2003-09-02 - 10:37 a.m.

National Spotlight

I was hoping to first get pictures of my weekend hike on Mount Diablo before talking about that. So instead I talk about something else of interest to me, the California Recall Election.

While at my folk's, I read in the paper (I love actually reading the front page of the newspaper everyday) that a televised debate between the current Governor (Gray Davis ... I hate the man) and five of the people running against him is going to take place in Walnut Creek, California Wednesday 4 pm to 6 pm (PDT). My family lives there. Talk about a small world.

While I'm sure that the event is going to be far to kind to Davis, I don't like the idea that this debate is going to be broadcast across the United States. I'm sorry, but people living in New York have no business influencing who is the governor of California. They just don't.

While they have every right to be curious about how the next governor of California is going to be, and while anybody who believes in democracy should in fact be very curious about the first American recall in nearly 80 years, Democrat and Republican politicians alike are well known to not represent the people whom voted them into office or even members of their own party, but instead are pawns of special interests. The idea that the California recall will be televised (which I'm also opposed to mixing politics with television, because American television is very one sided) makes me wonder how much of the debate is really a commercial for Gray Davis, Cruz Bustamante, and others to plead for more campaign contributions.

Though I've been leaning to voting for Camejo (the Green candidate), I'm really liking what Arianna Huffington has said so far. She pointed out that Democrats like Cruz Bustamante typically get money from Phillip Morse. But to hear Bustamante promise to raise the cigarette taxes is just the perfect example of an empty campaign promise. Why would he do that, when he is being paid by the cigarette lobby? She goes on to list other special interests that have bought Davis and Bustamante.

Anyway, I'll tape tomorrow's debate and watch it. And I even encourage people whom aren't Californians to watch. I know it will be very interesting, because Camejo and Huffington are active in state-wide politicians and both are amazingly smart people. The question is, under a national spotlight, will they do what voters (not big corporations) want them to do. Namely, will they tell career Democrats and Republicans alike, that people are tired of them serving their own needs, first, second, and last. At some point, politicians have to forced to being accountable again. But it won't happen until the masses attached to their TVs see a real potential to get the politicians to do this. Californians are waiting for a catalyst or leader. Maybe tomorrow we'll see one.

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