The real poop behind Calif. Govenor recall effort

What is the real poop behind the recall?
What is the real poop behind the recall? I think it is more about emptying Demacratic coffers prior to the 2004 Presidential election. Everyone is focusing on the attempt by extreme right wingers to recall Governor Gray Davis. The Dems will have to raise and spend millions to defeat the recall. This means campaign money that would be directed toward defeating George Bush in 2004 will be used instead on defeating the recall.

I think the recall backers reason it is just an extra benefit if they defeat Davis and seat a republican governor. Bush wants to win California in 2004 and Karl Rove has figured out a way to do it.

Am I nuts, or is this real reason behind the recall?

BumbleBeeBoogie

The state which desperately need funds will have to spend millions for this recall election not to mention the interim effect of having a lame duck Governor. A Republican talking about squandering a surplus...how ironic.

...or hypocritical.

Bill Carrick (Dem consultant) said ...What stategy may or may not be effective is not clear to anybody because there's no history,....
It's neither a candidate campaign or an initiative campaign,....a bit of both...

I tend to agree with Sharon Davis. Any initiative that starts with only 50 percent of support nearly always fails, because you've already gotten to the people who kind of like the idea. Then they begin hearing the negatives: The recall is completely driven by a right wing conservative; Going to cost taxpayers $30 million dollars...oh, and by the way if enough people get in the race, a governor may get elected with only 10 percent or 12 percent of the vote.

I am sad that Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamente felt he had to put the vote for who would replace him on the same Recall Ballot, instead of setting it up separately if the recall goes through.

This puts democrats in a position of having to gather folks to vie with the Republicans on the same page as the vote to recall.

This is kinda funny:



Total Recall

Since this was published, the Terminator apparently has decided he won't be back (though there's still some room to wiggle):

Schwarzeneggar Won't Run for CA Governor

Arianna Huffington is in:



Salon.com

After the Clinton impeachment debacle and the cost to the taxpayers of the over zealous right wing scheme (orchestration in the negative sense of the word), you'd think they'd learn that they are being counter productive for their own cause. Stupidity knows no bounds.

Now we are learning that Nixon gave the order for the break in and I believe it only because one of my closest friends of the Seventies was high up in his administration and he didn't just hear that from one source.
Nixon has no descended to the bottom of the barrel of US Presidents, making Calvin Coolidge look like a saint.

If governor wins, taxpayers may reimburse him
Article Last Updated: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 11:13:36 AM PST
If governor wins, taxpayers may reimburse him
By Steve Geissinger - Oakland tribune SACRAMENTO BUREAU

SACRAMENTO -- If Gov. Gray Davis survives the Oct. 7 recall election, the state constitution leaves open the possibility that taxpayers might have to reimburse him tens of millions of dollars for his campaign expenses, legal experts said Monday.

The Democratic governor has attacked the potential $30 million to $35 million cost of holding the special statewide election, qualified last week for the ballot by Republican-led forces, but has not addressed the reimbursement issue.

A provision buried in the California Constitution says that "a state officer who is not recalled shall be reimbursed by the state for the officer's recall election expenses legally and personally incurred."

If Davis beat the recall attempt and chose to seek reimbursement, he would have to file a claim with the state Board of Control, according to officials at the Secretary of State's Office.

The Board of Control has not been faced with a similar question of such magnitude, since no California governor has ever faced a recall election. There's also little case law to help officials interpret the provision, according to legal experts.

They said Davis would likely be able to recover any of his own money that he put into the campaign but nothing in the provision says specifically that campaign expenses have to be reimbursed -- or that the incumbent has to be reimbursed for campaign contributions from others.

"It certainly could be litigated," said Rick Hasen, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "Even the amounts could be subject to litigation -- the allowable kinds of expenses and how that works."

Recall proponents said that if Davis beats the recall attempt, he should not seek reimbursement and should say now that he won't take that action.

"He's going around saying the recall election is going to cost $30 million. If he's so concerned about saving taxpayer dollars, he ought to publicly say that he will not seek reimbursement," said Rescue California spokesman Chris Wysocki.

Davis representatives said they did not know whether Davis would seek the money.

"It's not something he's concerning himself (with)," said anti-recall spokesman Roger Salazar.

Salazar said strategists haven't "looked into it clearly enough to even figure out the vagaries of it," but said he believes that if Davis wins, he could be reimbursed for campaign costs.

If Davis was reimbursed for some or all of his campaign expenses, it raises questions about what the governor would do with the money, since he is barred from seeking a third term.

"It doesn't say whether or not you could reimburse contributors, for example, or anything of that nature," Salazar said.

Election experts say Davis alone may spend tens of millions on the campaign. Combined with expenditures by candidates who hope to replace him and the groups with an interest in the outcome of the election, the total could grow to perhaps $100 million.

And the rules for governing the raising and spending of money for the recall -- like the rules for reimbursement if Davis wins -- remain unclear.

-- Contact Sacramento Bureau Chief Steve Geissinger at [email protected] .

I don't know how true it is, but I heard someplace that the counties are gonna be responsible to pick up the tab for the reelection ballot. I think I overheard something on the radio about Los Angeles county is required to prepare it's ballot in 27 languages. c.i.

Memo casts recall as windfall for Bush; hidden Bush agenda
Memo casts recall as windfall for Bush
Grassroots appeal to 'women against Davis'
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/06/MN114924.DTL

While White House and national GOP officials insist they won't get involved in the California recall, a memo obtained by The Chronicle outlines a Republican strategy to oust Gov. Gray Davis and help President Bush before the 2004 presidential election.

The memo by California GOP organizer Julie Leitzell, who heads a political action committee called CommonSense Direction, says the Oct. 7 recall election presents an opportunity to target disaffected voters -- particularly women.

"We will work outside of the campaigns and outside of the party," the memo to Republican activists says. "None of the candidates will be attending, as we want to make sure the media are steered toward the 'common sense women against Davis' angle."

Leitzell's memo clearly suggests the imprimatur of the White House.

"Mindy Tucker, former Bush campaign spokesperson and current Bush campaign operative in California, has the White House's blessing to set the record straight: The person responsible for this recall is sitting behind the governor's desk," the memo says.

Both Tucker and officials at the Republican National Committee denied Tuesday direct involvement and -- mirroring earlier statements by the White House -- said the recall election is "a matter to be decided by the people of California."

A high-level GOP official, speaking not for attribution, characterized the plan by Leitzell, a former communications adviser to 2002 gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, as the work of an enthusiastic -- but unofficial -- party volunteer.

"To suggest that there is White House involvement in this particular activity would be incorrect," said Tucker, a spokeswoman for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and former high-level Republican National Committee staff member who is now working full time for the GOP in California.

But, she added, "the president has given everybody in California his blessing to take a position on this . . . and as a Republican woman in California, I feel strongly that Gray Davis has been an awful governor."

Leitzell, reached Tuesday night, downplayed her role in a larger GOP strategy, saying she was a grassroots volunteer who had no connection to the White House or the Republican National Committee.

But her memo says Tucker, California Republican Party spokeswoman Karen Hanretty, and Tracy Schmitt -- formerly with the RNC and now with the Bush- Cheney 2004 campaign -- "will be coordinating seven simultaneous media- friendly events throughout California, (and) we have been asked to call the Bay Area's attention to just how much Gray Davis will cost us if he were left in office."

The memo states "the resulting issue-oriented and image-enhancing coverage will benefit the image of the Republican Party, the recall candidates, and will benefit President Bush as we remind the public of who is to blame for the mess in this state."

RECEIVES GUIDANCE
Though she said her work is separate from party operations, Leitzell acknowledged she has received guidance from GOP decisionmakers.

"Mindy (Tucker) talks to us occasionally, and she's there to guide us as far as what we can do, as far as organizing events," she said. "She's there for us, so is Karen (Hanretty) . . . and Tracy (Schmitt)."

With just four days left to file as replacement candidates in the recall election -- and a week before Bush arrives in California for two days of official business and fund raising -- the memo reflects what many Republicans say should be an active approach to take advantage of the recall in a state that has been dominated recently by Democrats.

While the White House and Bush's chief political adviser Karl Rove "don't have to get involved, they can tell Republicans: Send money, open up your checkbooks," said a senior Republican Party strategist. "Give to Tom, Dick and Harry. Give to (Hustler publisher) Larry Flynt, for all I care. Just give."

Said GOP strategist Sean Walsh: "The Democrats (in California) are going to come unglued, and it's going to bleed over into the presidential race. You can either let the recall drive you -- or you can drive elements of the recall to your advantage."

TRYING TO PICK UP GROUND
Walsh added: "If this recall is going to happen, and Gray has alienated women, you can't fault Republicans for trying to pick up some ground."

The White House and the Republican National Committee leadership have taken pains to distance themselves from the recall because "any involvement . . . would give the Democrats opportunity to tie the White House to this, and say 'it's a Karl Rove-driven conspiracy,' " said a GOP adviser to the White House.

White House advisers and insiders have stressed repeatedly that neither the president nor high-level party officials intend to endorse any candidate in the recall race.

One reason for caution: In the 2002 California's governor's race, the White House backed former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, only to be embarrassed when the moderate mayor was handily defeated in the GOP primary by Simon, a conservative who was then defeated in November 2002 by Davis.

TIMELY MESSAGE
But Republicans strategists -- including Tucker and Hanretty -- acknowledge the statewide recall will provide an unexpectedly rich, and timely, opportunity to get out the party's message on a stage before California's 15.2 million registered voters as they begin to turn their attention to the next presidential race.

Bush will draw that contrast in campaign events and official visits to San Diego on Aug. 14 and the Los Angeles area on Aug. 15.

"Nothing defines the difference in leadership between Democrats and Republicans than a comparison between the weak, failed leadership of Gray Davis and the very successful leadership of George W. Bush," Hanretty said. "And certainly, every day that Gray is in office is one more day to draw the distinct comparison with voters."

And Tucker said, "We've identified some areas where the recall will help us build the party -- not only for the recall, but also for '04, which everyone believes is important."
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GOP's strategy memo seeks women's vote
Excerpts from a memo by California GOP organizer Julie Leitzell, outlining Republican strategies to oust Gov. Gray Davis in the recall election:

"How much has Gray Davis cost every family and taxpayer in California? How much more will the bill come to if he is left in office? Whether we were for or against the recall as a political strategy, it's important that we use this opportunity (and hot news hook) to present an image of diverse Republican women (moms, educators, business owners, students, working women) united around fiscal responsibility and against the job-killing policies of Davis' regime."

"We will work outside of the campaigns and outside of the party. None of the candidates will be attending as we want to make sure the media are steered toward the 'common-sense women against Davis' angle. The resulting issue- oriented and image-enhancing coverage will benefit the image of the Republican Party, the recall candidates, and will benefit President Bush as we remind the public of who is to blame for the mess in this state. We are working on getting a big-name female draw for each local event."
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E-mail Carla Marinucci at [email protected].

There will be far less ballot places for this travesty. Many of the common working people will have difficulty finding the locations. This is demonocracy in action.