A Gray Matter

Doonesbury today highlights the absurdity of the California recall election.

Now, before you conservatives get bent out of shape, remember that this is a very conservative argument I'm making. We have a representative democracy. Inherent in that system is a measure of trust that the people of a state (or town, or nation) place in their leaders. This or any recall is an essentially undemocratic, liberal mechanism. It allows a small percentage of activist civilians to essentially call for a re-vote, undermining the people's choice.

If a governor or other official is truly horrible, other members of the government have the right and responsibility to remove him from power. We saw the process for removing a president played out in 1998, and in cases where an ouster is actually likely (as in Nixon), resignation is usually engineered.

The California legislature's first job in 2004 should be closing down the circus. I'm sure the governor will be willing to sign off on it...whoever it happens to be.