Weighty Winning in the West on the Wednesday Political Open Thread

[Z is for Zangie]

Good Morning. Governor Newsome appears to have won in a landslide, though all votes aren't in, 60% are and at this point, he is leading by 30 points over Mr Elder. That percentage may drop a little, but still quite a big margin. Lots of commentary on twitter and elsewhere about what this means. Seems to mostly consensus that this says something about Trumpism and motivating Dems to vote and the suburbs to stick with the Dems for now. Also that the Republicans kinda botched this in several ways. It cost 300 million taxpayer dollars for this recall, which responsible people from all sides know they need to either banish this thing, or fix it. And the projected panic was unneccesary.

[Z is for Zangie]

PS: Dave Wasserman , whom I love, called it at !!:13! Steve Kornacki ( also love) shortly after

[Mike]

This just tells me the recall was obviously stolen.

[Randi]

I’ve read that Elders website was calling it “ fraud” before the election
That will be the Republican MO going forward. If you lose because you have no decent policies, whine about fraud until the next election

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

It was the expected out come. I still got great pleasure out of voting for the recall.

[Senor Natural]

I'd love to see a recall of Abbott, and I'd love more to see it succeed. I would definitely vote to recall him.

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

I'd love to see a recall of Abbott, and I'd love more to see it succeed. I would definitely vote to recall him.

I honestly haven't really followed Abbott closely. Other then being a Republican, and having a Laissez faire attitude about covid is there anything else you dislike about him?

[Tarmaque]

I'd love to see a recall of Abbott, and I'd love more to see it succeed. I would definitely vote to recall him.

I honestly haven't really followed Abbott closely. Other then being a Republican, and having a Laissez faire attitude about covid is there anything else you dislike about him?

He's a bad governor, with trumpitis. He believes that the governor has absolute authority over anything he wants. He keeps issuing executive orders over things for which the governorship has no authority.

[Tarmaque]

It was the expected out come. I still got great pleasure out of voting for the recall.

Just like in the election, if the Republicans haven't nominated an absolute loony they might have more of a chance of unseating a Democrat. In this case, Elder was Newsom's best friend.

[Mike]

I'd love to see a recall of Abbott, and I'd love more to see it succeed. I would definitely vote to recall him.

I honestly haven't really followed Abbott closely. Other then being a Republican, and having a Laissez faire attitude about covid is there anything else you dislike about him?

Laissez faire? Concerning covid? Apparently, you are unfamiliar with either the translation or the usage. Here, let me assist: the literal translation of it is “allow to do”. The common usage of it in modern terms is to not interfere in the choices of folks, particularly where business is concerned. Here’s a recent news item related to Abbott, one with which I know you are familiar:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/texas-g ... imits.html

So then. Would you care to revisit your description of Abbott as “having a laissez faire attitude about covid”, now that you are aware of what the phrase means and of how he is actively preventing private businesses from having their own mask requirement policies concerning this deadly pandemic?

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

Just like in the election, if the Republicans haven't nominated an absolute loony they might have more of a chance of unseating a Democrat. In this case, Elder was Newsom's best friend.

That's the funny thing about California recalls. No primaries anyone can run. There were actually two better Republican candidates on the ballot, but Elder was the celebrate name in a sea of 40 candidates.

[Roam85]

The Costa/Woodward book should matter.

But it won't.

Hooray.

[Tarmaque]

That's the funny thing about California recalls. No primaries anyone can run. There were actually two better Republican candidates on the ballot, but Elder was the celebrate name in a sea of 40 candidates.

The incredible silly thing about all of this is that there will be an election in another year. These recalls are all about fear that the Republicans won't have a candidate in a year that can beat Newsom. The reality is he hasn't done anything illegal or recallable or impeachable. He's just doing things the opposition doesn't like. He isn't totally incompetent, nor is he a grifter on the level of a lot of Republican governors. He just has the wrong letter after his name on the ballot.

If a strong Republican candidate had been campaigning all this time for the governor's race next year, they'd be in a lot better position to get him out of office. The problem with the Republicans now is they are impatient. And childish. Like Trump, who is their god.

Note that I never said he was a desirable person as governor, nor that he's competent. I'm not making those judgments about him. Just pointing out that the opposition is being incompetent in trying to remove him.

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

The incredible silly thing about all of this is that there will be an election in another year. These recalls are all about fear that the Republicans won't have a candidate in a year that can beat Newsom.

They don't and they won't. They have to know that.

he reality is he hasn't done anything illegal or recallable or impeachable. He's just doing things the opposition doesn't like. He isn't totally incompetent, nor is he a grifter on the level of a lot of Republican governors. He just has the wrong letter after his name on the ballot.

Recall doesn't require any specific act in Ca. Just enough of the voters to agree we should take it to a ballot. Dissatisfaction is reason enough for recall by CA law. I know that's different then a lot of other states. As far as I am concerned that is democracy at work. I wish as a people we could recall federal officers the same way.

Note that I never said he was a desirable person as governor, nor that he's competent. I'm not making those judgments about him. Just pointing out that the opposition is being incompetent in trying to remove him.

Mike got the same impression and the DNC has done a great job of selling the "republican recall". The reality is that there are not enough registered Republican's in many of our districts for Republicans to start one alone. There were registered democrats who signed the petition. This recall was brought on by a lot of frustration with Newsom.

[Tarmaque]

Just enough of the voters to agree we should take it to a ballot.

I realize that. However I don't think this kind of recall initiative is helpful. What it ends up being is an election on a more frequent basis. Perhaps it would be better to have shorter terms for the politicians in California.

However that's unlikely to happen. Y'all seem to like your system when your particular side of the argument is in control.

I have long been a proponent of a fourth branch of government. A branch of government who makes no laws, appropriates no funds, and generally has no connection to the legislative process. It should be nonpartisan, and elected by the various States in whatever way they feel is most appropriate as long as it is utterly non-partisan. This fourth branch of government would have one and only one duty. That duty would be to regularly examine all politicians and judges and other elected officials to see if they are fulfilling their duties adequately, and not committing any crimes or corruption. This fourth Branch would have the ability to convene a trial of its own members to determine if any politician or judge or other elected official should be removed from office.

It'll never happen, and I see all sorts of problems that would need to be overcome. However I think a branch of government whose soul duty was to remove the incompetent and corrupt would be helpful.

Perhaps the most difficult thing would be to ensure that they are non-partisan. That's probably all but impossible. Kind of like how our government officials used to have to take the pauper's oath.

[Mike]

The Costa/Woodward book should matter.

But it won't.

Hooray.

The details in that book are scary. Pence was no hero; he just could not find a way to do what trump wanted. The next time, when the GOP possibly controls one House, it could very well be a different story.

[Tarmaque]

The Costa/Woodward book should matter.

But it won't.

Hooray.

I don't think the book actually reveals much we didn't already know, or at least suspect. Trump is a spoiled child with a chainsaw. We are simply lucky that there were enough adults in the room to keep him from cutting down the Christmas tree.

I think this book is important as a historical document. It won't really change anything, but at least it's got enough reputability that it can't simply be dismissed as fiction, as much of the conservative literature of this era will be.

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

I realize that. However I don't think this kind of recall initiative is helpful. What it ends up being is an election on a more frequent basis. Perhaps it would be better to have shorter terms for the politicians in California.

Let's start at the extreme. What if a Governor found a loophole in existing finance laws. This allowed him to quadruple his salary. It's not illegal, but I'd expect almost every citizen to want that governor recalled. I actually like the fact that the power is in the hands of the people here. But I have a profound distrust of politicians and anyone who seeks power for the sake of power. I'd much rather rely on the people to make the right call. Even if I disagree with the outcomes in both cases. I'll be the first to admit this plays into my biases.

I have long been a proponent of a fourth branch of government. A branch of government who makes no laws, appropriates no funds, and generally has no connection to the legislative process. It should be nonpartisan, and elected by the various States in whatever way they feel is most appropriate as long as it is utterly non-partisan. This fourth branch of government would have one and only one duty. That duty would be to regularly examine all politicians and judges and other elected officials to see if they are fulfilling their duties adequately, and not committing any crimes or corruption. This fourth Branch would have the ability to convene a trial of its own members to determine if any politician or judge or other elected official should be removed from office.

It's an interesting idea in theory. I think you are right in that I see no way to keep it from becoming partisan. The problem is for the politician politics is a zero sum game. But it isn't a zero sum game for the citizens of the country (although too many act like it is.)