast could have appeared more mature (and just as journalistically honest) by saying "Arnold has poopie in his pants."
Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected
Friday, October 3, 2003
It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal.
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.
Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. ...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
Davis keeps the heat on Schwarzenegger over women's allegations of groping. 'A lot of these are made-up stories,' the GOP front-runner says.
By Gregg Jones, Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writers
With polls showing the recall race tightening in a last dash to Tuesday's election, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday questioned the truthfulness of Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to sexual misconduct allegations while the Republican tried to shift the focus to his rival's shortcomings as a leader.
Davis challenged the GOP candidate to respond in detail to accusations by women that he groped or humiliated them. Schwarzenegger, dogged by the allegations for the fourth day, sought to lay them to rest in two nationally televised interviews.
"A lot of these are made-up stories," Schwarzenegger told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in a campaign-bus interview on "Dateline NBC." "I never grabbed anyone and then pulled up their shirt and grabbed their breasts, and stuff like that. This is not me. So there's a lot of this stuff going on.... "
"So you deny all those stories about grabbing?" Brokaw asked.
"Not at all," said Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women. "I'm just saying this is not — this is not me."
...
TruhOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 15%
Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Calif.'s Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Sun October 5, 2003 08:14 PM ET
By Gina Keating and Adam Tanner
SAN JOSE/SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Buoyed by fresh reports of sexual misconduct by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger and a poll showing more erosion in efforts to recall him, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday renewed his attacks on the actor turned politician, who in turn rallied thousands to the capital.
Davis charged into the final stage of the wild recall battle demanding Schwarzenegger, his chief rival for the state's top job in Tuesday's recall election, explain in detail what was behind the sexual harassment charges he now faces.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Support strong to recall Davis
Support strong to recall Davis
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 06, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The latest polls show that several days of reporting on accusations of sexual harassment against Arnold Schwarzenegger have dented only slightly support for recalling Gov. Gray Davis in the vote tomorrow.
The Austrian-born actor's campaign tour of California came to a roaring conclusion at the state Capitol yesterday in front of 10,000 people buoyed by the poll figures and a live performance by 1980s rock star Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.
A poll released by the San Jose Mercury News yesterday showed that 54 percent of likely voters support the recall, and 41 percent are opposed. Mr. Schwarzenegger led the 135 replacement candidates with 36 percent, compared with 29 percent for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall, Jack Leonard and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
Four more women have come forward to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger fondled, spanked or touched them in incidents they said took place as recently as 2000 and as long ago as 1979.
In all, 15 women have now accused the Republican candidate for governor of grabbing or groping them. On the campaign trail Saturday, Schwarzenegger denounced as a "puke campaign" news reports that he has behaved abusively toward women.
The women who agreed Saturday to tell their stories publicly are:
A 51-year-old woman who said Schwarzenegger pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him at a West Los Angeles post-production studio in 2000.
Tamee Smith, 46, who said Schwarzenegger followed her into a bathroom on a studio lot and grabbed her breast during work on the movie "Predator" in 1986.
Jan Prinzmetal, 50, who said Schwarzenegger reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks outside a Venice gym in the mid-1980s.
Elizabeth Rothner, 45, who said Schwarzenegger lifted her sweatshirt at a popular Santa Monica bar in 1979, exposing her bare breasts before a crowd.
The Times provided details of each of the new allegations to Schwarzenegger's campaign Saturday. The candidate's spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Schwarzenegger had said that the accounts of three of the women were untrue. Walsh said Schwarzenegger had no recollection of the alleged Venice gym incident.
...
TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
Fight to the finish before historic vote
Fight to the finish before historic vote / Davis wants criminal investigation
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Fresno -- Gov. Gray Davis, spending the final days of the recall campaign surrounded by women and prominent Democrats, suggested Saturday that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger committed a crime of sexual battery and should be investigated by law enforcement.
The governor's comments were a significant escalation of his rhetoric against his chief Republican rival in Tuesday's recall campaign. The allegations about Schwarzenegger's conduct with women, and statements he is reported to have made about Adolf Hitler, provided the Davis campaign with a dose of optimism -- mixed with astonishment at the extraordinary events over the past couple of days.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L.4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 06, 2003
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
By Jill Stewart
Excerpts:
I couldn't have been more shocked to see the lurid stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the things several women allege he uttered or did to them. But it wasn't over the allegations, which I had read much of in a magazine before. I was most shocked at the Los Angeles Times.
Some politicos dub the Thursday before a big election "Dirty Tricks Thursday." That's the best day for an opponent to unload his bag of filth against another candidate, getting maximum headlines, while giving his stunned opponent no time to credibly investigate or respond to the charges.
It creates a Black Friday, where the candidate spends a precious business day right before the election desperately investigating the accusations, before facing a weekend in which reporters only care about further accusations that invariably spill out of the woodwork.
Dirty Tricks Thursday is not used by the media to sink a campaign.
Yet the Times managed to give every appearance of trying to do so. ...
...
If the Times were a tabloid, this would hardly matter. But the newspaper is influential at times, and claims it has high standards. In this case, the paper gave in to its bias against Schwarzenegger:
Here's my proof:
Since at least 1997, the Times has been sitting on information that Gov. Gray Davis is an "office batterer" who has attacked female members of his staff, thrown objects at subservients and launched into red-faced fits, screaming the f-word until staffers cower.
...
Weeks ago, Times editors sent two teams of reporters to dig dirt on Schwarzenegger, one on his admitted use of steroids as a bodybuilder, one on the old charges of groping women from Premiere Magazine.
Who did the editors assign, weeks ago, to investigate Davis' violence against women who work for him?
Nobody.
...
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 70%
October 05, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
October 04, 2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
This is a pretty extensive analysis of the poll in question and the race, but it's over a week old now.
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
September 12, 2003
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
September 15, 2003
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
September 07, 2003
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Arnold is no conservative
Arnold is no conservative
by David Freddoso | Oct 5, 2003
Moderates are not the only ones backing Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's gubernatorial recall election. Particularly among politicians, many true conservatives, such as Representatives Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, are taking up the Terminator's standard, as are conservative icons such as Ann Coulter.
In better times, the famous actor's social liberalism might have alone precluded such support. But California's GOP is at an historic nadir. It has drifted downward ever since 1995, when a Jeffords-style defection and clever Democratic legal maneuvering disastrously cost Republicans their hard-won State Assembly majority.
Conservatives have never recovered. Their party is now out of power and out of favor with voters, and they think the Arnold gimmick can save them.
But these "Arnold Conservatives" -- not his moderate or liberal supporters, but those reluctantly backing him as the "electable" Republican candidate -- are wrong. They underestimate the extent of Schwarzenegger's liberalism, which guarantees his leadership will fail California and further harm Republicans if he wins.
...
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R5
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Unplugged
I want to go on record as saying that the closing lines of this article --
I asked Mr. Muscle's PR people to comment on the new Enron memos -- and his strange silence on Bustamante's suit or Davis' petition. But Arnold was too busy shaving off his Hitlerian mustache to respond.
-- are really weak. Really, really weak. Palast could have appeared more mature (and just as journalistically honest) by saying "Arnold has poopie in his pants."
Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected
Friday, October 3, 2003
It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal.
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.
Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. ...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
Davis keeps the heat on Schwarzenegger over women's allegations of groping. 'A lot of these are made-up stories,' the GOP front-runner says.
By Gregg Jones, Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writers
With polls showing the recall race tightening in a last dash to Tuesday's election, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday questioned the truthfulness of Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to sexual misconduct allegations while the Republican tried to shift the focus to his rival's shortcomings as a leader.
Davis challenged the GOP candidate to respond in detail to accusations by women that he groped or humiliated them. Schwarzenegger, dogged by the allegations for the fourth day, sought to lay them to rest in two nationally televised interviews.
"A lot of these are made-up stories," Schwarzenegger told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in a campaign-bus interview on "Dateline NBC." "I never grabbed anyone and then pulled up their shirt and grabbed their breasts, and stuff like that. This is not me. So there's a lot of this stuff going on.... "
"So you deny all those stories about grabbing?" Brokaw asked.
"Not at all," said Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women. "I'm just saying this is not — this is not me."
...
TruhOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 15%
Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Calif.'s Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Sun October 5, 2003 08:14 PM ET
By Gina Keating and Adam Tanner
SAN JOSE/SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Buoyed by fresh reports of sexual misconduct by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger and a poll showing more erosion in efforts to recall him, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday renewed his attacks on the actor turned politician, who in turn rallied thousands to the capital.
Davis charged into the final stage of the wild recall battle demanding Schwarzenegger, his chief rival for the state's top job in Tuesday's recall election, explain in detail what was behind the sexual harassment charges he now faces.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Support strong to recall Davis
Support strong to recall Davis
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 06, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The latest polls show that several days of reporting on accusations of sexual harassment against Arnold Schwarzenegger have dented only slightly support for recalling Gov. Gray Davis in the vote tomorrow.
The Austrian-born actor's campaign tour of California came to a roaring conclusion at the state Capitol yesterday in front of 10,000 people buoyed by the poll figures and a live performance by 1980s rock star Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.
A poll released by the San Jose Mercury News yesterday showed that 54 percent of likely voters support the recall, and 41 percent are opposed. Mr. Schwarzenegger led the 135 replacement candidates with 36 percent, compared with 29 percent for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall, Jack Leonard and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
Four more women have come forward to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger fondled, spanked or touched them in incidents they said took place as recently as 2000 and as long ago as 1979.
In all, 15 women have now accused the Republican candidate for governor of grabbing or groping them. On the campaign trail Saturday, Schwarzenegger denounced as a "puke campaign" news reports that he has behaved abusively toward women.
The women who agreed Saturday to tell their stories publicly are:
A 51-year-old woman who said Schwarzenegger pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him at a West Los Angeles post-production studio in 2000.
Tamee Smith, 46, who said Schwarzenegger followed her into a bathroom on a studio lot and grabbed her breast during work on the movie "Predator" in 1986.
Jan Prinzmetal, 50, who said Schwarzenegger reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks outside a Venice gym in the mid-1980s.
Elizabeth Rothner, 45, who said Schwarzenegger lifted her sweatshirt at a popular Santa Monica bar in 1979, exposing her bare breasts before a crowd.
The Times provided details of each of the new allegations to Schwarzenegger's campaign Saturday. The candidate's spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Schwarzenegger had said that the accounts of three of the women were untrue. Walsh said Schwarzenegger had no recollection of the alleged Venice gym incident.
...
TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
Fight to the finish before historic vote
Fight to the finish before historic vote / Davis wants criminal investigation
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Fresno -- Gov. Gray Davis, spending the final days of the recall campaign surrounded by women and prominent Democrats, suggested Saturday that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger committed a crime of sexual battery and should be investigated by law enforcement.
The governor's comments were a significant escalation of his rhetoric against his chief Republican rival in Tuesday's recall campaign. The allegations about Schwarzenegger's conduct with women, and statements he is reported to have made about Adolf Hitler, provided the Davis campaign with a dose of optimism -- mixed with astonishment at the extraordinary events over the past couple of days.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L.4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 25%
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
By Jill Stewart
Excerpts:
I couldn't have been more shocked to see the lurid stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the things several women allege he uttered or did to them. But it wasn't over the allegations, which I had read much of in a magazine before. I was most shocked at the Los Angeles Times.
Some politicos dub the Thursday before a big election "Dirty Tricks Thursday." That's the best day for an opponent to unload his bag of filth against another candidate, getting maximum headlines, while giving his stunned opponent no time to credibly investigate or respond to the charges.
It creates a Black Friday, where the candidate spends a precious business day right before the election desperately investigating the accusations, before facing a weekend in which reporters only care about further accusations that invariably spill out of the woodwork.
Dirty Tricks Thursday is not used by the media to sink a campaign.
Yet the Times managed to give every appearance of trying to do so. ...
...
If the Times were a tabloid, this would hardly matter. But the newspaper is influential at times, and claims it has high standards. In this case, the paper gave in to its bias against Schwarzenegger:
Here's my proof:
Since at least 1997, the Times has been sitting on information that Gov. Gray Davis is an "office batterer" who has attacked female members of his staff, thrown objects at subservients and launched into red-faced fits, screaming the f-word until staffers cower.
...
Weeks ago, Times editors sent two teams of reporters to dig dirt on Schwarzenegger, one on his admitted use of steroids as a bodybuilder, one on the old charges of groping women from Premiere Magazine.
Who did the editors assign, weeks ago, to investigate Davis' violence against women who work for him?
Nobody.
...
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 70%
October 05, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
October 04, 2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
This is a pretty extensive analysis of the poll in question and the race, but it's over a week old now.
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
September 12, 2003
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
September 15, 2003
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
September 07, 2003
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
This is a pretty extensive analysis of the poll in question and the race, but it's over a week old now.
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
September 12, 2003
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
September 15, 2003
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
September 07, 2003
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
This is a pretty extensive analysis of the poll in question and the race, but it's over a week old now.
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
September 12, 2003
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
September 15, 2003
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
September 07, 2003
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
This is a pretty extensive analysis of the poll in question and the race, but it's over a week old now.
Recall a Tossup as Successor Race Tightens
September 12, 2003
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
September 15, 2003
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
September 07, 2003
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
FOXNews.com - Appeals Court Postpones Oct. 7 Recall Vote
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaving room for the nation's highest court to reverse its decision, a federal appeals court in California blocked the state's gubernatorial recall election scheduled for Oct. 7 and then put an immediate stay on its decision.
Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the vote can't proceed as scheduled - because some of the votes would be cast using outdated punch-card ballot machines. Monday's decision reversed a lower court's earlier decision not to postpone the recall.
"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court said.
• Raw Data: Read the Ruling (pdf)
The decision doesn't mean, however, that the recall can't go forward, but it may not happen on Oct. 7, as originally planned. It's possible that the nation's largest and most liberal federal appeals court might move the election to the next regularly scheduled primary on March 2.
The court stayed implementing its decision for a week to allow time for appeals to the Supreme Court on the recall, California's first voter-driven election to unseat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 50%
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
The real reason Gray Davis should be recalled
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Buddy has not seen his mother in over a year. His mother misses him desperately. She is no longer quite sure what he looks like. A child changes so much at eight. She thought about him while she was locked in jail, held on half a million dollars bail. This is the second time Buddy has been kidnapped by the authorities responsible for keeping victims of violence safe.
KT Delettre, Buddy's mother is the survivor of domestic violence. Her abuser, Loren Oliver, tried to abort her son when she was eight months pregnant, battering her pregnant abdomen. He told her he would kill her, if he could get away with it.
What he did not accomplish then he is trying to do using the courts. KT nearly died in prison. Unable to raise the half million dollars her weight dropped to 82 pounds as she was slowly starved nearly to death.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
California conservatives: spoilers in the recall?
Wearing star-studded GOP elephant brooches and red, white, and blue neckties, they huddle around a polyurethane picnic table on the town green. With the gazebo draped for a campaign talk by their chosen candidate for governor - Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock - a group of inland, rural voters chats about the long decline of America's largest state and the man they say will fix it.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
"Smokers' Candidate" Promotes His Cig Stores While Embarrassing the Party
This is another article about Ned Roscoe, the candidate for governor with the fatally foolish campaign angle. Good for his business maybe, but at a cost to the California LP, IMO. It's an embarassment that the LPC leadership endorsed him.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate visits Y-S
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -.5
Learning Percentage: 1%
Cig tycoon woos votes
Read It Rating: 1
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 0%
Recall Gubernatorial Candidates on Marijuana Law Reform
Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform
Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal Use
September 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USA
Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform.
...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L2.5
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 35%
August 31, 2003
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 26, 2003
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
California's reasonable recall
Boston Globe / Op-ed / California's reasonable recall
By Jeff Jacoby, 8/24/2003
Excerpts:
Whether all these add up to a compelling case to recall him is a serious question for serious voters, and the campaign deserves more serious coverage than it has gotten. Yes, there are some ludicrous publicity hounds on the ballot, and yes, there is a decidedly only-in-California aura to the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that doesn't detract from the gravity of California's condition or the legitimacy of the recall as a vehicle for repairing it. One of the world's largest and most important political entities is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It is irresponsible and cynical for the press to be treating it as a circus.
The pundits' dyspeptic disapproval of California's recall procedure is meritless. Why should Californians be condemned for making use of a provision that has been in their constitution since 1911? They have not exactly been promiscuous with it: This will be the first statewide recall election in California history. ...
For all the talk of "democracy run amok," voters in states that have the recall use their power sparingly. Like the ability to pass or repeal laws via the ballot box -- initiative and referendum -- the recall is a restraint on the power of arrogant politicians and entrenched special interests. In a government based on checks and balances and the sovereignty of the people, it is prudent to have a constitutional tool for removing officeholders who are so abusive or incompetent that it would be unwise to leave them in power until the next election.
A train wreck? A coup? Far from it. California's recall campaign is simply an exercise in democratic accountability. Whatever the outcome on Oct. 7, the cause of self-government will advance.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R.5
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 15%
California can't be won without a winning mantra
I like this suggested mantra: "A true leader is someone who knows where his followers are going."
California can't be won without a winning mantra
Excerpt:
Here is my advice to the other 134 hopefuls who are trying to overtake him: A message is good, but a mantra is better. Find a phrase that resonates with voters and stick with it.
This can be tricky, especially for office seekers who have little or no experience in public speaking, or writing declarative sentences. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting stumped on the stump. So I have compiled a list of sample slogans that are inspiring, noncommittal, and somewhat confusing. In other words, they should help any political novice step up to the podium and sound like a pro:
• "Standing still means we are not moving forward."
• "Progress is a transformative undertaking."
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 40%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Jack Hickey
Voter Information for John J. "Jack" Hickey. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 25%
California Recall SmartVoter Profile: Ned Roscoe
Voter Information for Ned Roscoe. October 7, 2003 Election
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 2%
August 24, 2003
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
August 22, 2003
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Arnold's Bad Business
Arnold's Bad Business
Is his campaign the new Planet Hollywood?
By Daniel Gross
The most celebrated business venture of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was his involvement in Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood, you may have forgotten, was the gaudiest avatar of the '90s idiotic theme-restaurant trend, which also spawned the Rainforest Café, the Official All-Star Café, and, most absurdly, the Fashion Café. ("What's on the menu," David Letterman asked. "A stick of gum?") Founded in 1991 by producer Keith Barish (The Fugitive, Sophie's Choice, The Running Man) and restaurant impresario Robert Earl (Hard Rock Café), the profitable Planet Hollywood chain had 34 units when it went splashily public in 1996.
It turns out there's a lot of similarity between the business plan of Planet Hollywood and the business plan of Arnold's gubernatorial campaign.
...
Republicans must hope Schwarzenegger's campaign is more durable than Planet Hollywood. The company raised $196 million in its IPO and plowed the proceeds into expansion. But its celebrity cachet dissipated once outlets opened in London's Gatwick Airport and Edmonton, Alberta. In October 1999 the chain, which peaked at 95 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11. Schwarzenegger severed his ties with the company in 2000. Planet Hollywood exited bankruptcy in 2000 but then earned membership in the Chapter 22 club by going bust again.
So far, the recall campaign has been very much like a meal at Planet Hollywood. There's plenty of ruckus and shouting and fake smiles. A lot of celebrities are hanging around—for no apparent reason. The fare is insipid. And when the experience is over and the bill comes, nausea may follow.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 65%
Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Conan the Deceiver
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Friday 22 August 2003
The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids - Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
Reporters were trying to press Mr. Schwarzenegger for the specifics so obviously missing from his budget plans. But while he hasn't said much about what he proposes to do, the candidate has nonetheless already managed to say a number of things that his advisers must know are true lies.
...
...the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.
But the candidate says that specifics don't matter, that the public just wants someone "tough enough." Does he really think that voters will confuse him with the characters he plays?
So here's the question: Can a celebrity candidate muscle his way into public office without ever being held accountable for his statements?
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 21, 2003
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
August 18, 2003
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Contra Costa Times | 08/21/2003 | Recall candidate withdraws as past murder charges rise
Excerpt (emphasis and wisecrack added):
Scott Winfield Davis, a Palo Alto resident running for governor, announced late Tuesday that he was pulling out of the race, just hours after he talked about his campaign and his past with the San Jose Mercury News.
Davis was charged with murder in Atlanta seven years ago, accused of killing his estranged wife's lover and setting his home and Porsche afire. Although the charges were dropped for lack of evidence, the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney told the Mercury News he still considers Davis "the top suspect."
Not long after the district attorney's statement, Davis announced he was no longer a candidate, citing personal reasons, business commitments and the overwhelming number of candidates.
(Probably a little more the first thing than the second two, I'm thinking.)
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 98%
Arianna's Recall Entrance Speech
Arianna Huffington Announces Her Candidacy for Governor of California
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2003
Today I am announcing that I am running for Governor of the great state of California.
Those are 16 words I never imagined I would hear myself say. And they are in no way based on the findings of British intelligence.
I am not -- to say the least -- a conventional candidate. But these are not conventional times. And we will never find a way out of the mess we are in if we continue to elect the same politicians -- backed by the same special interests -- that got us into it.
I have spent a large part of my life writing and speaking out on the need for each of us to become personally involved with our community -- to devote time and attention to building a more just and more compassionate society.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L6
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
August 17, 2003
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)
Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself.
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
FROM:
The Honorable Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
California's Hot Ticket
This is a pretty good tongue-in-cheek look at the recall playing field.
California's Hot Ticket (washingtonpost.com)
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2003; Page C01
BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 6
The special effect known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has just told Jay Leno (which is the same as telling America, nowadays) that he's decided to accept the starring role in yet another way over budget movie with "Recall" in the title, rocketing into the race to become governor of California in the statewide vote to decide the fate of current Gov. Gray Davis.
"When I moved to California in 1968 it was the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," the actor said, during the taping of the "Tonight" show at NBC Studios here. "Now it is totally the opposite. The atmosphere is disastrous. There is total disconnect of the people in California. [They] are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, and politicians are not doing their jobs. They're fiddling, fumbling and failing. . . .
"And this is why I'm going to run for governor of the state of California."
At which point, the studio audience screamed and their heads exploded, spattering blood everywhere. (Okay, okay. Maybe they'll add that part, with CGI, in the movie version.)
Greetings from schizzy California, where the Leno show now functions as a public forum, a royal veranda, the conduit by which the famously political can officially speak to loyal subjects about nearly issueless panic politics and (by some weird extension of the sunshine and celebrity vibe) speak to that small piece of California in the rest of the national psyche.
...
The recall is frequently compared to some neat, new, vaguely obnoxious summertime reality show, only this time it stars everybody, all 35 million or so Californians, and it's not as tightly edited.
There are characters you dislike. (The namby-pamby governor. The conniving car-alarm magnate. The poliguru pundit. The former mayor.) There are characters you root for, sometimes just because you like the flukiness of their ambition. (The pornographer. The Terminator. The punk rocker. The bounty hunter. The former Republican congressman who is known mostly for coming out of the closet late in life.) There are characters who are going to get voted off so fast. Mostly there are just lots and lots of characters.
Saturday is the deadline for gubernatorial wannabes to file as candidates. Although several hundred people had picked up paperwork and said they intended to run, it's still not clear how many will actually make deadline and get on the ballot. Some people actually sense giddiness at a safe distance; they want to see as many candidates as possible, a ballot that rambles on into chaos.
It's all endlessly watchable and so very, embarrassingly California.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 20%
LA Times: Recall is a Circus Without Solutions
Los Angeles Times
Friday 08 August 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in declining Wednesday to run for governor, lamented that the Oct. 7 recall election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day." And that was before actor Arnold Schwarzenegger ended his slow striptease of refusal, announcing during a late-night entertainment show that he will run for governor after all. The Terminator promised, "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house." Then, anticlimactically, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante shattered the fragile Democratic unity, offering himself as a candidate to replace a governor he served but never liked.
Carnival? Circus? How about action comics? WHAP! BAM! BIFF! POW! TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!
Democrat John Garamendi, the state insurance commissioner and a frequent candidate, was in, and Rep. Darryl Issa, who bankrolled the recall petition campaign, was out. The California Supreme Court rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the recall and seeking to delay it. Several cases remain before the federal courts, but each decision moves the election closer to reality.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: L.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 8%
The mystery men behind the recall
This has a lot of "dirt" about the characters behind the recall scenes. FWIW.
California Confidential
Who are the mystery men behind the recall push?
By Max Blumenthal
Web Exclusive: 8.13.03
"It's a victory. A total victory!" Howard Kaloogian exclaimed on the right-wing Worldmag.com after hearing that the petition to recall the election of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis had gained enough signatures to qualify as a ballot question. Kaloogian, a former Republican California legislator, had plenty of reason to cheer. Because while the media have presented Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the wealthy car-alarm magnate, as the man who drove the recall, he's actually been little more than a useful idiot for a stealthy group of GOP operatives who laid the groundwork. Months before the recall was even a blip on the media radar, this consultant cabal began manipulating California's idiosyncratic electoral system, creating a muscular funding mechanism and exploiting it for its members' own ends.
The cabal includes Kaloogian, who was a right-wing backbencher in the state Assembly, Sal Russo, who handled banker Bill Simon's hapless 2002 gubernatorial campaign, and David Gilliard, a veteran GOP strategist with a career steeped in scandal. They're joined by former Enron pollster and Republican tactician Frank Luntz, who devised a strategy for the recall campaign centering around negative character attacks and avoidance of policy discussion. With the surprise announcement of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who boasted on The Tonight Show Aug. 6, "I have plenty of money. Nobody can buy me off." -- the movie star's high-priced uber-consultants George Gorton and Don Sipple have grabbed the baton in the recall race, eager to take it the last mile to the state capitol. Thanks to this handful of men and the millionaires who bankrolled them, what started with a petition and a few phone calls has become an election that may unseat a twice-elected governor and dramatically affect the lives of one in seven Americans.
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: L3.5
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Recall Supporters Attacked by Davis Supporters
(received via e-mail)Recall Supporters Violently Attacked
by Gray Davis Thugs
Women and Children Among Those Victimized
|
Above: Recall Gray Davis Committee supporter, Shawn Cubbage – wearing a baseball cap – is attacked by union thugs wearing dark “NO ON RECALL” t-shirts paid for by the State Building & Construction Trades Council. Another Recall Gray Davis supporter, Donald Lacomb, is immediately behind Cubbage and had attempted to help protect Mr. Cubbage but was then assaulted himself. |
UPDATE TO ALL
RECALL GRAY DAVIS
SUPPORTERS
| FROM: | The Honorable Howard Kaloogian Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee www.RecallGrayDavis.com |
Several Recall Gray Davis Supporters
Kicked, Beaten, Punched, Tackled to the Ground as They Protested Taxpayer Funding of
Anti-Recall Workshops.
Recall Gray Davis supporters and volunteers were violently attacked by thugs supporting Governor Gray Davis on Saturday and have filed a criminal complaint. Our top-notch legal team is also exploring possible civil action.
On Saturday, several peaceful Recall Gray Davis protestors were brutally beaten, kicked, punched and tackled to the ground by union workers who were attending a taxpayer-funded workshop, WAR - “Workers Against the Recall.”
The violent “WAR” union workshop attendees rushed across J Street in downtown Sacramento – through traffic! – in several waves and attacked the pro-recall protestors.
A 20-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy were among those who were terrorized.
One of four incidents where recall supporters were physically beaten was caught on video by Fox News Channel and the Recall Gray Davis Committee has uploaded a clip of this footage to our website. For video and photographs of part of the attack please CLICK HERE.
PLEASE – I need your help.
As the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee, I am sickened by the sights and sounds of my staff and recall supporters and volunteers being beaten by thugs.
Several of our people were victimized in four attacks – one of which is captured in the Fox News Channel video and photographs shown at this special page on our website.
We cannot tolerate this behavior from the thugs who Gray Davis and his political team have hired to fight the recall effort. Make no mistake – Davis and his hired guns are determined to frighten and intimidate the people of California from supporting this recall.
When they tell you that the recall is a “circus atmosphere” or “risky” they are trying to strike fear into your soul.
And now we see they are going even further by trying to scare people from actively and publicly working on behalf of the recall campaign through the use of violence.
We must not let them defeat us with fear.
I need you to call your local talk radio stations and voice your outrage over this revolting incident. I need you to send the pictures and video file to reporters at major newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
DEMAND THAT THEY SHOW CALIFORNIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE GRAY DAVIS.
If you can also continue to help fund our legal defense fund I would greatly appreciate it. So many of you sent in generous contributions to assist in our legal efforts to date. I never thought that I would have to raise money for the medical bills for recall supporters and legal bills to fight those who had attacked my dedicated and hard-working staff.
If I have to, I will pay these expenses out of my own pocket – my staff and our volunteers have become an extended family of mine who have made history thanks to their tireless efforts, determination, honesty, integrity and perseverance. I will not allow anyone to harm members of this great family without also going through me.
As you will recall, the reason we had organized our peaceful protest against these “WAR” workshops – on the OPPOSITE side of the street from where the workshops were being held – is because they used taxpayer funds to assist in the leadership and planning of the workshops.
The University of California Institute for Labor & Employment received $4,000,000 in taxpayer money from this year’s budget and was listed as one of the lead organizers of these workshops.
We were outraged and wanted to show the media and the people of California that we would not allow Gray Davis to get away with this unnoticed.
Apparently they decided to beat my staff, supporters and volunteers into silence.
But we cannot be silent, my friends.
The end is near for Gray Davis’ corrupt and failed administration and we must move forward undaunted – committed in our goal of restoring the California Dream for our families.
Please – make sure that every Californian hears the truth about what happened on this violent Saturday morning. We must not let those who endured the pain and physical punishment for standing up for their beliefs to have suffered in vain.
Sincerely,
Howard Kaloogian
Chairman, Recall Gray Davis Committee
www.RecallGrayDavis.com
Grisham: Mr. California
This is another perma-copy story from Jack Grisham's campaign website.
(Jack Grisham was (and is again) the front man of punk band TSOL.)
It's just a portion of this original article. (I haven't read that whole article, but I might.)
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 65%
Rocker throws his hat into the recall ring
This is actually a scanned-in copy of a LA Times article, from the media section of Jack Grisham's website.
Rocker throws his hat into the recall ring
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 80%
TV Debate in Calif. Recall Will Be for the Chosen Few
There's more to this article than just the debate...it talks about developments in a few of the campaigns, including a significant speed bump for the Arianna campaign.
TV Debate in Calif. Recall Will Be for the Chosen Few
By William Booth
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 15, 2003; Page A06
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 -- The top-polling candidates in the California recall election will be invited to a single debate hosted by the state's broadcasters next month, giving voters here perhaps their only chance to see the field vying to replace Gov. Gray Davis (D) mix it up together on live television.
Alas, it will be no free-for-all among the 135 candidates who have won a place on the unprecedented ballot. To be invited to the Sept. 17 face-off, the candidates must demonstrate at least 10 percent support in any of three major polls to be taken before the 90-minute moderated round table discussion at the California State University in Sacramento.
The debate will most likely have six or so candidates -- but no Davis. He will not be invited; instead he will be offered a chance to tape a message to be aired separately.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 65%
SCHEER: Reject the Recall, California
By Robert Scheer
August 12, 2003
Excerpts:
"Take him, he's yours."
That was my initial response to the California recall, aimed at a conservative Democratic governor who often has betrayed the state's large progressive base of voters – the same folks who held their noses to elect and then reelect him.
But now I don't buy it. However you feel about Gray Davis, the fact is, this recall has become a shell game, led and paid for by Republicans...
...
If you think politics is all a joke anyway, then vote for whichever opportunist makes you laugh the most. But if you think that meaningful representative democracy requires the scrutiny of the serious primary and election process that Davis has twice weathered, then for a small "d" democrat, a "no" vote on the recall is an obligation.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
Arnold adds former statesman George Shultz to campaign team
Yahoo! News - Schwarzenegger adds former statesman George Shultz to campaign team
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger further beefed up his bid to become governor of California by adding former US statesman George Shultz to his campaign team.
The move came a day after billionaire businessman Warren Buffett joined the "Terminator" star's lineup as his chief economic and financial adviser ahead of an October 7 vote on Governor Gray Davis' fate.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -1.5
Learning Percentage: 25%
August 14, 2003
Calif. Supreme Court Dismisses All Recall Suits
Calif. Supreme Court Dismisses All Recall Suits
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's Supreme Court dismissed all five cases on Thursday that challenge various aspects of the unprecedented Oct. 7 recall ballot against Gov. Gray Davis, including one brought by Davis himself.
Read It Rating: 3
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
August 13, 2003
135 qualify for recall ballot / Politicians campaign in S.F.
Pack of politicians campaign in S.F. / 135 qualify for recall ballot
Sacramento -- State officials announced late Wednesday that California's unprecedented recall election will have 135 candidates to replace Gov. Gray Davis on the Oct. 7 ballot.
Many of the people-who-would-be-governor didn't wait for Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to officially announce who would be on the bulging ballot before getting out and campaigning. Davis, GOP businessman Bill Simon and columnist and commentator Arianna Huffington were in the Bay Area to shake hands and search for votes Wednesday, while Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed in the news by adding one of the world's richest men and $1 million to his campaign.
State election officials whittled the list to 135 certified candidates from more than 240 people who had applied to run for governor.
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ??
Learning Percentage: 35%
Schwarzenegger hires Warren Buffett as campaign adviser
Schwarzenegger hires Warren Buffett as recall campaign adviser
(08-13) 13:15 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Warren Buffett will serve as senior financial and economic adviser in actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid to replace Gray Davis if the governor loses the recall vote, the Republican actor's campaign announced Wednesday.
Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is a billionaire investor legendary for his financial prowess. He is also a Democrat.
"What he will be doing is assembling other prominent business leaders and economists and setting up a team to address the issues facing California," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 70%
SF Party Chairs on the recall
SFpolitics.com asks the question:
Given the standards and threshold requirements, is a recall an inclusive and proper means to elect a Governor?
The heads of the four main parties in San Francisco -- Libertarian, Green, Republican, and Democratic -- answer.
Read It Rating: 2.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 9%
August 12, 2003
Preliminary list of candidates for California recall election
Preliminary list of candidates for California recall election
The Associated Press Saturday, August 9, 2003
Preliminary list of candidates to appear on the Oct. 7 recall ballot and the county where they filed. In some cases, the signatures they turned in to qualify still must be verified. The secretary of state's office late Saturday reported that 155 candidates had turned in candidacy papers, but it did not have a complete list of the names. The following list contains 134 candidates. The office said it will try to make a complete list available on Sunday and will certify a final list Wednesday.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 3
Learning Percentage: 10%
August 11, 2003
Tongue-tied Arnie Takes Hits From Left and Right
Tongue-tied Arnie Takes Hits From Left and Right
Guardian Newspapers Limited
Sunday 10 August 2003
Hasta la vista to the political honeymoon. Four days after after his gubernatorial campaign in California opened to better reviews than any of his films ever did, Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday came face to face with political reality when he was attacked from the left for being too naive and from the right for being too liberal.
The 56-year-old actor embarked on a quick-fire round of TV interviews aimed at capitalising on his already stratospheric ratings in the campaign to take the most powerful office in the nation's biggest state - Governor of California.
But instead of momentum the appearances produced a succession of awkward moments as he was asked to explain his political views.
Pressed on a range of issue that are certain to feature prominently in the run-up to the vote on 7 October - gay marriage, health services, the fiscal crisis facing California - Schwarzenegger was forced to deny a policy statement attributed to his staff or revert to the time-honoured formula of the candidate under pressure: 'I don't want to go into that right now.'
...
...a spokesman for the Democratic Party, who urged the media to scrutinise Schwarzenegger's political record more closely.
The media took his advice and within a couple of hours turned up the embarrassing allegation that the actor had voted in only two of the last eight statewide elections.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 55%
August 05, 2003
Flynt: 'Vote for a Smut-Peddler Who Cares'
CNN.com - Larry Flynt announces run for California governor - Aug. 4, 2003
August 03, 2003
Larry Flynt may run in recall
Hustler Publisher Files in Calif. Recall (washingtonpost.com)
Excerpts:
The Hustler magazine publisher has filed initial paperwork to run in the gubernatorial recall election and says he may spend a large amount of his own money if people take his candidacy seriously.
...
"California is the most progressive state in the union," said Flynt, 61. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor."
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 30%
Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
CA Senator Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
Excerpt:
The home my parents bought for $35,000—if it were new—should be selling today for $180,000 with inflation. But the homes in that neighborhood—now 40 years older—now cost more than twice that.
My parents wouldn't have been able to even think of affording that house today. They wouldn't have been able to find work, either. We lost more than 200,000 jobs last year. And if they had found the work, they couldn't have gotten there—Downtown Los Angeles is now TWO HOURS from Thousand Oaks in rush hour.
They couldn't have afforded their taxes either. That year, the state spent a little over 6-dollars from every hundred that people earned. Today, Davis is spending a record of nearly 10-dollars out of every hundred you earn.
If my family—and every family like ours—came looking for a better future for their kids today—they wouldn't find it in California.
Those families today look at our state, with its bountiful resources; with the most equitable climate on the entire continent; with every blessing that God could possibly bestow upon a land—and they're finding a better place to live and work and raise their families out in the desolation of the Arizona and Nevada deserts.
No conceivable act of God could ever wreak such devastation upon our state. Only government could do that. And it has.
And the good news of this election is—WE CAN CHANGE THAT. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the chance to make our state over again.
Read It Rating: 6.12
Left/Right Rating: R6
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 50%
August 02, 2003
Lake County Supervisor Considers recall run
Lewis considers a run for governor
By Margaret Gan-Garrison - Record-Bee staff
Sat Aug 2 03:00:13 2003--
LAKE COUNTY - District 3 Supervisor Gary Lewis is thinking about running for governor.
"I collected a set of the papers yesterday and I'm looking for signatures," said Lewis, adding that 180 people have taken papers for the race.
He said he will be working hard next week to seek support. "I am going to start beating the bushes," Lewis said.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 70%
Michael Huffington considers recall run
"Former Republican United States Congressman Michael Huffington today obtained nomination papers to run for Governor of California from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. He paid the $3,500 filing fee and has until August 9th to complete the paperwork and return the documents to the County. After much encouragement by friends and supporters to consider seeking the office of Governor, he made the decision to consider his candidacy now that an election date has been set.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
July 31, 2003
But, I don't waaant a recall! Waaaa!
This is a two-fer page from TruthOut, with Bill Maher whining and the LA Times bemoaning -- both of them unhappy about the upcoming California recall election.
I'm already tired of hearing people complain about and assail this recall election. Hopefully there will be a big wave of getting over it soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
I wonder how many of these recall naysayers were big anti-recall people before this one came up. I don't remember there being a lot of folks complaining about how it's an abuse of democracy and such until recently, now that it's actually happening and some folks find it inconvenient.
I heard someone say recently that the fact that 30-plus attempts to have a recall election have failed before shows that it's a bad idea. No...it shows that this time, people just might be fed up enough to go through with it.
I'll be the first to admit that it's a pretty crazy process, but it is what it is. It's been in the California Constitution for nearly a hundred years. The thing to do is roll with it.
I have never liked Gray Davis. He simply reeks of everything that people mean when they say the word "politician" in a bad way. (Such as in, "Politicians are all a bunch of crooks," or "I don't like politicians", etc.) I don't know of a single policy, proposal, or act of his that I support. If they were going to draw a random Californian's name out of a hat and put that person in place of Gray Davis, I'd welcome the change.
Recall ho!
t r u t h o u t - Bill Maher | Recalls Are for Cars, Not California Governors
July 30, 2003
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
Total Recall
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
by Paul Brennan
Friday 25 July 2003
It was only an "unloaded . . . little, teeny pistol," Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Somewhere south of San Onofre) told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, hoping to explain away a 1972 weapons conviction. Now the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how unloaded and teeny.
...
"Issa declined to be interviewed" for the Chronicle's story, and we say he was damn right. Today's dynamic Republican will not answer questions he doesn't like....
But Issa is in the awkward position of declining interviews at the moment he needs the press most. Not merely bankrolling the Davis recall, Issa has also put himself forward as the man most likely to replace the governor if the recall succeeds. In that campaign, he'll depend on the media, a media that occasionally insists on dogging facts-like evidence that Issa has habitually lied in his résumé.
Full story
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 75%
3 Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
This article also has updates on the latest word from potential contenders.
Three Separate Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
By David Kravets
Associated Press
Tuesday 29 July 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As the clock ticks toward the state's first gubernatorial recall election, three separate lawsuits are challenging the way California plans to carry it out.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 60%
July 24, 2003
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign (washingtonpost.com)
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page A03
LOS ANGELES, July 22 -- The last stand of California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has begun.
With almost no hope of stopping a recall from reaching the ballot this fall, the embattled governor is launching a fierce but risky counterattack to convince voters that dumping him in an extraordinary special election would reward extremists, cost the state more than $30 million even though it is broke, and harm just about everything in California but the sunshine.
His poll numbers look bleak. His administration is in the grip of a $38 billion deficit, the worst financial crisis in state history. And many Democrats fear he is doomed. But Davis is promising to fight the recall to the finish with the same hardball style that has defined his long political career.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 45%
July 03, 2003
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
Calif. Supreme Court Dismisses All Recall Suits
Calif. Supreme Court Dismisses All Recall Suits
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's Supreme Court dismissed all five cases on Thursday that challenge various aspects of the unprecedented Oct. 7 recall ballot against Gov. Gray Davis, including one brought by Davis himself.
Read It Rating: 3
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 20%
135 qualify for recall ballot / Politicians campaign in S.F.
Pack of politicians campaign in S.F. / 135 qualify for recall ballot
Sacramento -- State officials announced late Wednesday that California's unprecedented recall election will have 135 candidates to replace Gov. Gray Davis on the Oct. 7 ballot.
Many of the people-who-would-be-governor didn't wait for Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to officially announce who would be on the bulging ballot before getting out and campaigning. Davis, GOP businessman Bill Simon and columnist and commentator Arianna Huffington were in the Bay Area to shake hands and search for votes Wednesday, while Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed in the news by adding one of the world's richest men and $1 million to his campaign.
State election officials whittled the list to 135 certified candidates from more than 240 people who had applied to run for governor.
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ??
Learning Percentage: 35%
Schwarzenegger hires Warren Buffett as campaign adviser
Schwarzenegger hires Warren Buffett as recall campaign adviser
(08-13) 13:15 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Warren Buffett will serve as senior financial and economic adviser in actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid to replace Gray Davis if the governor loses the recall vote, the Republican actor's campaign announced Wednesday.
Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is a billionaire investor legendary for his financial prowess. He is also a Democrat.
"What he will be doing is assembling other prominent business leaders and economists and setting up a team to address the issues facing California," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 70%
SF Party Chairs on the recall
SFpolitics.com asks the question:
Given the standards and threshold requirements, is a recall an inclusive and proper means to elect a Governor?
The heads of the four main parties in San Francisco -- Libertarian, Green, Republican, and Democratic -- answer.
Read It Rating: 2.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 9%
August 12, 2003
Preliminary list of candidates for California recall election
Preliminary list of candidates for California recall election
The Associated Press Saturday, August 9, 2003
Preliminary list of candidates to appear on the Oct. 7 recall ballot and the county where they filed. In some cases, the signatures they turned in to qualify still must be verified. The secretary of state's office late Saturday reported that 155 candidates had turned in candidacy papers, but it did not have a complete list of the names. The following list contains 134 candidates. The office said it will try to make a complete list available on Sunday and will certify a final list Wednesday.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 3
Learning Percentage: 10%
August 11, 2003
Tongue-tied Arnie Takes Hits From Left and Right
Tongue-tied Arnie Takes Hits From Left and Right
Guardian Newspapers Limited
Sunday 10 August 2003
Hasta la vista to the political honeymoon. Four days after after his gubernatorial campaign in California opened to better reviews than any of his films ever did, Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday came face to face with political reality when he was attacked from the left for being too naive and from the right for being too liberal.
The 56-year-old actor embarked on a quick-fire round of TV interviews aimed at capitalising on his already stratospheric ratings in the campaign to take the most powerful office in the nation's biggest state - Governor of California.
But instead of momentum the appearances produced a succession of awkward moments as he was asked to explain his political views.
Pressed on a range of issue that are certain to feature prominently in the run-up to the vote on 7 October - gay marriage, health services, the fiscal crisis facing California - Schwarzenegger was forced to deny a policy statement attributed to his staff or revert to the time-honoured formula of the candidate under pressure: 'I don't want to go into that right now.'
...
...a spokesman for the Democratic Party, who urged the media to scrutinise Schwarzenegger's political record more closely.
The media took his advice and within a couple of hours turned up the embarrassing allegation that the actor had voted in only two of the last eight statewide elections.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 55%
August 05, 2003
Flynt: 'Vote for a Smut-Peddler Who Cares'
CNN.com - Larry Flynt announces run for California governor - Aug. 4, 2003
August 03, 2003
Larry Flynt may run in recall
Hustler Publisher Files in Calif. Recall (washingtonpost.com)
Excerpts:
The Hustler magazine publisher has filed initial paperwork to run in the gubernatorial recall election and says he may spend a large amount of his own money if people take his candidacy seriously.
...
"California is the most progressive state in the union," said Flynt, 61. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor."
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 30%
Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
CA Senator Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
Excerpt:
The home my parents bought for $35,000—if it were new—should be selling today for $180,000 with inflation. But the homes in that neighborhood—now 40 years older—now cost more than twice that.
My parents wouldn't have been able to even think of affording that house today. They wouldn't have been able to find work, either. We lost more than 200,000 jobs last year. And if they had found the work, they couldn't have gotten there—Downtown Los Angeles is now TWO HOURS from Thousand Oaks in rush hour.
They couldn't have afforded their taxes either. That year, the state spent a little over 6-dollars from every hundred that people earned. Today, Davis is spending a record of nearly 10-dollars out of every hundred you earn.
If my family—and every family like ours—came looking for a better future for their kids today—they wouldn't find it in California.
Those families today look at our state, with its bountiful resources; with the most equitable climate on the entire continent; with every blessing that God could possibly bestow upon a land—and they're finding a better place to live and work and raise their families out in the desolation of the Arizona and Nevada deserts.
No conceivable act of God could ever wreak such devastation upon our state. Only government could do that. And it has.
And the good news of this election is—WE CAN CHANGE THAT. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the chance to make our state over again.
Read It Rating: 6.12
Left/Right Rating: R6
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 50%
August 02, 2003
Lake County Supervisor Considers recall run
Lewis considers a run for governor
By Margaret Gan-Garrison - Record-Bee staff
Sat Aug 2 03:00:13 2003--
LAKE COUNTY - District 3 Supervisor Gary Lewis is thinking about running for governor.
"I collected a set of the papers yesterday and I'm looking for signatures," said Lewis, adding that 180 people have taken papers for the race.
He said he will be working hard next week to seek support. "I am going to start beating the bushes," Lewis said.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 70%
Michael Huffington considers recall run
"Former Republican United States Congressman Michael Huffington today obtained nomination papers to run for Governor of California from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. He paid the $3,500 filing fee and has until August 9th to complete the paperwork and return the documents to the County. After much encouragement by friends and supporters to consider seeking the office of Governor, he made the decision to consider his candidacy now that an election date has been set.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
July 31, 2003
But, I don't waaant a recall! Waaaa!
This is a two-fer page from TruthOut, with Bill Maher whining and the LA Times bemoaning -- both of them unhappy about the upcoming California recall election.
I'm already tired of hearing people complain about and assail this recall election. Hopefully there will be a big wave of getting over it soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
I wonder how many of these recall naysayers were big anti-recall people before this one came up. I don't remember there being a lot of folks complaining about how it's an abuse of democracy and such until recently, now that it's actually happening and some folks find it inconvenient.
I heard someone say recently that the fact that 30-plus attempts to have a recall election have failed before shows that it's a bad idea. No...it shows that this time, people just might be fed up enough to go through with it.
I'll be the first to admit that it's a pretty crazy process, but it is what it is. It's been in the California Constitution for nearly a hundred years. The thing to do is roll with it.
I have never liked Gray Davis. He simply reeks of everything that people mean when they say the word "politician" in a bad way. (Such as in, "Politicians are all a bunch of crooks," or "I don't like politicians", etc.) I don't know of a single policy, proposal, or act of his that I support. If they were going to draw a random Californian's name out of a hat and put that person in place of Gray Davis, I'd welcome the change.
Recall ho!
t r u t h o u t - Bill Maher | Recalls Are for Cars, Not California Governors
July 30, 2003
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
Total Recall
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
by Paul Brennan
Friday 25 July 2003
It was only an "unloaded . . . little, teeny pistol," Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Somewhere south of San Onofre) told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, hoping to explain away a 1972 weapons conviction. Now the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how unloaded and teeny.
...
"Issa declined to be interviewed" for the Chronicle's story, and we say he was damn right. Today's dynamic Republican will not answer questions he doesn't like....
But Issa is in the awkward position of declining interviews at the moment he needs the press most. Not merely bankrolling the Davis recall, Issa has also put himself forward as the man most likely to replace the governor if the recall succeeds. In that campaign, he'll depend on the media, a media that occasionally insists on dogging facts-like evidence that Issa has habitually lied in his résumé.
Full story
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 75%
3 Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
This article also has updates on the latest word from potential contenders.
Three Separate Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
By David Kravets
Associated Press
Tuesday 29 July 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As the clock ticks toward the state's first gubernatorial recall election, three separate lawsuits are challenging the way California plans to carry it out.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 60%
July 24, 2003
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign (washingtonpost.com)
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page A03
LOS ANGELES, July 22 -- The last stand of California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has begun.
With almost no hope of stopping a recall from reaching the ballot this fall, the embattled governor is launching a fierce but risky counterattack to convince voters that dumping him in an extraordinary special election would reward extremists, cost the state more than $30 million even though it is broke, and harm just about everything in California but the sunshine.
His poll numbers look bleak. His administration is in the grip of a $38 billion deficit, the worst financial crisis in state history. And many Democrats fear he is doomed. But Davis is promising to fight the recall to the finish with the same hardball style that has defined his long political career.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 45%
July 03, 2003
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
Preliminary list of candidates for California recall election
Preliminary list of candidates for California recall election
The Associated Press Saturday, August 9, 2003
Preliminary list of candidates to appear on the Oct. 7 recall ballot and the county where they filed. In some cases, the signatures they turned in to qualify still must be verified. The secretary of state's office late Saturday reported that 155 candidates had turned in candidacy papers, but it did not have a complete list of the names. The following list contains 134 candidates. The office said it will try to make a complete list available on Sunday and will certify a final list Wednesday.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 3
Learning Percentage: 10%
Tongue-tied Arnie Takes Hits From Left and Right
Tongue-tied Arnie Takes Hits From Left and Right
Guardian Newspapers Limited
Sunday 10 August 2003
Hasta la vista to the political honeymoon. Four days after after his gubernatorial campaign in California opened to better reviews than any of his films ever did, Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday came face to face with political reality when he was attacked from the left for being too naive and from the right for being too liberal.
The 56-year-old actor embarked on a quick-fire round of TV interviews aimed at capitalising on his already stratospheric ratings in the campaign to take the most powerful office in the nation's biggest state - Governor of California.
But instead of momentum the appearances produced a succession of awkward moments as he was asked to explain his political views.
Pressed on a range of issue that are certain to feature prominently in the run-up to the vote on 7 October - gay marriage, health services, the fiscal crisis facing California - Schwarzenegger was forced to deny a policy statement attributed to his staff or revert to the time-honoured formula of the candidate under pressure: 'I don't want to go into that right now.'
...
...a spokesman for the Democratic Party, who urged the media to scrutinise Schwarzenegger's political record more closely.
The media took his advice and within a couple of hours turned up the embarrassing allegation that the actor had voted in only two of the last eight statewide elections.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 55%
August 05, 2003
Flynt: 'Vote for a Smut-Peddler Who Cares'
CNN.com - Larry Flynt announces run for California governor - Aug. 4, 2003
August 03, 2003
Larry Flynt may run in recall
Hustler Publisher Files in Calif. Recall (washingtonpost.com)
Excerpts:
The Hustler magazine publisher has filed initial paperwork to run in the gubernatorial recall election and says he may spend a large amount of his own money if people take his candidacy seriously.
...
"California is the most progressive state in the union," said Flynt, 61. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor."
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 30%
Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
CA Senator Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
Excerpt:
The home my parents bought for $35,000—if it were new—should be selling today for $180,000 with inflation. But the homes in that neighborhood—now 40 years older—now cost more than twice that.
My parents wouldn't have been able to even think of affording that house today. They wouldn't have been able to find work, either. We lost more than 200,000 jobs last year. And if they had found the work, they couldn't have gotten there—Downtown Los Angeles is now TWO HOURS from Thousand Oaks in rush hour.
They couldn't have afforded their taxes either. That year, the state spent a little over 6-dollars from every hundred that people earned. Today, Davis is spending a record of nearly 10-dollars out of every hundred you earn.
If my family—and every family like ours—came looking for a better future for their kids today—they wouldn't find it in California.
Those families today look at our state, with its bountiful resources; with the most equitable climate on the entire continent; with every blessing that God could possibly bestow upon a land—and they're finding a better place to live and work and raise their families out in the desolation of the Arizona and Nevada deserts.
No conceivable act of God could ever wreak such devastation upon our state. Only government could do that. And it has.
And the good news of this election is—WE CAN CHANGE THAT. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the chance to make our state over again.
Read It Rating: 6.12
Left/Right Rating: R6
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 50%
August 02, 2003
Lake County Supervisor Considers recall run
Lewis considers a run for governor
By Margaret Gan-Garrison - Record-Bee staff
Sat Aug 2 03:00:13 2003--
LAKE COUNTY - District 3 Supervisor Gary Lewis is thinking about running for governor.
"I collected a set of the papers yesterday and I'm looking for signatures," said Lewis, adding that 180 people have taken papers for the race.
He said he will be working hard next week to seek support. "I am going to start beating the bushes," Lewis said.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 70%
Michael Huffington considers recall run
"Former Republican United States Congressman Michael Huffington today obtained nomination papers to run for Governor of California from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. He paid the $3,500 filing fee and has until August 9th to complete the paperwork and return the documents to the County. After much encouragement by friends and supporters to consider seeking the office of Governor, he made the decision to consider his candidacy now that an election date has been set.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
July 31, 2003
But, I don't waaant a recall! Waaaa!
This is a two-fer page from TruthOut, with Bill Maher whining and the LA Times bemoaning -- both of them unhappy about the upcoming California recall election.
I'm already tired of hearing people complain about and assail this recall election. Hopefully there will be a big wave of getting over it soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
I wonder how many of these recall naysayers were big anti-recall people before this one came up. I don't remember there being a lot of folks complaining about how it's an abuse of democracy and such until recently, now that it's actually happening and some folks find it inconvenient.
I heard someone say recently that the fact that 30-plus attempts to have a recall election have failed before shows that it's a bad idea. No...it shows that this time, people just might be fed up enough to go through with it.
I'll be the first to admit that it's a pretty crazy process, but it is what it is. It's been in the California Constitution for nearly a hundred years. The thing to do is roll with it.
I have never liked Gray Davis. He simply reeks of everything that people mean when they say the word "politician" in a bad way. (Such as in, "Politicians are all a bunch of crooks," or "I don't like politicians", etc.) I don't know of a single policy, proposal, or act of his that I support. If they were going to draw a random Californian's name out of a hat and put that person in place of Gray Davis, I'd welcome the change.
Recall ho!
t r u t h o u t - Bill Maher | Recalls Are for Cars, Not California Governors
July 30, 2003
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
Total Recall
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
by Paul Brennan
Friday 25 July 2003
It was only an "unloaded . . . little, teeny pistol," Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Somewhere south of San Onofre) told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, hoping to explain away a 1972 weapons conviction. Now the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how unloaded and teeny.
...
"Issa declined to be interviewed" for the Chronicle's story, and we say he was damn right. Today's dynamic Republican will not answer questions he doesn't like....
But Issa is in the awkward position of declining interviews at the moment he needs the press most. Not merely bankrolling the Davis recall, Issa has also put himself forward as the man most likely to replace the governor if the recall succeeds. In that campaign, he'll depend on the media, a media that occasionally insists on dogging facts-like evidence that Issa has habitually lied in his résumé.
Full story
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 75%
3 Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
This article also has updates on the latest word from potential contenders.
Three Separate Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
By David Kravets
Associated Press
Tuesday 29 July 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As the clock ticks toward the state's first gubernatorial recall election, three separate lawsuits are challenging the way California plans to carry it out.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 60%
July 24, 2003
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign (washingtonpost.com)
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page A03
LOS ANGELES, July 22 -- The last stand of California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has begun.
With almost no hope of stopping a recall from reaching the ballot this fall, the embattled governor is launching a fierce but risky counterattack to convince voters that dumping him in an extraordinary special election would reward extremists, cost the state more than $30 million even though it is broke, and harm just about everything in California but the sunshine.
His poll numbers look bleak. His administration is in the grip of a $38 billion deficit, the worst financial crisis in state history. And many Democrats fear he is doomed. But Davis is promising to fight the recall to the finish with the same hardball style that has defined his long political career.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 45%
July 03, 2003
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
Flynt: 'Vote for a Smut-Peddler Who Cares'
CNN.com - Larry Flynt announces run for California governor - Aug. 4, 2003
Larry Flynt may run in recall
Hustler Publisher Files in Calif. Recall (washingtonpost.com)
Excerpts:
The Hustler magazine publisher has filed initial paperwork to run in the gubernatorial recall election and says he may spend a large amount of his own money if people take his candidacy seriously.
...
"California is the most progressive state in the union," said Flynt, 61. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor."
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1.1
Learning Percentage: 30%
Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
CA Senator Tom McClintock's Recall Rally Speech
Excerpt:
The home my parents bought for $35,000—if it were new—should be selling today for $180,000 with inflation. But the homes in that neighborhood—now 40 years older—now cost more than twice that.
My parents wouldn't have been able to even think of affording that house today. They wouldn't have been able to find work, either. We lost more than 200,000 jobs last year. And if they had found the work, they couldn't have gotten there—Downtown Los Angeles is now TWO HOURS from Thousand Oaks in rush hour.
They couldn't have afforded their taxes either. That year, the state spent a little over 6-dollars from every hundred that people earned. Today, Davis is spending a record of nearly 10-dollars out of every hundred you earn.
If my family—and every family like ours—came looking for a better future for their kids today—they wouldn't find it in California.
Those families today look at our state, with its bountiful resources; with the most equitable climate on the entire continent; with every blessing that God could possibly bestow upon a land—and they're finding a better place to live and work and raise their families out in the desolation of the Arizona and Nevada deserts.
No conceivable act of God could ever wreak such devastation upon our state. Only government could do that. And it has.
And the good news of this election is—WE CAN CHANGE THAT. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the chance to make our state over again.
Read It Rating: 6.12
Left/Right Rating: R6
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 50%
August 02, 2003
Lake County Supervisor Considers recall run
Lewis considers a run for governor
By Margaret Gan-Garrison - Record-Bee staff
Sat Aug 2 03:00:13 2003--
LAKE COUNTY - District 3 Supervisor Gary Lewis is thinking about running for governor.
"I collected a set of the papers yesterday and I'm looking for signatures," said Lewis, adding that 180 people have taken papers for the race.
He said he will be working hard next week to seek support. "I am going to start beating the bushes," Lewis said.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 70%
Michael Huffington considers recall run
"Former Republican United States Congressman Michael Huffington today obtained nomination papers to run for Governor of California from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. He paid the $3,500 filing fee and has until August 9th to complete the paperwork and return the documents to the County. After much encouragement by friends and supporters to consider seeking the office of Governor, he made the decision to consider his candidacy now that an election date has been set.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
July 31, 2003
But, I don't waaant a recall! Waaaa!
This is a two-fer page from TruthOut, with Bill Maher whining and the LA Times bemoaning -- both of them unhappy about the upcoming California recall election.
I'm already tired of hearing people complain about and assail this recall election. Hopefully there will be a big wave of getting over it soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
I wonder how many of these recall naysayers were big anti-recall people before this one came up. I don't remember there being a lot of folks complaining about how it's an abuse of democracy and such until recently, now that it's actually happening and some folks find it inconvenient.
I heard someone say recently that the fact that 30-plus attempts to have a recall election have failed before shows that it's a bad idea. No...it shows that this time, people just might be fed up enough to go through with it.
I'll be the first to admit that it's a pretty crazy process, but it is what it is. It's been in the California Constitution for nearly a hundred years. The thing to do is roll with it.
I have never liked Gray Davis. He simply reeks of everything that people mean when they say the word "politician" in a bad way. (Such as in, "Politicians are all a bunch of crooks," or "I don't like politicians", etc.) I don't know of a single policy, proposal, or act of his that I support. If they were going to draw a random Californian's name out of a hat and put that person in place of Gray Davis, I'd welcome the change.
Recall ho!
t r u t h o u t - Bill Maher | Recalls Are for Cars, Not California Governors
July 30, 2003
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
Total Recall
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
by Paul Brennan
Friday 25 July 2003
It was only an "unloaded . . . little, teeny pistol," Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Somewhere south of San Onofre) told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, hoping to explain away a 1972 weapons conviction. Now the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how unloaded and teeny.
...
"Issa declined to be interviewed" for the Chronicle's story, and we say he was damn right. Today's dynamic Republican will not answer questions he doesn't like....
But Issa is in the awkward position of declining interviews at the moment he needs the press most. Not merely bankrolling the Davis recall, Issa has also put himself forward as the man most likely to replace the governor if the recall succeeds. In that campaign, he'll depend on the media, a media that occasionally insists on dogging facts-like evidence that Issa has habitually lied in his résumé.
Full story
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 75%
3 Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
This article also has updates on the latest word from potential contenders.
Three Separate Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
By David Kravets
Associated Press
Tuesday 29 July 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As the clock ticks toward the state's first gubernatorial recall election, three separate lawsuits are challenging the way California plans to carry it out.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 60%
July 24, 2003
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign (washingtonpost.com)
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page A03
LOS ANGELES, July 22 -- The last stand of California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has begun.
With almost no hope of stopping a recall from reaching the ballot this fall, the embattled governor is launching a fierce but risky counterattack to convince voters that dumping him in an extraordinary special election would reward extremists, cost the state more than $30 million even though it is broke, and harm just about everything in California but the sunshine.
His poll numbers look bleak. His administration is in the grip of a $38 billion deficit, the worst financial crisis in state history. And many Democrats fear he is doomed. But Davis is promising to fight the recall to the finish with the same hardball style that has defined his long political career.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 45%
July 03, 2003
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
Lake County Supervisor Considers recall run
Lewis considers a run for governor
By Margaret Gan-Garrison - Record-Bee staff
Sat Aug 2 03:00:13 2003--
LAKE COUNTY - District 3 Supervisor Gary Lewis is thinking about running for governor.
"I collected a set of the papers yesterday and I'm looking for signatures," said Lewis, adding that 180 people have taken papers for the race.
He said he will be working hard next week to seek support. "I am going to start beating the bushes," Lewis said.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 70%
Michael Huffington considers recall run
"Former Republican United States Congressman Michael Huffington today obtained nomination papers to run for Governor of California from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. He paid the $3,500 filing fee and has until August 9th to complete the paperwork and return the documents to the County. After much encouragement by friends and supporters to consider seeking the office of Governor, he made the decision to consider his candidacy now that an election date has been set.
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
But, I don't waaant a recall! Waaaa!
This is a two-fer page from TruthOut, with Bill Maher whining and the LA Times bemoaning -- both of them unhappy about the upcoming California recall election.
I'm already tired of hearing people complain about and assail this recall election. Hopefully there will be a big wave of getting over it soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
I wonder how many of these recall naysayers were big anti-recall people before this one came up. I don't remember there being a lot of folks complaining about how it's an abuse of democracy and such until recently, now that it's actually happening and some folks find it inconvenient.
I heard someone say recently that the fact that 30-plus attempts to have a recall election have failed before shows that it's a bad idea. No...it shows that this time, people just might be fed up enough to go through with it.
I'll be the first to admit that it's a pretty crazy process, but it is what it is. It's been in the California Constitution for nearly a hundred years. The thing to do is roll with it.
I have never liked Gray Davis. He simply reeks of everything that people mean when they say the word "politician" in a bad way. (Such as in, "Politicians are all a bunch of crooks," or "I don't like politicians", etc.) I don't know of a single policy, proposal, or act of his that I support. If they were going to draw a random Californian's name out of a hat and put that person in place of Gray Davis, I'd welcome the change.
Recall ho!
t r u t h o u t - Bill Maher | Recalls Are for Cars, Not California Governors
July 30, 2003
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
Total Recall
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
by Paul Brennan
Friday 25 July 2003
It was only an "unloaded . . . little, teeny pistol," Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Somewhere south of San Onofre) told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, hoping to explain away a 1972 weapons conviction. Now the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how unloaded and teeny.
...
"Issa declined to be interviewed" for the Chronicle's story, and we say he was damn right. Today's dynamic Republican will not answer questions he doesn't like....
But Issa is in the awkward position of declining interviews at the moment he needs the press most. Not merely bankrolling the Davis recall, Issa has also put himself forward as the man most likely to replace the governor if the recall succeeds. In that campaign, he'll depend on the media, a media that occasionally insists on dogging facts-like evidence that Issa has habitually lied in his résumé.
Full story
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 75%
3 Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
This article also has updates on the latest word from potential contenders.
Three Separate Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
By David Kravets
Associated Press
Tuesday 29 July 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As the clock ticks toward the state's first gubernatorial recall election, three separate lawsuits are challenging the way California plans to carry it out.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 60%
July 24, 2003
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign (washingtonpost.com)
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page A03
LOS ANGELES, July 22 -- The last stand of California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has begun.
With almost no hope of stopping a recall from reaching the ballot this fall, the embattled governor is launching a fierce but risky counterattack to convince voters that dumping him in an extraordinary special election would reward extremists, cost the state more than $30 million even though it is broke, and harm just about everything in California but the sunshine.
His poll numbers look bleak. His administration is in the grip of a $38 billion deficit, the worst financial crisis in state history. And many Democrats fear he is doomed. But Davis is promising to fight the recall to the finish with the same hardball style that has defined his long political career.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 45%
July 03, 2003
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
Total Recall
Darrell Issa's Teeny Weapon
by Paul Brennan
Friday 25 July 2003
It was only an "unloaded . . . little, teeny pistol," Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Somewhere south of San Onofre) told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, hoping to explain away a 1972 weapons conviction. Now the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how unloaded and teeny.
...
"Issa declined to be interviewed" for the Chronicle's story, and we say he was damn right. Today's dynamic Republican will not answer questions he doesn't like....
But Issa is in the awkward position of declining interviews at the moment he needs the press most. Not merely bankrolling the Davis recall, Issa has also put himself forward as the man most likely to replace the governor if the recall succeeds. In that campaign, he'll depend on the media, a media that occasionally insists on dogging facts-like evidence that Issa has habitually lied in his résumé.
Full story
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: -1
Learning Percentage: 75%
3 Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
This article also has updates on the latest word from potential contenders.
Three Separate Legal Challenges Mounted to California's Recall Election Process
By David Kravets
Associated Press
Tuesday 29 July 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - As the clock ticks toward the state's first gubernatorial recall election, three separate lawsuits are challenging the way California plans to carry it out.
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 60%
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign
Gov. Davis Comes Out Fighting In Round 2 of Recall Campaign (washingtonpost.com)
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2003; Page A03
LOS ANGELES, July 22 -- The last stand of California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has begun.
With almost no hope of stopping a recall from reaching the ballot this fall, the embattled governor is launching a fierce but risky counterattack to convince voters that dumping him in an extraordinary special election would reward extremists, cost the state more than $30 million even though it is broke, and harm just about everything in California but the sunshine.
His poll numbers look bleak. His administration is in the grip of a $38 billion deficit, the worst financial crisis in state history. And many Democrats fear he is doomed. But Davis is promising to fight the recall to the finish with the same hardball style that has defined his long political career.
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Learning Percentage: 45%
July 03, 2003
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
Recall bid to land in court?
sacbee.com -- Politics -- Recall bid to land in court?
By Margaret Talev -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An opinion handed down Monday by California elections officials raised the prospect that a recall campaign against Gov. Gray Davis will go to a courtroom before it gets to the voting booth.
In a letter released late in the day, the secretary of state's office told elections supervisors in all 58 counties that while they must keep a continuous count of signatures submitted in support of the recall, they can wait a month before validating those signatures.
Some recall supporters threatened to sue, saying Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's interpretation is misguided and could delay until March an election that recall supporters hope to hold by late October or early November. A March election could give the Democratic governor the political advantage of a higher Democratic turnout expected for the presidential primary.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: 25%
