What the recall means

By:Mike Byron - Commentary | Sunday, October 12, 2003 9:57 PM PDT ∞

The recall election should not have occurred. It took place only because of the intervention of wealthy Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, who, as columnist George Will put it "who could think of no other way he might become governor (than) financing the gathering of signatures." But after financing the recall with $1.7 million of his own dollars, Issa was made to walk the plank by the leaders of his party in favor of someone they deemed electable.

Despite these misbegotten origins, once the recall was certified it took on a life of its own because of the great and growing disconnect between our political class and citizens.

Exit polls showed discontent throughout all demographic categories of voter: Twenty percent of self-described liberal voters backed the recall, and many voted for Schwarzenegger. The message is clear:

  • Government must be responsive to its citizens. Gov. Gray Davis never learned how to listen to his constituents despite a lifetime in politics. He relied on his network of big-money donors to filter this information for him. But citizens want control of their government and disapprove of special interest-driven politics.

    People despise our money-driven political system. Citizens understand the need to pay taxes, but they are furious when our common resources are diverted via special interests to benefit a private interest. Davis was in the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong things, and took the hit for the failings of our entire political class ---- local, state and national. In 2004 their turns will come.

  • Californians demand problem-solving pragmatism, not ideological purity, from their elected officials. Partisan divisions that prevent workable solutions are "out." As Aristotle wrote, politics is the art of problem-solving to advance the public good.

  • Negative campaigning is not sufficient to determine elections. It can cause voters to turn against mudslingers. Candidates must give voters an affirmative vision of their agenda. Contrasting this vision with one's opponents is a vital part of a campaign. However, disseminating negative information about an opponent is acceptable only if it is directly relevant to judging the fitness of a candidate for office.

    The voters' message was not a partisan or ideological one. Voters want problem-solvers who can compromise to deliver results. Because of the influence of money, citizens are deeply cynical about nearly all politicians, not just Gray Davis. This cynicism means that investments in our common physical and social infrastructure go unmade because voters feel that government will misspend their tax dollars.

    To solve our deep problems, today's political class must be replaced with a new group of problem solvers who, while being passionately committed to political ideals are able, to compromise for the common good. And they must be able to articulate those goals to their constituents.

    Change is coming. That rumbling you hear in the distance is not an oncoming train ---- it's a political earthquake.

    Mike Byron of Oceanside is president of the Democratic Club of Carlsbad-Oceanside. E-mail: mpbyron1@cox.net.

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