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from Dateline (September 11, 2003)
Recall and Election Attracts Spotlight
by Gail Matsunaga
One of the most compelling stories in California –
in the country and even on an international level – is the
upcoming recall vote and election. Political science professor Raphael
J. Sonenshein has, over the last couple months, received numerous
calls and requests from such national media outlets as CNN, “Talk
of the Nation,” National Public Radio, Associated Press and
Boston Globe for his insight and analyses.
He recently related some of his experiences and thoughts regarding
this hotly debated issue.
| Q: |
This must be a fascinating time for
you and your colleagues. |
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| A: |
Like all political scientists, I’m
having a ball because of the chance to talk about how the
system works. The last time there was a semester this good,
from an education standpoint, was the Florida recount. Unfortunately,
this only goes until Oct. 7, but for the first six weeks of
teaching introductory American government, it’s wonderful. |
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| Q: |
What kinds of questions from the media
have you been asked? |
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| A:
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What is the process? That is the constant
question, because it’s so unusual and bizarre. What
are the strategies of the various candidates? What is the
significance of Bill Simon pulling out? I got a lot of calls
about that. And each day there appears to be more news.
This is certainly the No. 1 political news story in the
United States, and it has overshadowed the presidential race.
It’s seen as a precursor to the presidential race, because
it’s shaking down into a party battle, which does foreshadow
the ’04 presidential election. That’s one reason
it’s getting so much interest in D.C. The other reason
is that people like to laugh at California. Although it’s
not as crazy as people think – in that there’s
only about four or five serious candidates. This is not 135
candidates for governor – that’s over. Still,
people like to use the words “crazy” and “California”
together. |
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| Q: |
This sounds similar to what you said
in a Los Angeles Times article Aug. 11 regarding how the election
would eventually feel more coherent. |
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| A: |
"Davis has not been
accused of any wrong-doing, malfeasance in office, or any
of the things you would consider for a recall campaign. It’s
a terrible way to conduct government, but it has done more
to raise political interest in the state government of California
than anything since Prop. 13."
Yes, what we have now is a Republican primary
with two candidates: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock.
That’s business as usual. What’s a little different
is that on the Democratic side you have Gray Davis and Cruz
Bustamante, who are not running against each other but may
have competing interests. |
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| Q: |
Is Peter Ueberroth out of the running? |
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| A: |
He’s going nowhere – his initial
appearances were so dispirited and tired. But the real reason
is the myth of the California independent voter, the notion
that people in California are not interested or loyal to either
party. This race is going to be decided by the people who
are loyal to their party. Since Ueberroth is running as an
independent, he has no base in this particular race. |
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| Q: |
In the long term, what does it mean for us politically
as a state? Will there be much change, or will it be back to
business as usual? |
| A: |
Ironically, we may have come through the worst of the budget
crisis in the middle of all this even though it was an ugly,
miserable budget. Most of the budget gap is gone. We might wake
up to smoother sailing after this is over. I don’t know
if the state will shake governmentally, although it will have
a huge, political impact. |
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| Q: |
What do you think about the recall in general? |
| A: |
It’s obviously too easy to qualify – 12 percent
signatures of people who voted in the last election is way too
low. Yet, it’s not going to be easy to change. The recall
is not necessarily a bad thing. This is just a misuse of it.
Davis has not been accused of any wrongdoing, malfeasance in
office, or any of the things you would consider for a recall
campaign. It’s a terrible way to conduct government, but
it has done more to raise political interest in the state government
of California than anything since Prop. 13. |
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| Q: |
Do you think voter turnout will be higher? |
| A: |
Yes, higher than anybody thinks. The Los Angeles Times poll
found that 99 percent of voters were paying attention, far more
than in the last gubernatorial campaign. Certainly, voters are
going to know much more about state government now as a result
of the recall than they did from the gubernatorial race. So
you never know where your political education is going to come
from. |
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