The newly elected governor has yet to take office and there are already more than enough reasons for the people of California to demand his recall. He has been elected with less than 50% of the vote, so clearly the majority of voters prefer that some one else be their governor.

There is no limit to the number of recalls the people can initiate. Another recall can start six months after the last election. If 12% of the number of voters in the last election petition for a recall, the recall is on. In this latest election was around 7.7 million people voted. 12% of that is a little less than 930,000. The number of voters who voted no on the recall was 3.5 million. So the voters are out there if the signatures can be gathered.

Below are the details from the constitution of the state of California pertaining to the recall law:

CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 2 VOTING, INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM, AND RECALL

SEC. 13. Recall is the power of the electors to remove an elective officer.

SEC. 14. (a) Recall of a state officer is initiated by delivering to the Secretary of State a petition alleging reason for recall. Sufficiency of reason is not reviewable. Proponents have 160 days to file signed petitions. (b) A petition to recall a statewide officer must be signed by electors equal in number to 12 percent of the last vote for the office, with signatures from each of 5 counties equal in number to 1 percent of the last vote for the office in the county. Signatures to recall Senators, members of the Assembly, members of the Board of Equalization, and judges of courts of appeal and trial courts must equal in number 20 percent of the last vote for the office.

(c) The Secretary of State shall maintain a continuous count of the signatures certified to that office.

SEC. 15. (a) An election to determine whether to recall an officer and, if appropriate, to elect a successor shall be called by the Governor and held not less than 60 days nor more than 80 days from the date of certification of sufficient signatures.

(b) A recall election may be conducted within 180 days from the date of certification of sufficient signatures in order that the election may be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled election occurring wholly or partially within the same jurisdiction in which the recall election is held, if the number of voters eligible to vote at that next regularly scheduled election equal at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote at the recall election.

(c) If the majority vote on the question is to recall, the officer is removed and, if there is a candidate, the candidate who receives a plurality is the successor. The officer may not be a candidate, nor shall there be any candidacy for an office filled pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI.

SEC. 16. The Legislature shall provide for circulation, filing, and certification of petitions, nomination of candidates, and the recall election.

SEC. 17. If recall of the Governor or Secretary of State is initiated, the recall duties of that office shall be performed by the Lieutenant Governor or Controller, respectively.

SEC. 18. A state officer who is not recalled shall be reimbursed by the State for the officer's recall election expenses legally and personally incurred. Another recall may not be initiated against the officer until six months after the election.

END OF SECTION

Recall him? Before he takes office?

What you gonna do if you don't like the next guy? Recall him, too?

I have an idea...why don't you just put up with Arnie until he's done, then work for putting one of your own in office? This time, do it right. Don't focus on saying what an SOB the other guys is. That's not sufficient reason to vote for your guy.

Dirty campaigning is a bad idea, too. It obviously didn't work this time, anyway.

Last point: If you don't get your way, don't whine about it. You all sound like petulant little children.

Grow up.

Saturday, February 9, 2002

By MARK HELM

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- As his agency prepares to sue the White House over the release of disputed documents, David Walker, head of the General Accounting Office, accused administration officials yesterday of misleading the public on the issue.

Last week the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, announced it will sue to obtain information about meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney, chairman of President Bush's energy policy task force, and officials of Enron Corp. and other companies.

Walker told reporters that both Bush and Cheney have incorrectly stated that the GAO is seeking the notes and minutes of those meetings.

He insisted that his agency wants only the dates and subjects of each meeting and the names of those present at the sessions that were convened to help the administration formulate an energy policy.

"We're not asking for the staff notes," Walker said.

Asked why Bush and Cheney had stated that the GAO wants the substance of the energy task force's discussions, Walker said: "I think it's because they've been poorly briefed by their staff. I do not believe that those individuals would knowingly misstate the facts."

Walker said some administration staff members had purposely misrepresented the GAO's demands even after the agency sent the White House a letter detailing them on Jan 30.

"I do know, however, that there are a number of staffers who in fact, on multiple occasions, including after we've sent the letter out, have (misstated facts)," he said. "Maybe they think it looks better for them."

Walker said the Jan. 30 letter informing the administration that the agency was preparing to sue clearly states that the GAO is "not seeking the minutes of these meetings or related notes of the vice president's staff."

Cheney, who has acknowledged meeting with executives of Enron, the now bankrupt energy trading company, six times last year, has said he won't release the information sought by the GAO because such disclosures would damage his and the president's ability to seek candid, confidential advice.

Cheney also has acknowledged that he met with Enron's then-chairman, Kenneth Lay, in April. White House officials said Lay gave Cheney a three-page document arguing against federal caps on electricity prices.

Last week Mary Matalin, counselor to Cheney, dismissed the significance of the document, saying that nine of Lay's 11 suggestions in the memo were not included in the White House energy plan.

Anticipating a court battle, Bush said last month, "Bring it on."

Cheney's staff failed to return several phone calls requesting comment yesterday.

Walker did not reveal when the suit would be filed but said the GAO will wait at least until he returns from a trip to New Zealand on Feb. 18. The lawsuit is expected to be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Walker said he hoped a compromise could be reached but that no negotiations were in progress between GAO officials and the White House. "I'm not happy that we are where we are," he said.

Early last year Cheney's energy policy task force received advice for two months from representatives of the coal, oil, nuclear and electricity industries.

According to Walker, the GAO's initial investigation was prompted in April 2001 by Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John Dingell of Michigan, who wanted to know if the task force met with Bush's big campaign contributors as it developed the national energy policy.

Waxman and Dingell wrote the GAO last month urging it to go to court. They said that "the need to obtain the information we requested has only increased over time."

Could you try to pick more relevant threads when you post stuff?

What you just put up has absolutely NOTHING to do with losers wanting to recall a fairly elected governor.

Do try to pay attention, willya?

So was Davis.

X, I realize your'e bitter about the recall, but try to be rational. Few candidates are elected by a simple majority in any competitive election. Now if only two parties were allowed to participate, you would have your wish of a simple majority. Arnold got 48.7% of the tallied vote. By the time the 2.5 million absentee ballots are tallied, he will likely be over 50%. Big deal. He won by relative landslide. Another recall wouldn't have the steam to get underway. Arnold has three years until the next election. So do you.

X, you couldn't recall what you ate for dinner last night.

The Left has neither the gumption nor the intelligence to mount a successful recall effort against the Governor, and more importantly, they don't have a legitimate reason. All they have is hate and bile, as usual.

But please, X, give it a try. I'm sure you could get the ball rolling - there are thousands of Lefty millionaires in Hollywood. But when it comes time to get petitions signed you''ll have a problem. And even if you get enough signatures you'll get squashed in a special election.

California is tired of Socialist Democrat governance. The mismanagement and corruption of the Davis Junta has come to an end, and soon the losers in the Legislature will face the voters as well.

It's a great day for California.

simple simon... dont assume too much, you make urself sound like a dumbass amerikkkan when u do.

im not bitter bout the election. if anybody other than arnold had been elected i wouldnt have given a shit.

i just find it funny how arnold decides to run a few weeks ago, he does a few stunts, says a couple of funny stuff "that guy owes me bacon" and suddenly hes mr popular.

if im not mistaken

the state of minnesota did the same thing when they elected Jesse Ventura for governor.

"i just find it funny how arnold decides to run a few weeks ago,"

EVERY candidate decided to run only a few weeks ago. Arnold is simply the best choice from an admittedly weak field.

So as bad or as great a Governor as he may be, he's heads and tails above the rest of them. Except for McClintock.

At the end of the day, California simply got angry and sick of pandering Democrats squandering our resources.

The fact that Arnold won while running against someone in his own party and therby splitting the party votes speaks volumes. California is heavily Democrat, yet when Arnold's and McClintocks together the Republicans received over 60% of the vote.

That is a STAGGERING defeat of the incumbent democrat. It squashes ANY claims of the recall being a Republican power grab and any claims that the people were swayed by Arnolds stardom.

This is a mandate.

Lets see here ...you said

"Arnold is simply the best choice from an admittedly weak field"

Could you explain to me what qualifies/ separates arnold as best choice....

Please list Political offices held, sucessful businesses ran, education, etc that are things we look for in a "well-qualified" politician.

Fresca: " It squashes ANY claims of the recall being a Republican power grab and any claims that the people were swayed by Arnolds stardom.

This is a mandate."

You are either being coy or exhibiting great ignorance of CA politics. Arnold got elected by riding his fame, avoiding the issues, and distancing himself from his party. Hardly can be called mandate.

And given the fact the the entire recall campaign was bought and paid for by Issa, it will take more than your unsubstantiated and wholly flaccid claim of a "mandate" to remove the Republican stink from this deal....or to rehab a dying party here in CA. He is still a minority, and the Republicans are still in trouble.

My feelings are that Adolph...wooops, I mean "Arnold" in the end will do irreversible damage to his party, sorta like Pete Wilson did.

Fido: "What you just put up has absolutely NOTHING to do with losers wanting to recall a fairly elected governor."

Which losers are you referring to, doggie, previously aggrieved Republicans or currently aggreived Democrats?

You are such a fuckin lyin' hypocrite, Fido....I bet all your fellow airmen just LOVE you......remember....what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.....

"And given the fact the the entire recall campaign was bought and paid for by Issa"

KPC...this is bullshit and you know it.

First of all, not a single petition signer or voter was paid a penny to sign or vote.

Issa paid those who collected the signatures. EVERY petitioner outside of every business who asks you to sign ANYTHING is getting paid by someone to be there. Virtually no one, with the exception of some very small very local issues, is standing there trying to get their petitions signed for free.

That Issa paid means nothing . People signed the things by their own free will AND voted overwhelmingly to recall.

Furthermore, almost every governor we've had has had at least one recall attempt leveled at them. They just always fail and get very little attention because CA never supports them.

This was different. People loathed Davis.

I'm sorry KPC, but you don't have a leg to stand on. The whole "Issa paid for the recall" is baseless.

If people didn't want Davis out, all the paid petitioners in the world wouldn't have got enough signatures.

You're guy got clobbered fair and square.

BTW KPC, given that you are such a fan of calling Arnold a nazi, I'm curious why you never mention the second part of the famous quote were Arnold says that, although he admired Hitler's public speaking abilities, he loathed what Hitler did with those abilities and how his actions were evil.

Funny how that part of the quote is always convinently left out.

Sounds like a Nazi tactic to me. The old demonize the enemy with lies and mischaracterizations.

...I've already tried to get Chicken Boy to acknowledge the rest of that quote; it may as well have been in Sanskrit for all the attention CB gave it.

Doesn't fit in with his "Arnie is a Nazi" worldview, therefore it must be ignored at all costs.

Considering that the majority of the electorate (including a fair number of Democrats!) voted to fire Davis, I''d say I was talking about your loser weenie whiner side.

"...what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander...."

And your goose is cooked, Chicken Boy.

Fido: "EVERY petitioner outside of every business who asks you to sign ANYTHING is getting paid by someone to be there."

Um. Wrong. I have petitioned myself, as a volunteer. As a matter of fact, there are many statewide volunteer groups who petition...they are just vastly outnumbered by paid gatherers, who make from .00 to .50 per signature. They are likely to be ill informed and prone to deception, as opposed to volunteers.

Add "ignorant" and "cynical" to the "liar" descriptive, doggie.

Fresca:"Furthermore, almost every governor we've had has had at least one recall attempt leveled at them. They just always fail and get very little attention because CA never supports them. "

So this petition drive succeeded because CA wanted it to succeed? Wrong AGAIN! It succeeded because of Issa. There was a small effort underway, and just like past efforts you talk about, was floundering, until Issa, the car thief turned car alarm bigwig, came along and pumped in the bucks. A firm was hired to get the siggies....THAT is what made it different. There are firms out there right now that will guarantee your initiative will make the ballot, for the right $.

So you are showing that you are completely ignorant of California politics. Learn a thing or two about petitioning and initiatives first, THEN you can break out the attitude. There is nothing more unbecoming than ignorance AND arrogance.

Fresca: "BTW KPC, given that you are such a fan of calling Arnold a nazi, I'm curious why you never mention the second part of the famous quote were Arnold says that, although he admired Hitler's public speaking abilities, he loathed what Hitler did with those abilities and how his actions were evil. "

He didn't say he "loathed" it, so quit embellishing.

Here is the deal, very simple...let's see if you get it, Fido had a bit of trouble, but...y'know....he's Fido.

ANYWAY.

1) As I see it, it makes sense to look at the question he was answering if you want to understand what he was saying. Arnold was asked about who his heros were. The first example he gave was Hitler.

That's fucked up.

2) But but but...yeah, I know, he was misquoted (how do we know?). But let's say he was misquoted...and you can get the corrected quote and read it. What the corrected quote said is that he admire his speaking style, but now what he did with it.

What the fuck does that mean? What was Hitler's "speaking style"? He was prone to sterotypes, hyperbole, jingoism, lying, racism...What was it that Arnold admired? He was a strong speaker? There are many strong speakers...better than Hitler. Why else? The way he used his hands...his command of the German language....I do remember he did say that he always wanted to be at a rally like Nuremburg...with all the people cheering for him and listening to what he had to say...

Hmmm....

Now, how can you admire Hitler's speaking style, but not what he did with it? What part of what he did? There are plenty of strong speakers out there, ones that hold their followers in their thrall....why Hitler? What did he "do with it"? Convince people to show up at a Nurenburg Rally? Nooooo....He liked that...Arnie said so himself...he LIKED that people gave Hitler unquestioned adulation...but THAT is what enable Hitler to do, to use a word that YOU used and Adolph did NOT, those loathesome things...



Then, after offering up Hitler as someone he admired "for his speaking style but not what he did with it", he could not offer up A SINGLE OTHER EXAMPLE....



Hmmmmm....



Adolph Schwantzengroper

"So you are showing that you are completely ignorant of California politics."

Uh, actually not. Not that anything you are talking about has anything to do with "politics" per se to begin with.

Whereas you might have helped garner signatures as a volunteer, as I mentioned sometimes happens, by and large almost all major petition drives are conducted by paid operatives. Thats exactly why we are so often hounded to sign numerous petitons utterly unrelated to each other as we leave Ralph's. So save the noble volunteer line. It doesn't wash.

It's all irrelevant anyway since unless ISSA was paying people to sign (including the hundreds of thousnads EXTRA who signed) there's absolutely no problem.

You can try and hold on to your sour grapes as long as you want, but there are MILLIONS of californians who signed the petitions and excitedly voted to kick this bum out.

As for whether or not Arnold is the best choice (will get to your Hitler nonsense later) I suspect we could do better. But at least he's not a democrat. Well, I should say, at least he's not any of the available democrats. These jackasses have had their turn and have fucked up.

BTW, what on earth is your basis for defending Davis, BustaMecha and their cabal?

I'm not defending anyone. I voted as I saw best for my state. What on earth is your basis for defending Adoph....damn...I mean "Arnold"?

Fresca: "If people didn't want Davis out, all the paid petitioners in the world wouldn't have got enough signatures."



A shining example of your complete ignorance of CA politics.

You haven't been around the real world very long, have you?

First of all, I'm not defending ARnold against anything but transparent smear tactics. You and I both know he's not a NAZi. It's simply ridiculous to claim that. Just as it's ridiculous (my name change included I admit ) to claim that Bustamante is some sort of Mexican seperatist because he was in Mecha.

As far as him being the perfect Govenor. Not a chance. I think he's the best of the choices who were running and could win.

And as far as the petitions go. Look, we'll never agree. I don't think enough signatures could be garnered without popular support and you do. Whatever. The bottom line is that the actual vote showed how the people felt. If the petitioners activities actually swayed that many people the vote would not have been such a landslide.

BTW. Checked out 16horsepower yet?

The only ones who care how the petition drive got momentum are the ones who didn't get their way. Boo hoo hoo.

Arnold won.

Your desired outcome didn't materialize.

You're a loser.

Get used to it.

Fresca: "Look, we'll never agree. I don't think enough signatures could be garnered without popular support and you do. "

This isn't a matter of opinion. There are companies out there who will get any initiative you want on the ballot for a price. They guarantee that they will get the qualifying quantity. And if you ever petitioned you would know that some people will sign anything. If you have the money then you can have your initiative. I realize this is inconvinient to your argument, but I am sorry, it is just a fact.

And you cannot call the recall a "landside" with only 56% voting to recall...you are so prone to exaggeration...

Is Adolph...Damn...AGAIN....I mean Arnold a nazi....I don't know...but he is a Hitler admirer by his own account....I'll leave the equivocating to his defenders.

No 16hp yet....gotta get some new tunes....we trade alot in the office here - lots of cutting edge listeners. I'll have to put out the feelers and see if I can scare up a CD....

Right now I am getting ready to pay a visit to my comrades in the People's Republic.....need some tunes for the 14 hr flt.....

Consonant Boy: "Arnold won. You're a loser. "

I didn't even know I was running...did you write in my name?

.....I am SO flattered!

It wouldn't matter even if Arnolds name wasn't on the ballot.

It wouldn't matter if the recall never took place.

You're just a loser because........ well, you're you.

Loser.