California Recall: The Coup Inside the Circus [View All]

http://rwor.org/a/1213/recall.htm

California Recall: The Coup Inside the Circus

From our correspondent in the San Francisco Bay Area

Revolutionary Worker #1213, September 21, 2003, posted at rwor.org

On October 7 a recall election in California will decide whether Gray Davis will remain governor or whether he will be replaced by one of 135 candidates. The list of replacement candidates includes front- runner Arnold Schwarzenegger (best known for his portrayal in The Terminator ); Gallagher, a comic who likes to smash watermelons; and Hustler publisher Larry Flint.

The circus atmosphere surrounding the recall has been a boon to late night television comedians. "I'll tell you where this recall is really causing problems--over at Hollywood Squares ," quipped Jay Leno. "There are so many B and C level celebrities running for governor, they had to shut down production."

However, behind the circus is a serious and sinister grab for power. Drawing a comparison to the efforts to impeach Clinton in 1998, Davis has called the recall the result of a "right-wing conspiracy." And he is right.

Anatomy of a Power Grab
Davis won reelection in November 2002 by a significant margin. The recall began less than 100 days later. Those sponsoring the recall claim that the reason for the recall is that Davis lied about the size of the California budget deficit and about raising new taxes when he was running for reelection. They also claim that Davis mismanaged the California energy crisis.

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