The Tiger Roars...

(in a conciliatory, dignified sort of way)

Davis swore to fight like a "Bengal tiger" to survive the recall vote. I snickered at another writer's commentary on the habits of the real Bengal tiger. The image of the mighty jungle predator is what Davis was invoking, however, and after his performance in the two-part debate, he's starting to look more muscular (politically speaking, of course) than his most famous opponent.

Yeah, I'm partisan, but after watching the debate on tape, I have to say, McClintock proved himself to be both phenomenal at distorting issues and phenomenally out of touch with Californians, and Ueberroth (while more moderate) was very definitely a one-note candidate. Both blamed government malfeasance for the deficit, when anyone with the slightest clue knows that the money was stolen by Enron and the Power Pirates. As this was each Republican's only talking point, they're both Terminated.

Still, they both did better than Schwarzenegger, as he didn't even have the guts to show up. He'll attend the other debate, where the questions are provided in advance. No doubt he wants his script handy.

The other candidates, even the Republicans, didn't even bother mentioning the Chickenator, except for one hilarious aside from Bustamante. That's all he deserved. From what I could tell, the only Republican who has any business even being in this election is Ueberroth, and he's...well, let's just say he's very focused on his issue.

However, the candidate who impressed me most was Governor Gray Davis, during his solitary stand in the center of a storm of questions about his governorship. Most impressively to me, he actually took responsibility for his mistakes. Imagine that, a politician who admits that he's not perfect! Who'd have thought it possible in the age of spin? Also, from all I've heard about the "Negative Man," who campaigns against his opponents rather than for himself, I was very pleasantly surprised to hear him talk almost exclusively about what he would do differently and what he wants to do if retained. Certainly, he threw some "red-meat partisanship" (I love that term) to the Democratic base regarding the Republican attempts to hijack democracy -- a very valid point, IMO. It was also wonderful to hear that legitimate accusation aired in such a widely viewed forum, but he didn't harp on the point, avoiding the risk of alienating swing voters.

Interestingly, after hearing Davis and McClintock give entirely contradictory statements about the "car tax" I did some fact-checking. The actual text from the law in question:

10754 (a)(3)(C) During any period in which insufficient moneys are available to be transferred from the General Fund to fully fund the offsets required by subparagraph (A), within 90 days of a reduction of funding, the department shall reduce the amount of each offset computed pursuant to that subparagraph by multiplying that amount by the ratio of the amount of moneys actually available to be transferred from the General Fund to pay for those offsets to the amount of moneys that is necessary to fully fund those offsets.

And an analysis from the Sacramento Bee [ed note: link was http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/story/7054527p-8002483c.html]:

Not surprisingly, Republican lawmakers and taxpayer activists have blasted the VLF increase and are working feverishly to derail it. Advocates for cities and counties have cheered the fee hike because revenues go to the jurisdictions, many of them facing their own budget crises.

...

Grinzewitsch [George Grinzewitsch Jr., VP of Von Housen Automotive Group, which runs Mercedes-Benz dealerships -- RX] said the increased VLF comes as a jolt in a year that began with the phasing out of a federal luxury tax on autos. Jan. 1 marked the end of a 3 percent tax on automobiles costing more than $40,000. When the tax was passed in 1990, it was 10 percent of a transaction price exceeding $30,000.

So what we have here is the reversal of a recent, previous tax cut, which was specifically designed to be reversed in the event of a fiscal crisis, during a time when other car taxes are going down, and those intended to benefit from the change -- local communities that depend on state money to help pay for emergency services -- are applauding the decision. In other words, the Republicans can howl about it until Judgement Day, but the law -- the one Pete Wilson signed -- did exactly what it was meant to do. As did the Governor.

McClintock said that Davis is already gone, and all that's left is to choose his successor. (He also seems to think that this "certainty" ensures that someone like Bustamante will never get elected. For a man running on fiscal responsibility, that shows an appalling gap in his mathematics skills.) Meanwhile, Davis has made a big deal about having outlasted his political obituaries before. Before hearing him, I dismissed Davis' comments as desperate rhetoric. Now, I have to say that I think he has a very real chance of surviving the recall effort.

As for me, I'm voting "No on Recall, Yes on Bustamante." While Cruz was less than inspiring with some questions, for the most part he showed admirable skill and resolve. Arianna and Camejo displayed fine fire and determination, but neither of them has the experience or the backing to have a chance in Hell of winning this election. It was wonderful to see both the Greens and a real independent get a voice in a debate (Camejo made a fantastic point on that very matter), but alas, the two front runners are the men with the money, power, and party backing.

So let's recap: The Republicans are on the defensive, Davis has a real chance of winning this thing, Bustamante is the clear front-runner on the second half, and the left-wing has been given an unprecedented opportunity to express their views in mass media. I have a sneaking suspicion that when this is all over, Issa and his democracy-bashing buddies are going to be very, very sorry they ever started this fight.

(/) Roland X
Are Republicans on the menu of Bengal Tigers? Next, on Geraldo.