Recall!: California's Political Earthquake: California's Political Earthquake by Larry N. Gerston & Terry Christensen

Author:Larry N. Gerston & Terry Christensen [Gerston, Larry N. & Christensen, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Technology & Engineering, Construction, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317461333
Google: VW-sBwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-03-26T13:11:13+00:00

Other Issues: The Environment, Health Care, and Political Reform

Other issues were also discussed, but not as much as these. The environment, always a concern of Californians, usually works to the advantage of Democrats as an issue, and here again, Davis could cite a strong record, including recent trend-setting legislation on global warming. But Schwarzenegger neutralized the issue by proclaiming himself environment-friendly and taking positions on many environmental issues that other Republican candidates—including Tom McClintock—would not. The Democrats again failed to gain traction on one of their core issues.

As the campaign heated up—and as it became increasingly apparent that Gray Davis’s days in office were numbered—the liberal majority in the state legislature got busy, passing a backlog of liberal bills in hopes that Davis would sign them under electoral pressure and knowing that Governor Schwarzenegger surely would not. These included the driver’s license bill, landmark legislation to protect the privacy of financial data, and others, but most prominent among them was Senate Bill (SB) 2, a bill to provide health care to many of the 7 million uninsured Californians through an employment-based program. Business leaders opposed the bill because it added to their costs. Labor unions passionately supported it. Absent the recall, the cautious Davis would almost certainly have vetoed SB 2. But with unions leading the opposition to his recall, he was under heavy pressure to sign the bill. Keeping both labor supporters and business opponents on tenterhooks for days, Davis signed the bill just 2 days before the election. While Democrats and liberals supported SB 2, Schwarzenegger and McClintock opposed it and promised repeal. Few issues are as important to Californians as health care, but even this landmark legislation was not enough to save Gray Davis—or even merit much discussion in the campaign.

Political reform, an almost constant issue in California politics since the days of Hiram Johnson, was also a campaign issue. Davis’s pay-to-play reputation, demanding donations before he would consider policies or appointments favorable to the potential donors, was used against him. Similarly, Cruz Bustamante’s candidacy was seriously damaged by what some perceived as questionable contributions from Indian gaming interests and public employee unions.

While all the candidates paid lip service to campaign reform, Arianna Huffington was most outspoken about it, declaring “We should recall the system”21 and promising to sponsor a campaign reform initiative. Schwarzenegger, too, was forthright on reform, announcing a plan for “political openness,” including a ban on fund-raising while the budget is being negotiated, a panel of judges to oversee legislative redistricting, and a promise to veto any legislation that does not receive full and public debate in the legislature. While few voters may have made their minds up on these issues, Schwarzenegger surely scored points with his positions, distinguishing himself from pay-to-play and politics as usual and bolstering his credentials as a moderate.

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