Politesse
Lux Aeterna
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2018
- Messages
- 12,114
- Location
- Chochenyo Territory, US
- Gender
- nb; all pronouns fine
- Basic Beliefs
- Jedi Wayseeker
I don't know how many of our posters here will be interested in such a local political question, but California's governor is facing a recall election next month. My ballot just arrived in the mail. The whole affair is giving me very bad vibes; the conditions are similar to when Grey Davis was recalled in 2003, one of the first elections I had ever voted in, and one which resulted in Arnold Schwarzenegger leading the state into fiscal and humanitarian disaster for six years. I'm still traumatized, obviously. Why do the Republicans always nominate random clowns for very important offices? This time, it's Caitlyn Jenner taking Schwarzenegger's place as the "inconsistent moderate who is not particularly liked by any faction but whose name/brand is recognizable due to being a celebrity" slot. The only person the RNC has as back up if not Jenner is shock jock radio host Larry Elder, likewise a local celebrity with no actual credentials or experience for the role, who thinks slavery should be "ideally" re-legalized in the state. And the Democratic Party is making many of the same mistakes now that they did then: allowing the election board to phrase the recall question on the ballot confusingly ("yes" means boot him, "no" means keep him) and encouraging voters to leave the second side of the ballot, which names Newsom's possible successor, blank rather than clearly endorsing a backup candidate. The stage is set for successful political takeover in which the majority are actually against the recall, but may lose the vote anyway, and we end up with yet another f*cking reality show star in a powerful and influential position. We're fighting a serious outbreak of the Delta variant right now, and you know the first or second thing any Republican is going to do is outlaw PPE and force all public and commercial institutions to open.
This will end in disaster. I don't like Newsom as a person any more than the next guy, and his inept handling of this recall is an excellent example of the customary political empty-headedness that has characterized his entire career, but recalling him and replacing him with some damn Hollywood buffoon is not going to help anything at all.
^ Some typical supporters. Note that they aren't backing any specific replacement governor, because the person they really want to be in charge of the state is the guy whose flag they're waving. One Flag, one Party, one Leader. And they accuse Newsom of totalitarianism. At least he's never promised to answer directly to the White House/Mar-A-Lago.
This will end in disaster. I don't like Newsom as a person any more than the next guy, and his inept handling of this recall is an excellent example of the customary political empty-headedness that has characterized his entire career, but recalling him and replacing him with some damn Hollywood buffoon is not going to help anything at all.
^ Some typical supporters. Note that they aren't backing any specific replacement governor, because the person they really want to be in charge of the state is the guy whose flag they're waving. One Flag, one Party, one Leader. And they accuse Newsom of totalitarianism. At least he's never promised to answer directly to the White House/Mar-A-Lago.