Calblog

I've been experiencing the same malaise. The Oui story is vaguely interesting, not in and of itself, but because of how people are reacting to it - gay activist groups complaining, for example, or people who supported Clinton castigating Arnold for womanizing, are interesting illustrations of the stupidity of politics in which party loyalty outranks intellectual integrity. But in general the recall has just stopped being interesting.

I, too have been thinking that the recall is more of a symptom than a cure, and that the media are ignoring the real story.

It is a documented fact that electoral districts in California and most other states are gerrymandered to such an extent that only a small minority of elected offices are actually up for grabs in any given election. Both major parties like it this way because the majority party is almost guaranteed to retain control and the minority party is guaranteed enough presence to retain a voice. (The majority party also likes to have a large but virtually impotent minority to immunize themselves from accusations of one-party rule while pushing their agenda.)

In my opinion this comfy little arrangement virtually guarantees voter apathy and cynicism, as evidenced by chronically low voter turnout. It also gives rise to excessive polarization because only the true believers in each party bother to vote, especially at the primary level. Voter apathy in turn gives special interest groups with money inordinate power because they can effectively choose the candidates and frame the debate. This breeds further apathy among average voters because people feel that the whole process is rigged (which it is) and that their vote doesn't count (which in large measure it doesn't ).

Most importantly, under the system that currently prevails, electees do not perceive that they are accountable to the people, but rather to the special interest groups who got them elected. Hence all the radical legislation Hugh Hewitt refers to. This non-responsiveness to the voters might be why Californians are increasingly resorting to initiatives to get the laws they want on the books. Term limits don't fix the problem because the party of the term limited pol merely puts up a candidate who's a clone of the outgoing one and maintains the status quo.

In this environment, the recall election is a singularity in which the normal rules don't apply. The interest groups' power and influence are diluted because of the wide open field and the short campaign season and because the apathy cycle has been interrupted. Look at the public interest it's generated! Sure, it's a circus, but it's also an indication that the people are extraordinarily dissatisfied with the status quo. Wise politicians of both parties should be shaking in their boots, because if all of a sudden there's a voter turnout of 80 percent instead of 30 or 40 percent, the political equation changes drastically. Especially if the enthusiasm of the average voter carries over to the next general election.

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