I know I recently announced that I’m heading in a new direction on this blog, and I am, and intended to leave politics behind, and I do, but sometimes something is just too important to ignore — and that something is this bullshit recall election in California.
The California Republican Party believes their best shot at unseating a legitimately and fairly elected governor is by staging an off-year recall election with nothing else on the ballot. They’re banking on good old American laziness — we just can’t be bothered to color in a box and drop a paper in the mail, let alone show up to vote. The cost of this longshot soft coup? $267 million.
$267 million.
That’s not money they spent. That’s what it will cost California counties to hold this election. In other words, you and I paid for this sham election. That right there should be enough to motivate you to vote “No” on the ballot to recall Governor Gavin Newsom.
What a colossal waste of money. They could have waited ONE year until the regular gubernatorial election, and simply supported the Republican candidate they thought had the best chance of running against a governor, who, in the midst of the worst economic crisis California has had in a long while (thank you, COVID) as well as apocalypse-level wildfires, has done an outstanding job of keeping California from falling over the edge. Were his decisions comfortable, or pleasant? No. But they were necessary. Anyone who’s ever raised children, and had responsibility for their wellbeing and safety, knows that many times the most beneficial decisions are the least popular with those affected by those decisions. Governing is no different.
Just to fluff up the “adding insult to injury” aspect of this sham recall election, the current front runner is radio talk show hose Larry Elder, and his television commercials are so slimy, I’m amazed they don’t slide right off the television screen and coagulate in a pool of stinky goo on the floor. In a nutshell, Elder blames Newsom for all sorts of expenses, from higher gas taxes to higher cost of living, and none of these things are decided by Newsom. They’re decided upon by the state legislature. Elder surely knows this (unless he’s a complete idiot), and he also knows that tossing those things out there will attract un-thinking people like cats to a toy mouse. Are you smarter than a cat? Then don’t fall for this nonsense and manipulation.
There is plenty about this Republican Recall attempt to overthrow election results to be outraged about, but I have one more little piece of evidence that infuriates me, and it should infuriate you too: Long before the pandemic or any of its related ramifications, the California Republican Party was plotting to overthrow Newsom immediately upon his successful victory in the 2018 election, and I have proof.
It was September of 2019, and my husband and I were strolling around the grounds at the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, and amongst the many booths of horse-related items was a decidedly far-right wing vendor, based upon the many items and signs spewing the rage and hate of the fringe right. Above all this vile content hung a sign from the Nevada County Republican Party: Recall Newsom. They even had a petition going for people to sign. I laughed out loud, because for one thing, Newsom enjoyed a healthy victory in 2018, was off to a fine start, and was (and is) well-liked by the majority of California voters.
“That’s not even a thing,” I called out to the pinchy-faced malcontents manning the booth, and kept on walking. The next day, we were out strolling the grounds again, and I saw the sign again, and decided to take a photo because it was so completely ludicrous, I wanted to document it. It’d make a great sarcastic social media post. But, I never did get around to making a post, because taking an easy and cheap pot-shot at delusional Republicans was too easy. At some point, harping about their blatant self-servitude is just too easy… that old “fish in a barrel” thing. Besides, with all of Trump’s antics at the time, those small-fish California Republicans didn’t seem worth the effort.
But here we are, three years later, and I’m really glad I took that photo at that booth that day, because it highlights just how shallow and shameless the California Republican Party is. They have been plotting this Republican Recall since the day Newsom was sworn in. The pandemic was just a convenient excuse. The level of sleaze is just over the top. And we MUST stop it — not merely for Newsom’s sake, but to squash this slimeball attempt to overturn an election. Stopping it is so easy: Vote NO on the recall, whether on your mailed paper ballot, or at the polls tomorrow.
You may like Newsom, you may not. But surely you don’t like being manipulated, and surely you can think of far better ways to spend $267 million.
NO on the recall.
No, no, NO.
