PrintFor Larry Elder, winning the recall election will be the easy part
California's recall election of Gavin Newsom is scheduled for September 14. Larry Elder has a good chance of becoming California's next governor, provide the election isn't stolen from him as was done to Donald Trump. For Elder and all those in California who are sick and tired of Newsom's autocratic progressive policies, this will prove to be the easy part. Here's why.
The California Legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic. The state senate consists of 40 seats of which 31 are Democratic and only nine Republican. This is a 77-percent Democratic advantage. The California state assembly consists of 80 seats of which 59 are held by Democrats and 19 by the GOP, with one seat presently vacant. This is a 75% Democrat advantage.
The California Supreme Court consists of seven justices. One was appointed by Newsome, four by Jerry Brown, and two by Schwarzenegger. This gives the Dems a five to two majority on the court. Furthermore, to get on the supreme court, a justice is first nominated by the governor but then the nomination has to be approved by the California Commission on Judicial Appointment. By the political structure of the state, this commission is heavily Democrat, meaning the chances of Elder getting a conservative on the bench is nil.
Then there are the other statewide officeholders. All seven elected executive officers in California are Democrats. These offices include: Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Controller, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Insurance Commissioner.
That's a quick overview of California's state government. And it doesn't include solid Democrat allies in the powerful public-sector unions, the corporate media, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley. At the federal level, both California's senators are Democrats while 42 out of its 53 House delegates are Democrats. One doesn't have to be a political science wiz to be impressed with the depth of organization that makes all this possible. It is a gross understatement to say the Democrats have a lock on California. And given the state's demographic trends, things are going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
And if that's not enough for Larry Elder to face should be win the election, consider that he'll be going to Sacramento without organized political support. Yes, he'll have the dissatisfied masses with him -- at least for the time being. But such support can be fleeting. Remember what happened to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was another outsider who won the recall election of Gray Davis in 2003. After making some marginal improvements in the state, the tough-talking Terminator was soon neutered by the state's powerful public-sector unions and the Democratic establishment. Note who Arnold appointed his chief of staff -- a Democrat named Susan Kennedy. And when Schwarzenegger ran for reelection in 2006 (which he won), he gave a speech at the 2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day breakfast which prompted San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to say: "[H]e's becoming a Democrat [..,H]e's running back, not even to the center. I would say center-left."
True, Larry Elder is not Arnold Schwarzenegger. He could prove to be a stronger individual. But regardless, California is not just more solidly Democratic now than it was when Schwarzenegger was in office, today's Democrats are more insanely leftist than those of yesteryear. Such people will not allow something that they consider as trivial as an election to upset their applecart.
Image: Gage Skidmore
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