In 2003, California voters did what was believed to be unthinkable. They actually recalled their sitting state governor, Gray Davis, and replaced him with bodybuilder-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While the state’s recall process had been in place for almost a century, not one of the recall efforts had been successful before then. And there were 117 attempts in the past near-century for all levels of state government. And every California governor starting with Ronald Reagan had at least one recall attempt. The move to recall Governor Davis, however, was the first to ever succeed.
The recall effort, if it does make it to the ballot phase, is a two-question process. The first is whether or not to recall the official in question, which, in this case, was Governor Davis. The second was to choose who would succeed him if he is recalled. That part was a 27-ring circus with a whopping 135 candidates. Everyone from seasoned political wannabes to adult film stars and former child actors. And, of course, the “Terminator”.
The “yes” vote on the recall came as a complete surprise given the history of the effort. Not as much the choice of replacements. Everyone knows who Arnold Schwarzenegger is, then and now. He was married into the famed Kennedy family. He was the former chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. He was an action star. Even a cartoonish supervillain. Of the 135 names on that ballot, his was the most recognized. That’s why he became the next governor of California when the “Yes” vote won out.
Now, fast forward eighteen years, and we see history trying to repeat itself.
This time around the governor in question is Gavin Newsom, and this time around the Trump/Q cult wanted to have one of their own to replace him. Out of the 46 wannabes in this 27-ring circus - including Caitlyn Jenner, the former editor of an adult magazine, YouTube personalities, a model, teachers, realtors, and various software programmers - was radio personality and Trump cultist Larry Elder.
Everyone wanted history to repeat itself, especially the media. Their daily polls continually pushed the script that Newsom was going to be recalled just like Davis. And then, when those same daily polls said Newsom was going to prevail, the script kept saying to not trust the polls. Funny how the media never doubted the polls when they were leaning towards “yes” for recall; only when those same polls began leaning towards “no”.
And yet... when the election came and went and the votes were counted, Governor Newsom keeps his job, and by a very strong majority. It wasn’t even close.
Why? Well, there are a few reasons why, none of which are being reported on by the media.
Let’s start with the obvious one... despite the huge maps of counties that the media and the Trump/Q people love to throw about that show California as supposedly “equally divided”, it’s not. Counties do not vote! People do! And there are more voters in those “blue” counties than there are in the “red” and “purple” ones.
Now, you do you really think that those “blue” county voters are going to recall a sitting governor when the person who would most likely prevail is someone seen as a Trump follower? No. They’re not.
Larry Elder is no Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger was not only well-recognized, but he was also well-accepted by a wide group of people. Elder put his lot with the Trump/Q cult. That made it a rematch of the 2020 Presidential Election for California. That made it a referendum of Narcissist Donald Trump.
What you didn’t hear too much about is the reason why this recall was called for versus the 2003 one.
The 2003 recall of Gray Davis was about several factors, most notably concerning the economy. Davis rode into the Governor’s Mansion on the “Dot-Com Boom”, which was particularly strong in California with Silicon Valley and all sorts of young Internet ventures being built. But he was still in office when the “boom” turned into a “bust”, and all of those ventures dried up. Then there were the statewide rolling power outages that Davis was inept and impotent to do anything about. Outages that we later discovered were intentionally created by the corrupt conglomerate Enron.
Unemployment, power outages, corporate greed, these are things that affect people directly. If you ride in on a good economy, you’re bound to it if you’re still in office when the economy falls.
What was Newsom being recalled for? For COVID hypocrisy. Because after spending time telling people to mask up and social distance and to avoid public gatherings during the height of a global pandemic, he was caught at a fundraiser full of people without a mask. Damnable? Absolutely. But compare that to rolling blackouts and rampant unemployment, which affect people on a personal level, and it’s like trying to remove Newsom for wearing white after Labor Day.
Oh, sure, that’s not the only thing on the recall petition. You toss in the conservative tantrums of being “taxed too much” and “too many homeless people” and the supposed “lowest quality of life” and the “sin” of giving healthcare to immigrants and the homeless. “Lowest quality of life” my ass! You’ve never been to the southeastern part of the country, have you? But all of that was just add-ons to the COVID hypocrisy.
Funny too, because the faction that desperately wanted Elder to be governor are anti-mask and anti-vaccine, and they’re throwing tantrums for Newsom’s hypocrisy. Yeah, be mad because Newsom was a hypocrite, but your pearl-clenching is really fake if you’re pushing for what he’s not.
What did Elder in was that he and his campaign tried to play the “Big Lie” Narcissist Trump card, specifically claiming that the results were rigged before the election even happened. The Narcissist did that before his 2016 win and again during his 2020 loss. A lie that is still being regurgitated today and now apparently is in the official playbook for the Trump/Q political cult. It’s only “fair” if they win and it’s always “fraud” if they lose. Typical fascism.
Let’s get brutally honest here... Governor Newsom kept his job because he wasn’t Gray Davis, because the preferred alternative was not well-liked for that state, and because the circumstances surrounding this recall petition were nothing like they were in 2003. The reasons given to remove Davis were legitimate and affected people on a personal level. The reasons given for removing Newsom were petty, hysterical, partisan, and pathetic.
People keep talking about how $300 million was spent on this failed recall. Yes, taxpayer money was spent on this recall, but so too were the other 118 recalls. Yes, that money could have been spent on healthcare and the homeless and helping to feed those still hit hard by the pandemic and an economy still trying to come back. But that’s not the only money spent.
Think about all the campaign contributions given to Elder and the other wannabes. Every political hack and would-be game-player needed campaign donations for their failed attempt at being governor. Every political action committee and lobbying group that generated money in their failed attempt to remove Newsom and put their champion in the governor’s mansion. All the telemarketing calls and junk mailings asking for money. All the money spent on ads on TV and radio and billboards. None of that is free, and none of that came from tax money.
And let’s not forget “The Big Lie” playbook. If Elder didn’t concede, and if the results were close, you know they would have been screaming “audit” and “recount” and “fraud”. And, again, millions would be generated in donations for “auditing”. They’re doing it now with the November election. They would’ve easily done it for California if it wasn’t the blowout that it was.
But don’t worry, folks. The real governor’s election for California is just next year. I don’t see Larry Elder or the rest of the 27-ring circus going away anytime soon. This is just a setback for them. They’ll be back to do this all over again... sooner than you think. It’s a pity the voters couldn’t somehow recall the losers from the political field with their “no” vote.
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