Those Californians who had finally had enough of the infamous
loopy-lefty governance of their home state which produced
runaway taxes (in terms of both quantity and cost), huge,
intrusive government micromanaging their lives, increasing
crime in the cities, and outrageous behavior and activity
including but not at all limited to public urination and defecation,
attempted to recall and remove the head of the khakistocracy,
Gov. Gavin Newsom. A most left-wing Democrat, Newsom
himself had ordered California's beaches, famous for their beauty
and splendor, closed during the early weeks of the Coronavirus
pandemic. He also failed to adequately address the homelessness
problem plaguing many of the state's major cities, ditto the
drought and its (and Sacramento's) effects on available water,
frequent power failures, sweeping fires destroying neighborhoods
and entire towns, and his hypocrisy regarding his mask mandate
--- he attended a big gala at a toney French restaurant sans a mask.
Newsom also ordered a ban on large gatherings such as this one!
Republicans, so few as a percentage of California's electorate,
initiated the recall effort after Newsome's 2018 election. They
thought that not only could they unseat Newsome but that they
could also reverse their long-sagging political fortunes by thus
taking out the head of the cabal, then going after the rest in
the capitol and break up the Dem's near-monopoly on the
Golden State's government. Sadly, this didn't come to pass.
A cluster of candidates, mostly Republicans, ran in the race
to topple Newsom. Radio talk show host and author Larry
Elder emerged as the front runner and the leading opposing
candidate in the first stage of the balloting. Among his
fellow candidates were Caitlin Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner,
'70s Olympic Track and Field champion), Assemblyman
Kevin Kiley, businessman John Cox, and former San Diego
Mayor Kevin Faulconer. There were 46 candidates in all (!).
Recall elections historically haven't been successful for
those initiating them in California; out of 55 leading up to
this campaign, only one had been successful --- the one
in which bodybuilder and action movie star Arnold Schwarz-
enneger, a moderately liberal Republican defeated incumbent
Gray Davis for the governorship. And this recall flopped like
the other 54.
Anyone who had been following the recall effort from its inception
would have thought that it would have been a certainty that
the power-mad Gov. Newsom would have been shown the door
by the voters. The final straw for many Californians was his
draconian shutdown of practically the entire state, affecting
schools, businesses, houses of worship, beaches, and parks
both big and small. A great economic hardship resulted for
people who couldn't work at their jobs and for people who
couldn't run their businesses. Many residents packed up and
moved to lesser-taxed, less-regulated, not-so-tightly-locked-
down states stating that they had to make a living, that their
children missed too much school, and their freedom of move-
ment was severely restricted. Newsom's violating his own edicts
were another reason many gave as to why they moved.
But many Californians stayed and fought via the recall campaign.
However, many more Californians, those that the state has had
the misfortune to become known for --- the flakes, nuts, weirdos,
the hopelessly vapid, the sort of people that comedian Jay Leno
would feature in his chats with them in his "Jaywalking" segment
on the Tonight show when he was its host. And of course the
Hollywood set, with their well-loaded checkbooks and their
lefty-chic politics (refer to the aforementioned phrase "hopelessly
vapid"; they fit quite neatly under that heading) --- won the day
by winning the recall election with their campaign contributions,
their rallies, and their votes that came in droves.
And now there is just one thing left for the defeated citizens of this
woeful state to do, if they see no reason to remain and to somehow
fight on: to vote one more time, this time with their feet. They
can take a page from the book by their fellow Californians who
had already removed to more politically and economically
favorable states to start anew. I admire the spirit and pride that
the recall activists showed, and I would have even more admiration
for those who would choose to stay and fight on in the face of
daunting odds. For what it's worth, though, your doubtful Peasant
does not see the situation improving to the point where the state
will no longer be written off as a combination of backwater and
insane asylum, at least not in the near future. In the final analysis,
only time will tell, and believe me it's going to be quite a long time.
MEM
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