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Democrat to Democrat: Denham recall is nonsense
When the campaign to recall State Sen. Jeff Denham was collecting signatures and money late last summer, I wrote against it because I thought it was misguided. I still think so and the campaign materials I've seen make me furious.
We can't just recall every politician who takes a position we don't like. Denham was taking heat because he would not back down on his opposition to the unbalanced budget.
I had voted against Denham in the election where he won office, but I said last fall, and I still believe, that generating a recall because a politician takes a stand on principle is a dangerous and wrong-headed thing to do.
Here we are, months later, with the recall actually on the ballot and I still think it's wrong.
The California State Constitution is mute on the topic of acceptable reasons for a recall. There is no stipulation that there must have been "high crimes and misdemeanors." So it's really up to the conscience of those initiating the recall, and of individual voters, to determine if a recall is justified.
I say to the Democratic party operatives who are behind the recall: Where is your conscience? This recall is nonsense and you know it. I would use a stronger term if we were face to face.
It's such an obviously opportunistic power grab and possible payback for the recall of former Gov. Grey Davis that I am embarrassed to be a registered Democrat.
It's also a complete waste of taxpayers' money and everybody's time, regardless of the outcome.
Once again, I'm not saying Jeff Denham is the best state senator we could possibly have. His stand on the budget undoubtedly hurt schools and other public services, but sometimes you have to do some harm in the short term to rectify a system for the long term. But for the agriculture-based districts he represents, he has done a lot of good and I believe the voters in those districts know it.
I read (but couldn't verify) that most of the money for the recall effort has come from outside the districts that Denham represents.
I don't know about the alleged trip or trips to Las Vegas and Arizona with campaign funds, and I'm not going to research them because I don't care.
And there seems to be some implication that Denham has "jet lag" and is "sleepwalking" through his responsibilities. First of all, you don't get jet lag when you travel in the same time zone. And if he's sleepy in meetings, I would like anybody who has never dozed off in a boring meeting in a stuffy room, possibly after a big lunch, or, heaven forbid, a beer, to tell me how they do it.
Anyway, I was proud to be a Democrat when Bobby Kennedy was running. I'm proud to be a Democrat when I hear Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama speak. But I'm not proud to be a Democrat when I contemplate this recall foolishness.
I'm going to spend a 41-cent stamp and send the flyer back to "We Deserve Better" headquarters with the message, "Darn tootin' we deserve better! Signed, a disgruntled Democrat."
Elizabeth Gage
Elizabeth Gage writes a weekly column every Thursday in the Hollister Free Lance
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