Your choice for California Governor if Davis is recalled

[XPav]

Unlike the real election, this one is open to everyone, not just Californians. Like I could stop you anyway.

[Andrew Mayer]

Bustamente is at 50% with one vote.

It's just like the real thing!

[quatoria]

Wow, I'm amazed to find that I'm not the only one favoring Huffington.

[Jason McCullough]

Good lord, why? It'd take some dire straits before I'd pull for her.

[quatoria]

Why? Because she's remade herself, in the years since Bush's election, from a conservative to a progressive. I've listened to her speak, heard her articulate her ideas, and watched her defend them. She's pretty damned impressive, and has a whole lot of ideas that I agree with. I never expected to see someone who was such a die-hard Clinton hating conservative do such an about face after the way the country turned. It speaks volumes for her that she realized she was wrong, and that the country and positions she had do earnestly defended were destroying the country.

[Jason McCullough]

I agree with most of her positions, but she also has little or nothing in the way of rational thought to back them up.

Plus that "confronting Arnold" thing was handled horribly.

[quatoria]

Whenever I've seen her called upon to defend her positions, on live television, no less, I've seen her do an impressive job of articulating them and dealing with attacks upon them. Why do you say she has no rational thought to back them up?

[Daniel Morris]

I've listened to her speak, heard her articulate her ideas

This must be sarcasm. Huffington "articulates" by screeching, and her "ideas" come mainly from the Larouche website.

[Thierry Nguyen]

I didn't see either Galactus or Dave Grayvis (http://www.theonion.com/onion3932/california_recall.html) on the poll.

[Brian Rubin]

Personally I'm going to vote No on the Recall, but if he does get recalled, I'd hope to see Bustamante elected in his place.

[cyborg]

http://www.gongoozler.com/images/arnold.jpg

[Jason McCullough]

Whenever I've seen her called upon to defend her positions, on live television, no less, I've seen her do an impressive job of articulating them and dealing with attacks upon them. Why do you say she has no rational thought to back them up?

Ok, I admit I haven't examined this in depth; I just had acquired that impression. Add in "voted for Nader" and bleagh.

Here's (http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030901&s=lizza090103) an extraordinarily funny article about the recall. The credit card Ariana gave to her teenage daughter figures prominently.

[XPav]

Sorry Jason, most people don't subscribe to TNR. Tell us the good parts. :-)

[Ben Sones]

Good lord, why? It'd take some dire straits before I'd pull for her.

Gary Coleman is running for governor of California. How much more dire do the straights need to be?

;)

[Brandon Clements]

Is Simon even campaigning? I wonder how much he'll siphon off of Ahnold?

[Jason McCullough]

Oh, whoops. The highlights:

Among the handful of C-list celebrities in the race, Gallagher seems the most desperate. He is so excited that I read his plan for California's future--including the use of "military-style heavy-lift helicopters to clear accident vehicles immediately," a ban on yelling into cell phones in public, the proper pruning of the state's palm trees, and the damming of the Sea of California--that for the next week he regularly calls me to discuss his campaign. He wants his ideas taken seriously and worries that his act may get in the way. "Smashing a watermelon could have been the worst thing I ever did," he says sadly. "I'm a visionary. I'm a thinker. I talk for two and a half hours before I smash food." Besides that, he has experience in politics: He performed at former California Governor Pete Wilson's first inaugural.

Gallagher says he has come to Washington not to promote his tour dates--though they are helpfully included in campaign press releases--but to learn the nuances of policy from government agencies. His plan is to make stops at the Treasury Department, Pentagon, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Atomic Energy Commission. (The last one may be kind of tough, since the commission hasn't existed since 1974.) But, for now, he has only one major appointment on his schedule. "I will be meeting with Greta Van Susteren," he says proudly. "I don't know what level she is in the government, but she's my top chick now."

An Asian woman walks toward Gallagher with a cell phone extended and, in accented English, asks him to talk to her daughter. It's not clear if the woman knows who Gallagher is, but she definitely recognizes him as some kind of celebrity and that seems a good enough reason to want her daughter to say hello. Gallagher is thrilled. "Do you know Gallagher, the smashing comedian who gets food on everyone?" he yells into the phone. There's a pause, and then he frowns. "You don't?"

.....

This is the campaign's maiden voyage and Huffington, sitting in the front seat in a smart gray pantsuit, asks me to help christen the minivan. As Sekoff tests out some ideas on me ("The Greek Goddess," "The Greek Salad"), Huffington's cell phone rings, and she is suddenly dealing with the first crisis of her campaign. From what I can hear, there is obviously some sort of financial emergency. "Yeah, because I put six hundred," she says. "I told her to put it in, and she said she did. ... OK, there's something wrong."

Hanging up the phone, Huffington turns toward me and explains the problem: "It was my daughter. I gave my fourteen-year-old her own limited credit card." "She maxed it out right away?" Sekoff interrupts. "She said, `I'm here at the mall, and my card has been declined,'" Huffington explains. "So now I have to call and see if I can put some money [on it]."

.....

Saying goodbye to Huffington, I check my voice mail. It's Gallagher. "Hi Ryan," he says. "I have this beautiful satiric picture of me with a huge tin cup gathering contributions to solve the California debt crisis in front of Treasury, and I can't get any of the networks interested." Somehow he thinks I can help. "Maybe we can do a story about the problems of freedom of speech for a comedian in a gubernatorial race. It's so strong of an image. It's a huge twenty-gallon pot. It's so beautiful. Bye-bye."

.....

Soon after I finish Velcroing her fatigues, my fears about brooming are allayed when Mary's husband arrives. We walk downstairs, and, while she waits to go on stage, Mary strolls into the adult store connected to the theater. She opens the latest issue of Hustler magazine, which happens to be owned by yet another gubernatorial candidate, Larry Flynt. She's not worried about losing exposure in the magazine now that the two are competitors. "I'm actually pretty good friends with his wife," she says. In fact, Mary flips over a page and finds a picture of herself. "They reviewed my movie!" she shrieks. What movie? "New Wave Hookers 7." We move into the dressing room for the other strippers. One woman snaps a picture with the porn star for her boyfriend stationed in Kuwait. Others snipe. "I think she's dumb," says a woman who asked to be identified as "a Sacramento stripper named Vegas."

[Murph]

I vote for one of the cute girls. Really, I think we should combine them into one candidate, and I'd vote for her. (Yes, I know their views are very different.)

Second being, probably Arnold, third being Gallagher.

[Gladguy]

Last month's Esquire mag actually had a cover story on Arnold that really painted him in a positive light.

In spite of all the jokes (some of which are actually quite funny -- "hasta la vista, Davis" cracks me up :lol: ), he truly seems to be the best guy for the job. He's smart as hell, obviously possesses dedication beyond that of mere mortals, and can kill the Predator. :lol:

Seriously. Read up on his understanding of the issues facing California. If I lived there, I'd vote for him.

[XPav]

Issue facing California: Budget Defecit.

Arnold: I won't cut education spending or raise taxes.

That's no plan at all. Its just not workable. Not like Bustamante's plan is any better.

[Mike Cathcart]

I didn't see either Galactus or Dave Grayvis (http://www.theonion.com/onion3932/california_recall.html) on the poll.
I gotta go with the swordfish.

[nutsak]

I chose Arnold.. even though I'm not even an American citizen, I'd just love to see that guy in politics... I don't know why.. .. I also think Harrison Ford should be President... just in case terrorists get on Air Force One I wanna see him try pull that "get off my plane" shit in real life.

[Jason McCullough]

There's a hilarious bit in Blumenthal's book where he talks about how the entire Presidential staff was obsessed with Air Force One, watching it over and over when actually on Air Force One. They'd all chant along to "get the hell off my plane."

Oh, I saw *somewhere* today - can't remember where - that ex-governor Jerry Brown said Arnold's lack of experience doesn't matter, because "you don't need any, what with aides and all."

[Chris Nahr]

Of course I'd vote for Arnold! How often do you get to vote for a bodybuilder? Maybe he'll improve physical eduction in Californian schools!

[Alan Au]

This election is just asking, nay, begging for instant-runoff voting. Of course, the people running the election aren't going to give us that option, those bums!

- Alan

[XPav]

Krugman on Arnold (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/22/opinion/22KRUG.html)


The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures."


So Mr. Schwarzenegger now says that he will balance the budget, while bravely declaring that he is against any unpleasant measures this might involve. He wants to roll back the increase in the vehicle license fee, which was crucial to the state's recent fiscal progress, and he says he won't propose any offsetting tax increases. And while these promises mean that he must come up with large spending cuts, he refuses to say what he will cut. His excuse is that his advisers couldn't make "heads or tails" of the California budget.

Please. The details are complicated, but the broad picture isn't. Education dominates the budget, accounting for more than half of general fund spending. Medical care dominates the rest. The last remaining big chunk is corrections.

Yet the candidate says he won't touch education. Sharp cuts in medical spending would be not only cruel but foolish, since in many cases they would mean losing federal matching funds. And prison spending is largely determined by the state's "three strikes" law. In short, he's not leveling with voters: there's no way to balance the budget while honoring all his promises.

He has no economic plan.

[Machfive]

The last remaining big chunk is corrections.

Maybe he'll legalize marijauna and release all the non-violent drug offenders?

Anyone care to do the math on how much that'd save the government on a yearly basis?

Then again, even though he is a moderate, I wouldn't expect a move like that from any Republican or Democrat for a good while. It'd make too much sense.

[Jason McCullough]

Hell, I'd vote for him if he promised that.

[Kyle Wilson]

Krugman on Arnold (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/22/opinion/22KRUG.html)


The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public doesn't care about figures."

Well, I'd say that this shows that Arnold knows the public better than Krugman does.

[XPav]

Another interview with Georgy (http://boomshock.blogspot.com/2003_08_24_boomshock_archive.html#1061829680562658 82), in which yet another person is surprised that the Cafe Press sells thongs.

[Machfive]

Another interview with Georgy (http://boomshock.blogspot.com/2003_08_24_boomshock_archive.html#1061829680562658 82), in which yet another person is surprised that the Cafe Press sells thongs.

I'm tempted to track down her contact info and ask her what precisely constitutes a "firearm of mass destruction."

To me, that sounds like a portable nuke launcher or something, but then, who knows these days what kind of ammunition they make for your garden-variety Saturday Night Specials?

I'm sure I could find some Tiberium-coated, matter-piercing rounds for a .38 somewhere, right?

[Brian Koontz]

{Hums a Skynyrd tune}

{Rubs arm down with sun tan lotion}

{Starts Kung Fu Fighting track}

{Looks at tensed arm... exclaims "a little bit fright-ning"}

{Launches fist forward}

{Winds back arm for another round}

I've got your oil-coated, air-piercing round for your firearm of mass destruction right here!... Booyah!