LOS ANGELES (AP) At first glance, the pieces of the recall
puzzle don't seem to fit.
Gov. Gray Davis, a Mr. Rogers double but minus the charm,
inspires little voter affection but wasn't caught with his hand in
the till. And the budget problems here don't fully explain it;
other states face their own red ink.
Still, come Tuesday, Davis could be the second U.S. governor
recalled from office. (North Dakotans ousted Lynn Frazier in 1921.)
Spasms of discontent occur at regular intervals in the sometimes
unsunny Golden State: The ``We're Mad as Hell State'' could be the
license plate slogan. From property tax revolts in the 1970s to
state Supreme Court justice ousters in the '80s to term limits in
the '90s, Californians have shown they can apply direct democracy
as readily as sunblock.
For some, bouncing the governor would not be enough. ``I'd like
to recall most of the Legislature,'' said Bruce Beasley, a
businessman in Orange County.
But even this feisty tradition didn't prepare Californians and
the nation for the dozens of candidates, thousands of jokes and
millions of dollars that the trend-setting state has dished up this
time around.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's candidacy pumped up the recall like a
shot of steroids, helping create a convergence of celebrity and
national politics. The contest has fed partisan anger, reviving
memories of the contested Florida presidential election, and shaken
up party loyalties.
Exciting times in California. Maybe the most ever? ``Outside the
founding of the state itself, yes,'' said state librarian Kevin
Starr, reaching deep into the mists of 1850.
And there is potential for the outcome to reverberate far beyond
Tuesday's election and California's borders, in the 22 other states
that have initiative, referendum or recall provisions.
``Hope so,'' Ted Costa, head of the People's Advocate taxpayers
group that launched the recall movement, said with optimistic
brevity as the vote neared.
Costa's quest, and the state's wild ride, began in February when
People's Advocate announced the recall effort. ``We can't wait four
years (for the next election). We have to get our financial house
in order,'' he said.
The announcement fit easily into California's heritage. In the
early 20th century, when government was under the thumb of corrupt
big business, progressive Gov. Hiram Johnson pushed for recall and
initiative provisions that make citizen power plays a relative
snap.
This time around, California had gone from a $10 billion budget
surplus in 1999, when Davis became governor, to a $38 billion
deficit. The deficit now is projected to be about $8 billion for
the next fiscal year.
While many analysts agreed he could have done little to prevent
the 2000-01 energy crisis or shield the nation's most populous
state from a nationwide economic malaise, his critics had none of
it.
They blamed him for that and more, including lying about the
size of the deficit to win re-election in November, which Davis
denied.
Davis protested that he shouldn't have to take the rap for the
economy or for energy policies enacted by previous administrations.
But in supermarket parking lots, at malls, at stadiums, voters
began signing their names to recall petitions. Their anger was fed
on several fronts: a tripling of the state vehicle tax to make up
part of the deficit; rising student fees at community colleges and
universities, and Davis' reputation as a voracious fund-raiser who
put the desires of big-money special interests ahead of the public
good.
The grassroots petition process progressed slowly until
Republican Congressman Darrell Issa stepped in.
Issa, who represents a northern San Diego County district and
made his fortune in car alarms, spent more than $1.7 million on the
recall drive and explored his own run to replace Democrat Davis.
About 900,000 signatures were required; by mid-July, the effort
had collected nearly double that. It was clear that GOP discontent
alone wasn't fueling the drive. As Republicans had predicted, they
needed disaffected Democrats and independents to make it happen.
When the election was set for Oct. 7, the action really started.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, considered a shoo-in to
replace Davis if she ran, called the vote ``a terrible mistake''
and declined. That flung the door open wide enough for the big guy
muscleman, actor and now Republican politician Schwarzenegger.
He strolled through on the arm of ``Tonight'' host Jay Leno, who
provided an NBC stage for Schwarzenegger's Aug. 6 announcement. The
decision to run, the actor told America, was his toughest since
agreeing to a 1978 bikini wax.
Schwarzenegger clearly intended to run his own race, his way.
He was highly visible on talk shows that featured friendly hosts
such as Oprah Winfrey and Larry King, and nearly invisible when it
came to debates and interviews with political reporters, especially
early in the campaign.
With Schwarzenegger's star power, the contest became the most
heavily covered statewide election ever on the ABC, NBC and CBS
nightly newscasts, according to the Tyndall Report, which monitors
the programs.
It was also expensive, costing the state an estimated $66
million to put on. Candidates' spending approached that amount;
with about two weeks left, they had already run through a combined
$50 million.
Schwarzenegger had to concede a fraction of the spotlight to 134
other candidates, including Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who broke
ranks to provide a known Democratic alternative, Republican state
Sen. Tom McClintock, Green Party candidate Peter Camejo, columnist
Arianna Huffington and former baseball commissioner Peter
Ueberroth, who soon dropped out.
Issa, lacking voter and party support, was not part of the
field. He wept as he announced he wouldn't run, a touching recall
moment.
``It was Darrell Issa's money that made it possible, although in
his case it didn't produce the desired effect that is, Gov.
Issa,'' said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at
Claremont McKenna College.
Other candidates jumped in, investing $3,500 (such a bargain!)
for the filing fee.
``Hustler'' publisher Larry Flynt praised Californians'
progressiveness, saying, ``I don't think anyone here will have a
problem with a smut peddler as governor.''
The most colorful candidate? Nope. Not given Angelyne, a buxom
blonde best known for her Los Angeles-area billboards. Or porn
actress Mary Carey, whose platform included a breast implant tax.
Schwarzenegger had his own past to answer for, including a racy
interview with Oui magazine in which he boasted of sexual exploits.
Faced with a potential female voter backlash, he claimed he was
just talking big and called on wife Maria Shriver a career woman,
Kennedy woman and stand-by-your-man woman for help.
On Thursday, starting a San Diego-to-Sacramento campaign trip,
he issued a confession that he'd ``behaved badly'' with women and
was ``sorry about that.''
The Los Angeles Times had quoted six women as saying he had
groped or sexually harassed them. Meanwhile, ABC News and The New
York Times reported Schwarzenegger told an interviewer in 1975 that
he admired Adolf Hitler's rise to power from humble beginnings. The
candidate said he had no recollection of such comments and called
the Nazi leader a ``disgusting villain.''
Huffington became a Schwarzenegger gadfly. As the two sparred
during a recent debate, she pointed her finger at him and
interjected, ``This is the way you treat women.'' Schwarzenegger
responded by saying he had the perfect part for her in his next
``Terminator'' sequel.
When she dropped out, she threw her support to Davis and the
anti-recall side.
It didn't take long for Easterners to start firing the usual
salvos at the Wild, Wacky West. A Washington Times columnist
referred to California as ``the place where the fruits intersect
with the nuts.''
The word on the street wasn't much kinder.
``We're looking at California saying, `What's going on?''' Dina
Haskal of Somerset, N.J., said in August. ``We are scratching our
heads.''
So, it turned out, were some aghast Californians.
``The average IQ in this country is 99. In California, we test
out at 96,'' said Stanley W. Moore, a Pepperdine University
political scientist, lamenting an obsession with celebrity
candidates reaching back to Ronald Reagan.
True to Hollywood, the recall played by its own lively script.
Former President Clinton, brought in to help energize the party
base, spoke at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church with a
preacher's fervor. The recall was part of a right-wing power grab,
Clinton said, entreating, ``Don't do this. Don't do this.''
If Davis, whose kindest descriptor is ``robotic,'' hoped for a
Clinton charm transplant it didn't take. The governor continued to
fall in the polls a recent one showed him with a 62 percent
unfavorable rating.
Cranky Californians pushed up voter registration and prompted
predictions of high election day turnout.
In the midst of what many called a circus, a three-member
federal appeals court panel temporarily stopped the show
disallowing an election using outdated voting equipment in some
precincts. The decision was quickly overruled by an 11-member
panel.
Most of the state's major newspapers are recommending that their
readers vote against the recall. They did the same thing with Prop.
13, which slashed property taxes.
``But the majority said, 'The heck with you.' It really was a
voter revolt,''' said Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the
nonpartisan California Target Book guide to state elections.
State librarian Starr, speaking from the state capital,
Sacramento, sees the same dynamic at work now.
``Initiatives come when people feel frustrated. If they
(politicians) don't get the message, they'll be seeing a whole new
generation of politicians. There will be all kinds of
Schwarzeneggers up here then.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)