Recall Rant
I’m feeling the need to rant about two things: the recall and pension reform. I’ll start with the one that is slightly less boring.
I’ve never liked Gray Davis. I didn’t like the way he took the California electrical crisis, which was in large part created by Davis and the California legislature and turned it into the fault of the utility companies who were trying to play by California’s bizarre rules. I did not like the fact that he tried to get federal regulatory agencies to cancel that he signed in good faith. Although I admired his shrewdness in raising money early so he can use it to knock his competition out of a primary and win reelection against a political novice, it made American democracy worse and I do not like him for it. Although he is in good company in turning in a state budget that sidesteps the state’s fiscal issues by raiding every one-time source of revenue available, that doesn’t make it the right thing to do. Now, I realize that being a governor is a difficult job, and there were a lot of interests beyond Davis’s involved in each of these, and I have never followed California politics closely. But I have never found a reason to like Davis.
That being said, if I were a Californian there is no way I would vote to recall him. The precedent of eliminating politicians for being unpopular will only is atrocious, it will only encourage them to spend more time tending their images. I can accept impeachment proceeding for egregious infractions, but public recalls do not server the democratic process.
It goes without saying that the structure of the recall is bizarre. 250 candidates each searching for a plurality (which could be less than 1% of the vote). There is no point in trying to build consensus, because no one needs that many voters. All you have to do is find a constituency and get them to show up. It magnifies all of the normal polarizing effects of mid-term elections.
And then there’s Arnold, whom a number of people are comparing to his Predator co-star Jesse Ventura. As close as I can tell, the similarity stops at their being centrist outsider entertainers-turned-politicians. Jesse made his mark in his election and stood out from the major-party candidates by talking candidly and directly problems facing the state and how he wanted to address them. It made him a marked contrast to his platitude-spewing opponents. Not only is Arnold affiliated with a major party, but he is playing the part of a hand-shaking, baby-kissing, issue-evading politician. Not that one expects him to have a complete platform in 60-day election cycle, but he could still talk about something. He plays a more convincing politician than he does a robot (like of Al Gore in reverse).
August 21st, 2003 at 12:29 am
“250 candidates each searching for a plurality (which could be less than 1% of the vote). There is no point in trying to build consensus, because no one needs that many voters.”
Aaron, have you looked at alternate voting systems (instant runoff, approval voting, etc)? Could they ever be implemented? Would they actually make elections “better” in some meaningful sense? Or does Arrow mean there’s no hope for elections no matter what? I’ve always been fascinated by this question; I’d be curious to hear your thoughts in a future entry.