California Gubernatorial Debate -- Painful to Watch

[dolstein]

Ariana's off her meds.
Cruz is smugly condescending.
Arnold's a veritable bull in a china shop.

Suddenly Gray Davis doesn't look so bad after all.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

1. Seriously

Gray Davis looks like FDR at this point.

[Demobrat]

2. I like Comejo.

Maybe I'll just say screw it and vote for the Green.

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. Camejo is really impressive!

I should google him...

[mike_c]

20. that's what I've been planning to do from the beginning....

Peter Camejo is awesome. Vote no on recall, yes on Camejo!

[Dookus]

27. Alas...

Camejo's polling under 3%.

Any vote for Camejo helps Schwarzenegger.

[mike_c]

28. no, any vote for Camejo helps Camejo....

Stop perpetrating the myth that voting for X = voting for Y.

[Dookus]

29. My point is

simply that voting for somebody who has NO chance to win is something of a wasted vote. If the recall passes, and Bustamante fails to get a plurality, then Arnold will win.

I like Camejo very much. But his poll numbers very clearly indicate that he has zero chance of winning.

[DuctapeFatwa]

31. One advantage of being a non-believer

I respect all faiths, including faith in the voting process, but one advantage of not having that particular faith tradition is that you can go ahead and vote your conscience, since the guy with the most money, and/or picked by the various PACs, is going to win regardless of for whom you vote, or if you vote at all!

;)

[nbsmom]

32. Please...don't do it.

Do you remember last November? Camejo took a LOT of votes away from Davis, and that's why it was a 5-point race over Simon at the end.

If I really thought this election was about choosing the best candidate (instead of voting defensively against waking up on 10/8 with Governor Ahnuld) I would most certainly vote for Camejo. He clearly knows and loves the state and the needs of its many citizens...but that's another election, for another time.

This election is TOO important -- and the margin is too small -- to throw votes to third-party candidates. I'm completely paranoid about the Return of the Pete Wilson Machines, and you really should be too.

[mike_c]

34. I disagree....

It's always about choosing the best candidate. Anything else is too cynical for words.

2002 was a 5 point race over Simon because Gray Davis couldn't inspire democratic voters if he were running against Satan himself, which he damn nearly was. Peter Camejo, on the other hand, can generate that kind of passion if he's given the chance to express himself in statewide media, something that was largely denied to him during 2002.

When you vote, use your power. Don't throw it away.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. Gray Davis has just earned the right to serve the rest of his term!

:kick:

[billbuckhead]

8. Actually Camejo and Arianna are kicking RepuKKKe ass

and the bitter irony is that I could never vote for them. Our system is hopelessly flawed.

[Catch22Dem]

16. I thought he earned it last November

But indeed you are correct! :)

[genius]

4. Arianna's great.

Imagine what she would do to Bush if she were governor. The good news, is that this debate may help Davis stay in office.

[dolstein]

6. Frankly, I think Arianna's awful

She's constantly going off-topic. Wildly off topic. That may amuse her fans, but I don't think it's going to impress the average voter.

[billbuckhead]

24. Arianna lost the battle, but won the war,,,Well one of the wars

But Cruz will lose the votes. I hope she drops out and cautionistically endorses Cruz and enthusiactically endorses Camejo. Demcratic's lose when women don't vote in big numbers for our Democratic candidates.

[Imajika]

5. Yeah..

..the whole thing would be laughable if it wasn't for real.

But Davis will be out of a job in a few weeks. Either Cruz or Arnold will wind up being governor. The smart bet is on Bustamante at the moment, but my gut tells me Schwarzenegger wins the election. Perhaps some kind of last minute deal between he and McClintock? I dunno.

The entire thing is a circus and a bad precedent to set. But Davis is just so unpopular I can't see him saving himself here.

Imajika

[quinnox]

7. I have to agree

What a bunch of kooks.

Cruz seems like such a typical politician slimeball to me.

The best candidate seems to be the Green in this debate.

[ShaneGR]

9. Best debate I've ever seen

The moderator is pathetic. All of the candidates are insane. And they can't stop insulting each other. GREAT!

[Room101]

10. I like Arianna she is killing

She is an attack dog.

[tjdee]

11. It's certainly entertaining.

If the coverage of this thing was as entertaining as this debate, I wouldn't be so sick of it.

But I think Gray Davis is looking mighty good right now.

Poor Darryl Issa! And all his money down the drain!!

[Oracle]

14. Reimbused by the WH...I'm sure...

[AmeriCanadian]

13. Yeah, I'm just about ready to turn it off

n/t

[jiacinto]

15. What is happening

Give me the play by play.

[tjdee]

17. It's really hard to do that, because they're all acting like children.

They're interrupting, they're using their answer to attack each other, the moderator is a mess....

[spooky3]

19. there are multiple threads on this that provide some pbp

[w4rma]

18. Whatever you think of Arianna, dolstein, she is helping save Davis's job

IMHO, Arianna rocks and this recall is a ridiculous circus act.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

21. By attacking Arnie, it makes Davis look like a winner!!!!!!

NO ON THE RECALL!!!!!!!!!!!

[blkgrl]

22. I'm thinking she may split the Democratic vote

Between Davis, Bustamante, and herself. I would probably vote for her after seeing this debate.

[w4rma]

30. I think Davis's percentage on "no on the recall" vote just went upwards.

Although, she also might have earned some of Bustamante's voters and other voters.

I hope that folks will NOT vote for Arianna, though. Bustamante is the Democrat and he is our only shot at preventing Arnold from taking office (and it's bully pullpit) if the "no on recall" vote fails.

[nbsmom]

33. One More Time....

Davis is not running against anyone.

He is on the first part of the ballot, the part where the question is,

"Shall Gray Davis be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor? "
Yes
No

Then, on the second part of the ballot (And don't forget, no matter whether you vote yes or no on the first part of the question, you need to vote on this second part as well)

Candidates to suceed Gray Davis as Governor if he is recalled,

followed by the names of the 135 candidates. This is the race where Arianna, Arnold, Cruz, Peter and Tom are running, along with 129 other candidates.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dookus]

26. There have been at least 6 threads...

here in General Discussion on the debate. More in Politics and Campaigns.

LBN is usually reserved for published news stories.

[realFedUp]

25. Wonderfully entertaining and educational.

Now this is democracy, mess and grace together!

I guess we understand now why Arnold isn't being
unleashed more to debate.

We did learn a lot more about each candidate
and that was the point.