Vindicated: Gray Davis should have resigned before the recall certified

[bluestateguy]

I told you so. Had Gray Davis resigned the night before the recall certified none of this mess would have happened. There would have been no recall, California would have had an excellent new Hispanic governor--who would have been in position to possibly be America's first Hispanic president someday--and Arnold Schwarzenegger would be on some movie set right now blowing things up. But instead this whole episode simply reveals what we all knew all along: Gray Davis never gave a damn about the Democratic Party. He constantly undermined the base of the Democratic Party as part of his efforts to be a "New" Democrat and appease Angry White Men (who only snicker at such pathetic efforts while they continue voting Republican). No wonder 24% of Democrats voted Yes on the recall. I would be willing to bet you that many of those folks were liberals who felt no obligation to be loyal to Gray Davis. The last of the "conservative Democrats" in California vanished with Gary Condit. Gray Davis chose to fight an unwinnable, rear guard battle (no poll ever showed him winning) that has resulted in the possible comeback of the California Republican Party. We were well on our way to banishing the California Republican Party to extinction, but now that task has been set back. Thanks a lot Gray.

[davidinalameda]

1. well yeah!

but he didn't and we're stuck with Ahnuld

make the best of it for the next 3 months

and then start circulating petitions!

[niyad]

2. on the other hand, he did NOT commit any crimes, either

of malfeasance or misfeasance in office which would have indicated a recall. being an SOB is NOT what a recall is supposed to be about (otherwise we could get rid of all the bastards)

if it weren't for karl rove and darrell issa's money, this would not have happened. blame the people who are actually responsible

[jenk]

3. it was a risky move by davis

and it backfired as most expected. Davis has always been a fighter, but you just can't win nowadays with the GOP/Media mudslinging machine. Davis should've honorably stepped down.

maybe we'd be focusing on Treasongate instead

[jeter]

4. bluestateguy, I remember you saying it

I said it too. I don't know how people thought Davis would ever win.

[noiretextatique]

5. i thought so as well...but

i thought i read that even he had resigned, the recall would have still happened, but maybe i'm mistaken.

[TSIAS]

6. The way I understand it is

He could have resigned before the recall was certified. After it was on the ballot, there was no turning back

[Noordam]

7. NOT if he did it BEFORE it was certifed. (My understanding)

[noiretextatique]

12. perhaps...thanks, i'll check it out eom

[Padraig18]

8. Davis is as big a narcissist as Nader! n/t

[noiretextatique]

11. clinton is actually a more appropriate comparsion eom

[JackSwift]

9. Davis was never going to step down

particularly after winning re-election so recently. No normal politician would have done so, and certainly not so self-centered and arrogant a bastard as Davis. Gray Davis never did anything in his life that did not bring some benefit to Gray Davis, he was a true example of an Ayn Randian self centered shit. Fortunately, after this he won't be able to run for Mayor of Barstow, so we are done with the bastard. I never have to vote for Gray Davis again!! Oh the joy.

My fantasy is that AS turns out to be liberal and leaves the Republican party.

[slackmaster]

10. I don't recall anyone ever claiming otherwise

Please refresh my memory if I am in error, but as I recall the whole fracas about "Davis should resign and stop the recall" erupted here on the DU forums AFTER the recall was certified, not before.

Before the recall was certified the prevailing themes were more like "There's no way they'll ever get enough signatures", "Petition gatherers were hired guns from out of state therefore the petitions are invalid", and "We should flood the petitions with fake signatures to prevent the recall from being certified".

We were well on our way to banishing the California Republican Party to extinction, but now that task has been set back.

Are you really sure you'd like to banish the Cali Reps to extinction? Our entire system of government is based on adversarial debate at all levels. The Republicans do serve a useful function as an opposition party in California, just as Democrats have been consigned to that role nationally. The history of nations and states with single-party rule is not very pretty.

Be careful what you wish for.

[ParanoidPat]

13. Vindicated? BULLSHIT! Don't you look anything up?

From http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=elec&codebody=&hits=20

11302. If a vacancy occurs in an office after a recall petition is
filed against the vacating officer, the recall election shall
nevertheless proceed. The vacancy shall be filled as provided by
law, but any person appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold office
only until a successor is selected in accordance with Article 4
(commencing with Section 11360) or Article 5 (commencing with Section
11380), and the successor qualifies for that office.

This was the very first thing Davis's lawyers looked at and shot down.
It was widely reported and discussed to death here! :evilgrin:

On Edit: Before you even say it, they would have waited 90 days and gone after Bustamante! With $9,000,000,000 at steak, those sleazeballs would have stopped at nothing. :(

[democracyindanger]

15. Exactly n/t

[Pale_Rider]

16. Excellent rebuttal ...

... and yes the Ah-nold attorneys would have been shitting themselves in joy! Two Democrats in one shot.

:kick:

[mitchtv]

14. yup grab your pink tutu and run

the republicans are after yo