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Please, somebody, stop this man:
Gov. Schwarzenegger has taken a Bushian, don't-give-a-damn-about-dissent posture since bench-pressing his way into office two years ago (God knows, the starstruck fools who put him into office didn't vote for his politesse or fiscal acumen).
Now he's dragging us through a "special election" at our own ($54 million) expense to try ramming more unpalatable, ill-advised and power-grabbing legislation down our throats. Don't give him the satisfaction ...
Times columnist George Skelton warns that ignoring Schwarzenegger's special election on Nov. 8 could allow him to win:
One of the cynical reasons why Schwarzenegger and his gurus targeted this November for balloting was the cold calculation that special elections draw relatively small turnouts. Small turnouts historically benefit Republicans because the no-shows tend to be Democrats and independents.
A recent survey by the nonpartisan Field Poll showed how public opposition to the election could skew voter turnout and potentially help Schwarzenegger's ballot props. It found that 57% of registered voters wanted Schwarzenegger to call off the election. People opposed to the election were less likely to vote than those who favored it.
A whopping 71% of the least likely voters thought the governor should cancel the election. And of those probable nonvoters, 45% were Democrats and just 26% Republicans. That left a likely electorate of 41% Democrat and 39% Republican, undercutting the Democrats' natural advantage.
The actual voter registration is 43% Democrat, 35% Republican. And the California electorate in last fall's presidential balloting was 45% Democrat, 37% Republican, based on The Times exit poll.
Without a credible recall effort on the horizon, at least you can make this election a vote of no-confidence in a man who is gleefully pissing in Californians' pools.
Read up. Show up. Vote.
Posted by: Mack_Reed on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 12:04 PM
