Davis Recall Bid Could Be Certified Today

Jul 23, 4:45 AM EDT

By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As a recall election of Gov. Gray Davis appeared nearly certain to qualify for the ballot, potential challengers to the embattled executive readied for a campaign that could start within days.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley prepared to certify the recall as early as Wednesday night as counties turned in their final petition signatures. A Los Angeles Times survey of counties found more than 1.1 million signatures had been validated, far more than the 897,158 required.

Davis, who would be the first California governor to face a recall election, predicted he would beat the recall.

"This election is not about changing governors, it's about changing direction. And I am confident the voters of this state will not opt for a right-wing agenda over a progressive agenda," he said Tuesday at an East Los Angeles health clinic.

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I still wonder what would happen if he were to wait until, say, Halloween, and resign, handing the office to Lt. Gov. Bustamente.

That would be truly sweet. Let the neocons spend their whole wad, only to have their coup dissolve in a puff of smoke.

And the california economy wouldn't have to take another hit due to the high cost of a special election.

That would be out of character. He will fight to the end.

It's a nice thought and would severely piss off repub scum like Darrell Issa, but Davis' ego is way too big for him to step down.

It's about not bending over for the GOP when you just won reelection. Davis hanging it up now only sends a message to every CA GOP butthead that all they have to do is put the screws hard enough to any future Dem gov and they will cave and hand over the reins of power.

You DO know this recall is part of a nationwide attempt by the GOP to take over various state governments? The recall here, the redistricting in Texas?

I say fuck'em, and the horse they rode in on.

I don't mean he couldn't just stop coming to work, of course he could do that, but he could not step down and pass the office over.

Like any other civilian Davis can always stop showing up, stop collecting his paycheck, and have Cruz Bustamante (lieutenant governor) take over all duties. But once the recall petition is certified the election will proceed no matter what Davis does.

aren't saying a word about Bush bankrupting this country,
giving tax breaks to all his donors, starting wars where
there is no cause and lying about the reasons why or even
about the energy gouging Cheney and Lay planned in secret.

We in California are on a sorry path and many who signed
this recall will feel the effects first through their children
and elderly parents.

Apparently, there's nothing in the California state constitution that specifies that if Davis loses the recall election, and, say, Adolf Hummer (aka Ahnold Schwarzenegger) gets the most votes to replace him, that Davis has to relinquish his job to Hummer. Lieutenant Cruz Bustamante can take the job if he wants. Sure, every Clear Channel GOP talking-point-spewing AM radio motormouth up and down the state would be stroking out and calling for Bustamante's head, but if he can maintain his cool and stay out of small planes, the job is his.

Screw those GOP chumps, anyway. You hear a lot of noise about how the Democrats are trying to thwart the will of a million recall-petition signers, but nobody seems to be standing up for the majority of us who voted for Davis and now are seeing the results of that election overturned. Yeah, screw them; they're messing with my vote now.

This is nothing more than a naked power grab by the GOP. They got caught with their pants down when Davis knocked out Rove's hand-picked candidate, Riordan, in the primary. Then, when Davis beat Simon, the GOP realized it would have to use the recall process to knock him out and install a Republican, so that the lawsuit(s) against Enron, El Paso, Williams, Dynegy and the other Texas energy pirates could be quashed before they reach the discovery stage, which might prove to be highly embarrassing and damaging to Bush, Cheney and a bunch of other prominent Republicans. Why else would the GOP be so desperate, if it didn't have something big and stinking to hide? The 2006 election is only three years away. Why not wait until then?

Again, this is nothing more than a naked power grab by the GOP, which is desperate to hide the evidence that Bush-Cheney and their corporate cronies orchestrated the California "energy crisis" and ripped off California consumers. And these thieves must be stopped. I hope we can do it.