Tuesday, October 07, 2003

California Recall is a Disaster for Democracy I am writing this after 3 nights of unbelievable Red Sox baseball.  After each game, it is hard to breathe.  Anyway—maybe its an omen.   No matter what happens tomorrow, (or within the next month if it takes that long to count the votes), the California recall is a disaster for democracy.   I doubt that we have experienced such endemic corruption and manipulation of political parties and elections since the years of the Railroad Trusts and the Robber Barons of the late 1800’s.    Here is what is so bad that the media should be howling about it day and night.   First, energy companies conspire to rape California electricity markets, made vulnerable by a botched deregulation scheme.  They create artificial shortages to drive up the price.   Second, the feds, essentially an energy government, refuse to lift a hand to interfere with the rape of California.   Third, Gray Davis, a weak and uncharismatic politician, with few other options, caves to the energy giants and signs long term electricity contracts, locking in billions of dollars in overcharges for California customers.   Fourth, the electricity shortage magically disappears, but the State now has a multi-billion dollar hole in its budget.   Fifth, despite these problems, Davis wins a contested election with a comfortable majority of votes.   Sixth, the national economic collapse, which is triggering state budge deficits around the country, causes huge damage in California, to the tune of a $38 billion dollar deficit.  The Feds refuse any aid to states, forcing them to raise taxes and cut spending.   Seventh, a wealthy Republican ideologue, Daryl Issa, bankrolls thousands of paid signature gatherers to launch a recall drive against Davis.  Without his money, the recall movement never would have happened.   Eight:  with the recall on the ballot, the free for all ensues with Gov. Gang Bang (Arnold) vs. Gov. Washout.    Nine:  One week before the election, Californians receive dramatically higher car tax bills, under a law passed by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.  The law triggers a 2% vehicle tax when the state budget is deeply in the red.  So Davis is blamed for a Republican law.   Ten:  The election.  Whether or not Davis is recalled or left in office, a large plurality vote “for” him, by voting against the recall.   But if the anti-recall plurality is not 50%, than the candidate with fewer votes gets elected.   Assume Arnold gets 30% of the vote (which I now think is doubtful), while 48% of Californians vote against the recall.   If the total election is ten million votes, 4.8 million Californians vote to keep Davis as governor.  3 million vote to bring in Schwarzenegger.  This is not democracy, but rather manipulation on a grand scale.   If media reports are correct, Gov. Arnold may well settle for the 2 cents on the dollar energy payments offered by the Federal energy commission, instead of the 9 billion or so that Davis and Bustamante are pursuing through the courts, to get the energy companies to cough up their robber baron profits.   Net result:  energy companies rape California, republican money bankrolls citizens to throw out elected governor, minority candidate takes office, pays off the energy companies and other corporate interests, and the cycle starts again.   Democrats will never win so long as corporate money rules our political system.  There is only one way out, which is to build a movement of anti-corporate money.  This seems like an oxymoron, but it is what is powering Howard Dean’s anti-establishment campaign.  Regardless of which way California goes, the very fact of the recall is proof of the sickness of our political system, and of the desperate need to take back America. 12:05:28 AM   comment []

© Copyright 2003 Toby Sackton. Last update: 11/17/2003; 12:25:56 PM.