News of the World: Recall Madness

 

Last week, there was a political circus going on in California, a recall election to oust  Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Hear were the two questions on the recall ballot:

1) Should Gavin Newsom be recalled as governor?

2) Which of these 40 bozos should replace him?

Leading the 40 bozos was talk radio host Larry Elder, a pro-Trump lackey whose sole policy position was anti-mask/anti-social distancing/anti-vaccine.

Larry Elder had zero experience in government and seemed to have has many clues as to how to govern. 

The only reason there was a recall is some Republicans got pissy over various efforts by Gov. Newsom to control the damn COVID-19 pandemic.  

And it is ridiculously easy to stage a recall for governor in California.

Essentially the recall was a power grab by the Republican party over the will of voters in California.  

So here is what could've happened. 

1) As few as 51% of the recall in favor of recall could've ousted Gavin Newsom as governor. So in that scenario, more 49% of voters would have voted NOT to recall Newsom.

2) Whoever among the 40 bozos on the ballot set up to replace him got the most votes could replace him. Even if the top vote getter among those 40 people got only 10% of the vote. 

In that scenario, a person voted for by 10% of California would've replaced someone 49% of California still wanted. 

Thankfully, the reality of the recall left no doubt about the income as the recall effort was soundly rejected.

The recall had implications reaching far beyond California's borders.  Imagine this: if Newsom had been recalled and a GOP Trump supporting sycophant had been installed as Governor, then if  Sen. Dianne Feinstein (who is very, very, very old) became very ill or died and had to be replaced by the governor, well, there goes the Democrat's majority in the Senate. 

The fact that the recall happened at all was seen as a sign of Trumpism run amuck.

The defeat of the recall has been described as Trumpism on the wane. 

I think it is too soon to write the death certificate for Trumpism. 

In heavily Democratic California, the GOP overshot their mark trying to take out the governor. 

Trumpism succeeds by going after smaller targets then worming its way up the system to cause more damage. 

Here in North Carolina, I've had to endure political ads in a non-election year for a Congressional candidate named Ted Budd. The ad extols his hard right conservative "virtues" but chief among them is his endorsement by Donald Trump. The ad ends with a stamp "Trump Approved" over an image of Ted Budd.

While it's over a year before the next national mid term elections in 2022, the primaries are about 6 months away and Donald Trump is getting the jump on endorsements.  Typically Presidents (current and former) stay out of the fray during primaries but Trump is never typical. 

In making endorsements at the primary level, Trump is taking punitive actions against any Republicans who have supported his impeachments or have not supported his big lie that the 2020 election was stolen.  In short, Trump only wants candidates who are loyal to him to survive primaries and go on the general election.  

Which is worrisome to the Republican Party.  With loyalty to Trump a driving consideration in the primaries, candidates who do survive to go on the general election may not be electable to a general population that may find loyalty to Trump more of a bug than a feature.  

In the short term, Trumpism has met a defeat in California as the recall effort goes down in flames. Gavin Newsom may not be a perfect governor but the people of California was damn sure no Trump toady was getting anywhere near the governor's mansion. 

That battle is won but Donald Trump is still lighting fires everywhere. The war is not over.