It's official

[patgund]

My home state is insane.,

This recall junk has become a bloody three-ring circus. Besides the former car-thief who bankrolled it, (Rep. Darrell Issa, who can't seem to keep his supposed military record straight), we now have actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, pundit Arianna Huffington, (if the two of them debate, we'll need subtitles), Possibly Huffington's ex-husband, (interesting, a gay republican governor. Watch the GOP have fits), Bill Simon, (who had to have ran the lamest and poorest campaign for governor ever last year), Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt, child actor turned security guard Gary Coleman, Tom McClintock, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, pink fetishist and over-enhanced pin-up star Angelyne, and porn star Mary Carey.

And that's just off the top of my head.

Gak.

Hell, if I had $3500 and 65 signatures, I'd be tempted to run as well. I can't *possibly* do any worse than a lot of the people on this list. Except I'd rather do something constructive with that money - like buy a G5.

Comments

[nolly.livejournal.com]

And Georgy.

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty amused by it all. Heck, the entertainment possibilities of this circus is a reason to not leave for Texas.

Purely by chance I wound up listening to Ahunld's press conference (he scheduled it for my drive home). I'm actually finding him pretty tempting, more or less for the same reason I voted for Perot--"Let's help these professional pols realize I think they're ALL incompetent and need to be replaced." Plus I'm looking forward to the "Total Recall" headlines.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure that Arnold is going to get the "Jesse Ventura" vote, i.e. the people who come out to vote for him because of who he is rather than what he can do.

Actually I feel sorry for any of the poor fools that actually win. The person who gets the job is going to face a fiscal mess, more than likely, (if it's not Davis), a hostile statehouse, and inflated expectations from the people. Not to mention if the recall is approved, the winner may have as little as 10-12% of the total vote, which is *not* a mandate from the people. Pushing boulders uphill with a skateboard may be easier.

Texas politics aren't much better. Gov. "Bighair" Perry seems bound and determined to ram though redistricting, even though it's forced state senators to decamp to NM and a majority polled don't approve of it. What's even more nasty is that the Texas GOP used in the past the same tactic, (fleeing the statehouse to deny a quarum), that they now decry with the Democrats. (shakes head).

I'd settle for adults in politics - we seem to have a batch of immature children in charge, all over the US.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

I know you think this is all just a circus - but actually, I am somewhat interested in what he can do. No, I haven't seen any of the Terminator movies - and I could care less. (I think I've seen just one of his movies) But, as is my usual practice when people start talking about a political candidate, I go off on a google search to read webpages and articles about his background and positions on issues. The guy has some possibilities. He's a successful businessman, made a lot of money in real estate before ever getting into movies - he's got a brain. He apparently specializes in taking poorly performing businesses/properties and turning them around. (Now that's relevant to the gov. of California) He's an immigrant with a heavy belief in pulling himself up by his bootstraps - but he also recognizes that some people here with disadvantaged backgrounds have trouble doing that - his phrase was IIRC "some people don't have boots" But he doesn't believe in giving them handouts, he believes in helping programs that help them get a good start, so they can go pull themselves up. He works with children's charities that are practical, and has pushed gov't sponsored children's programs. He attends political seminars, and did intro work for a program about American political opportunity. (I may be misdescribing that last - Karl, I bet you know which one I'm talking about - can you help me out?) I've heard him described as a "pragmatic libertarian".

This is all what I've read and learned in the last couple of days. And so far it sounds better than any other Californian politican I've heard of. Admittedly, that doesn't say much.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

The thing is, he may very well be qualified. And he's certainly the type of Republican that, under normal circumstances, the state GOP wouldn't touch with a 20 foot pole. (Not only is he "socially liberal", but - gasp! - he's married into the Kennedy clan.)

The problem is that *anyone* going into that office, Schwarzenegger, Coleman, Huffington, Simon, Flynn, Bustamonte, Gallagher, whoever, is going to have an unholy mess to deal with, and may well be doing it hobbled by a hostile statehouse, unreasonable expectations, and a lack of a "mandate" caused by the fact that they may have well only gotten 10-15% of the vote. This is *not* an improvement. Hell, if the recall is defeated and Davis stays in office, *he's* going to have an unholy mess to deal with as well.

Schwarzenegger may have the experience in business and community, but he hasn't articulated his plans yet, just identified problems. I'm willing to say he may do a decent job - but anyone who wins is going to be hobbled by what they can do in 3 years, epecially under those conditions.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Yes, anyone going into this job is going to have a mess to deal with. So why should it matter so much who's running, and whether or not people call it a "circus"? It isn't a problem because actors, etc are running - it's a problem because the state's screwed up. Hey, maybe an actor will get more people to go vote, and might actually GET a mandate.

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Yes, anyone going into this job is going to have a mess to deal with

You know, I read this, and suddenly got this mental image of Gallagher doing the oath of office, Sledge-o-Matic by his side. "Can the Sledge-o-Match take care of the state deficit (crunch!) Yes, it can!!"

(Shakes head) Hey, gotta laugh about something with this

Other candidates

[firedrake-mor.livejournal.com]

What I didn't know, till I had lunch with someone, is that the Michael E. Jackson who's running is otherwise known as Baron Gilbert Rhys MacLachlan in the SCA -- the former Baron of Lyondemere!