Fractional Recall
In a post 2016 world, one has to hedge on the declaration, but it would appear Gavin Newsom is on enough of a route to a victory — affirmation, I guess you call it — reaffirmation, if that is the term. The fallout becomes a curious lesson plan — I guess the disruption is successful enough as partisan stall tactic, whatever the election result.
Larry Elder comes out the winner, never mind that he works well as partisan cudgel for Newsom’s purposes — the most purified of GOP politics as… The Solitary choice… Either Newsom or Elder. And Elder goes back to his national talk show with a strengthened national constituency. I don’t see how any of the other candidates come out ahead for their efforts — unless, I guess San Diego’s Republican mayor or the young dude with a real estate YouTube show actually slides in to first.
That being said, Cruz Bustamante is right in or offering the major difference in recall elections and just why Newsom is in better shape than Gray Davis and just why he can not be blamed for Davis’s loss even as he was taken in as a cautionary tale on tactics: for Bustamante taking back-up for Davis, “hard to blame me with Davis’s approval rating in the high twenties / low thirties.”. The dilemma with the premise of the recall as an electoral tool — and what if the rating is merely in the forties?
The Twitter feed for Newsom gets comical. We meet the the Democratic Party heavy-weights, or supposed “influencers” for parts of the constituency. A tweet directing to a tweet by “AOC”. ” California’s own Kampala Harris”. “Listen to Barack Obama”. And Klobuchar and Warren. I gather he is playing with fire, or getting such on behalf of the Democratic Party if not himself, by tossing A link to a Hill article with the quote —
“Women are smarter in politics, smarter in civics, they’re smarter in economics. Women rule.”
— Say what you must on “fragile masculinity”, but it does offer a goodoff-ramp for men voting for you, while some feminist women’s study language will dismiss it with a rem that boils down to ” patronizing”.
We do see a first blush of a quick saver for the Democrats, and we can see this as what they will look to in 2022, is Texas’s abortion bill, where we find a retest from Robert Reich that “Needless to say, if Republicans take power, it would have devastating consequences for California and beyond. (See: Texas)”.
Staring at tthe candidates, skipping past the two major parties — even as you look amused at the Democrats — such as they are —
James Hanink, of the American Solidarity Party. “No party preference” it says, even as he offers his party. One definition of “Trump’s without Trump”, vigorously opposed to him even as they voted for him. A fifth party worth keeping on a sideways glance.
Dennis Richter — “Defender of Cuban Revolution and opposed to Washington’s six-decade long economic embargo. Oppose wokeism and and cancel culture. For unconditional right of Israel to exist as a Jewish State”. Or, to put another spin on it — getting kicked out of any Communist gets together for apostasy past ” defending Cuban Revolution”.
Anyone else notable? Perhaps not…