Total Recall

(I can't be the first to have made this joke, but I can't say that I've seen it anywhere else... so I'll claim it as my own).

Digby tells us, today, that he's beginning to see "Recall Arnold" bumper stickers around California.

Well, when you run as a superhero who is going to magically solve all problems by the sheer force of your supernatural powers, people tend to be quickly disappointed when they realize that you are actually a pampered movie star who doesn't have a clue.

Ronald Reagan gave speeches several times a week for many, many years before he ever ran for Governor. He was a fixture of the Republican establishment of California. Schwarzenneger didn't do any of the (ahem) heavy lifting that a person needs to do before they are ready to run the 7th largest economy in the world. It shows.

It is pathetic that Californians bought the hype, but then that's what we do. But like the good little faddists we are, when the fad dies we reject it with a vehemence . Nobody wants to be seen in last year's fashions. Live by the trend, die by the trend.

It seems to me that this is Warren Beatty's opportunity: Run as the California celebrity who has done the heavy lifting over the years and is an established part of the Democratic Party in California. 

Comments

[jo-fo]

You know, it makes me so sad that my state is so ridiculously enamored with celebrity that this jock strap ever got elected in the first place. There was even talk, for a while, that they were going to try to amend the Constitution to allow foreign-born citizens to run for President. Those who had heard about this will have taken note how that idea has died a most hideous death as the Governator has continually misappropriated state resources to the wrong causes.

Now we're going to be having a $45-million special election in November on some legislation regarding school funding (where that $45-million should have gone). My only question: is there any chance, good people of California, that we could add to the ballot some possibilities for Ah-nuld's replacement?

I like the Warren Beatty idea, but he has been pretty non-committal as far as running. He says that he doesn't want to. Of course, it's not like there is nobody currently in office who has never said that before.

[Ms. Q]

I don't know if I am crazy about Warren yet. I haven't heard much from him so I will reserve judgement. I didn't vote for Arnold, so I am not one bit surprised by his lack of achievement. The special election is really pissing me off. We have so many better things to spend $45 million on. California is driving me nutty, let me tell you! I think I might have mentioned something about that before.