California Love...oh and Hasta La Vista, Davis

by Sean Gregory

Do you have any interest in politics? Could you lay your hands on $3,500? Would you be able to attain 65 signatures from registered voters? If you answered yes to these three questions, then congratulations, you are qualified to enter the race to run the fifth largest economic empire in the world. All the more power to you my friend.

If you are not already aware, my home state of California is undergoing civic pandemonium disguised in political rhetoric as a “recall.” We are witnessing one of the biggest travesties in the modern era and poor Gray Davis is clearly the victim. Given the circumstances when he took office, Davis has done a pretty damn good job with the mess he inherited from former Governor Pete Wilson. Davis is surrounded by malevolent bureaucrats on a day-to-day basis, as is true for most politicians, and when one has to work with these bad guys, bad things tend to happen. Why is this? California is dealing with the fallout from an inefficient federal government that left its western daughter to flounder in the wake of a crisis the feds very likely created. When Wilson pushed for de-regulation of energy distribution (electricity/gas), outside suppliers, primarily Texas ringleaders like Enron, were allowed to run wholesale pricing up unchecked. Pacific Gas and Electric then filed for bankruptcy, Southern California Edison was similarly affected. Now layer on surplus spending from dot.com tax coffers and the inability of legislators to rein in spending after the collapse of the dot.com industries due to their greed or bury-the-head-in-the-sand mentality. Now you have a reversal of a record surplus to a record deficit of some 35+ billion dollars. Prime fodder for the Republicans.

Whenever there is a great deal of power, you will find a great deal of attention, greed and controversy. In the political arena, parties will strive for stability and control to maintain their power. So, is this recall really a street-smart reaction by Republicans, or is there a connection between California's recent foibles and a Republican conspiracy to regain stability and control? My congratulations go out to Mr. Bush for once. Perhaps he actually does know what he's doing. Perhaps he can push his personal agenda and look totally innocent. Knowing how much California would suffer financially, he couldn't have had any connection to the demise of Enron and WorldCom, could he? No ... certainly he didn't plan this crisis to rid California of its apparent cause, Gray Davis, did he? Consider the recent Republican shenanigans: recall booster Daryl Issa now thinks the recall will fail because conservative state senator, Tom McClintock, will not step down and endorse moderate Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold is the ONLY moderate Republican that could be elected in a heavily democratic state. But I'm a native son, a seventh generation Californian, and these games are part of our culture and part of our nature. Our politics ... they are like a game of chess between the Democrats and the Republicans; you can't start a new game until checkmate. And, as part of the larger American culture, we are like a school of fish. Most of us hardly ever stop to analyze our everyday actions or the styles we promote. We generally just follow the norm. It's the American Way. So when the recall bandwagon drove through California, everyone jumped on it.

Without a doubt, American popular culture constitutes one of the most decisive political causes and catalysts for change in the modern era. Where is the power source of American popular culture? Where else: the diversity of American society and the might of American capitalism. Take any aspect of American popular culture and see how it applies to politics. Use Hip Hop for example. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Tupac, Luniz and so on are basically a “Sopranos-like” organization of thugs who are very savvy business people, just like Tony, targeting a particular audience that Al Gore took advantage of when he appeared on MTV. Bill Clinton took the same opportunity when he guest-starred on the Arsenio Hall show. We are masters here in California at meshing political intrigue with Hollywood celebrity appeal. You can take advantage of popular culture for political gain as long as you understand who the current viewing audience is. Just like the Gladiator, you want the crowd on your side.

So why not take the recall initiative and turn it into reality TV? What better vehicle to get maximum exposure. Never mind the original intent of recall legislation. Who in this instant-gratification viewing audience would even know the history … or care? It just so happens that the movement to create a recall, or "imperative mandate" as it was originally termed, was fueled by a desire to rid California of corrupt politics. What irony! In the early 1900s, The Southern Pacific Railroad controlled both the Democrats and the Republicans. According to a leader of the anti-Southern Pacific movement, there was only one kind of politics in California, and that was corrupt politics. With its massive war chest, the Southern Pacific was able to crush all comers until the Progressives, a political movement aimed at lessening interest-group domination of government, swept the country. John Randolph Haynes formed the Direct Legislation League of Los Angeles in 1900 and is widely credited by California historians as being the inspiration behind the recall. He must be rolling in his grave to know that the recall is now being used to further the spoils of corrupt government, not curb them. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the Hollywood appeal now has THE GOVERNATOR to satisfy its addiction. Arnold, the moderate Republican, the down-to-earth family man, the world-renowned actor, the living proof of the American Dream, is considered to be the best man for the job, aside from, well … having no previous government experience. You know, I really loved him in "The Eraser" and "Terminator 2", but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to see him run the fifth largest economy in the world.

Is the rest of the world laughing at us? Have the Republicans succeeded in making a mockery of California's government? For those of you who are residents of our golden state, good luck. The rest of the world is about to sit back and enjoy the antics of our zany candidates and just love them for who they are: actors, child stars, comedians, porn stars, porn directors, unemployed average citizens … and oh, yes, the actual politicians, of course. Do the people who are orchestrating the demise of California and their supporters realize that when the dust settles they won't have any fresh fruit on the table? Think about it.