Why was Gray Davis recalled?

[Dpm12]

Why was Gray Davis recalled in 2003 as Gov. of CA, and who and why in the hell would someone vote for Shwarzenegger?

[Taverner]

1. One word: Enron

He was planning on charging them for crimes after they gouged California

[Tikki]

3. That is the right answer.

Plus some thought arnul would somehow wrestle up freebies for Californians.

schwarzenegger was getting busy, elsewhere.


Tikki

[libodem]

4. Great minds

I swear I didn't see yours first. Ya think we are on to something?

[Taverner]

13. LOL

We tapped into the collective unconscious!

[libodem]

17. I'm down with the woo

That wizard smilie turns out to be a dunce. My substitute woo woo will have to do.

[TeamPooka]

11. +1000

[Octafish]

12. Got it in one, Taverner.

Arnold was up to his shaved eyebrows in ENRON.

[City Lights]

15. Yup.

End of thread...

[libodem]

2. Politics

And ENRON. ENRON, remember the immediate rolling brownouts, the day after Bush was elected.

They ran the electricity up and down the state and charged for it both ways. They bankrupted the state and dined on the bones.

That's what I think. I'll go get my tin foil hat. Attractive, yes?

[MrMickeysMom]

5. History is good...

You have to repeat it often these days...

The people ... they forget too easily.

[IggleDoer]

6. Because he failed to balance the budget

So we got Ahhhnold instead. He did a heck of a job.

[TeamPooka]

10. actually Darryl Issa started the official recall paperwork because he thought he would win.

Ahnold screwed it up for him

[Tikki]

16. arnul, like all previous State repugs left us in a mess...

Heck of a job screwing us, among others, up.


Tikki

[onehandle]

7. Because 'It would be awesome to have The Terminator as our Governor.'

Actual statement on a local news program by a person on the street asked about the Gropenfuhrer.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. Things were bad and he had not shown any visible leadership

That worked for the average voter coupled with the star appeal of the Gropenator.

Lots of speculation about the "real" reasons. Those posts need to go to CT with the other woo.

[PufPuf23]

19. The financial crisis and the likelihood of prosecution of Enron is not woo nor CT

To state that is a cheap shot post, ignorant of history, and stifles conversation.

That is like saying the Enron scandal in general and Cheney's Energy Task Force is woo.

There was much $$$ of special interests behind the recall and the star power of Schwartzenager/Shriver was attractive to the low info voter, the same stinking thinking that got California Reagan as Governor and later POTUS.

I was no big fan of Davis but the energy crisis then was manufactured and caused great financial harm to California.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

20. Yes it is...the typical voter who voted did not know or care about those things

so have little to nothing to do with by Davis was booted, which is the central thrust of the thread.

Davis lived up to his name and was a poor choice by the party for Gov. Americans expect some charisma and leadership which was lacking in Davis.

Branding the majority of the elecotrate as low information voters is what Limbaugh does...

[PufPuf23]

24. The full situation of the recall was not known until after the recall.

I am and have been a relatively informed voter (albeit always D except some local votes and non-votes for specific Ds) but did not have much understanding of the Gray Davis recall except GOP tactics to undermine and remove a Democratic Governor. The full extent of the Enron corruption was not known at the time of the special election.

Limbaugh creates low information or rather misinformed voters. All politics has a degree of bait and switch and corruption unfortunately.

With hindsight, I do not think Davis would have been recalled by the voters of California.

[roody]

9. Because people are stupid.

[Johonny]

29. pretty much

including Issa who help orchestrate the whole thing and was left as big a loser as everyone else. The backward voting process was set up to basically guarantee Davis would lose.

There was the big energy company screw and Bush Co. not helping California at all. There were budget problems. The 2/3 majority made it impossible for Davis to deal with modern taxation problems. But it pretty much it happened because people were incredible stupid and turned the election into a big celebrity show Funny enough an actor was not able to turn the states finances around and left the office even more unpopular than the guy whose job he stole. You'd think a person would have to show real lack of leadership or major corruption to lose a recall, but not here in California. Heck even Walker won his recall because the people thought the off year election without facing real criminal charges was off base, even people that didn't support him. That is vastly more normal than what happened in California.

[JVS]

14. Wasn't it something to do with people pissed off about an increase in DMV fees?

[CountAllVotes]

18. Ahnuld promised to lower DMV fees

And he did just that.

I believe it has been revoked again and now people have to pay for the tags on their car(s) in full every year rather than the rolled back rate.

It mattered not much to me but a lot of idiots out there voted for Ahnuld for this reason alone.

[Bradical79]

21. watch Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

[OmahaBlueDog]

25. Great minds think alike

That film sums the whole thing up nicely.

[bigtree]

22. because republicans could

. . . that's their entire rational for the war they're waging against Americans

[Wellstone ruled]

23. Pete Wilson was one of the big movers behind this

debacle. Davies got caught with his lack luster PR department,and the wealthy folks wanted a Rethug controlled Legislature for redistricting. It was all about politics baby. Notice how Prop 13 played into this,this is how the Rethugs plant time bombs in state governments.

[OmahaBlueDog]

26. By the way, check your sig line for spelling

[Initech]

27. Darrell Issa was crying that his party didn't win.

[no_hypocrisy]

28. Because enough voters in California thought it would be more fun to have an action hero

(sorta) actor be governor than a career politician. They had so much fun with a B-Movie actor (Reagan) as governor, they thought they'd try it again.

[BlueToTheBone]

30. Enron and Diebold made The Boobengroper govenor of our state.

He was in the process of suing Enron for 9 Billion dollars and he was recalled with the help of Diebold and Riverside county.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

31. Because the strongest emotion he elicited in even the most partisan Democrat was...

near total indifference.

He was a cynical loner who thought he could launch himself to the national scene from the governorship. Nobody really cared either way and the general public got caught up in a circus.