Sore Losers
The circus is leaving town, but it left a huge
mess in its wake.
Democrats have been wailing about the recall
election ever since the recall petition got enough
signatures to get off the ground. They had the
temerity to accuse the Republican Party of trying
to "steal" the office of governor,
mischaracterizing what was a completely democratic
process. They clamored that the recall process was
bad for California, when in fact the whole
rationale behind it was a widespread conviction
that Gray Davis was bad for California. They pulled
out all the stops during the campaign, dragging
frontrunner Schwarzenegger through as much mud as
they could generate. Like most Californians, I was
quite sick of it long before yesterday. I breathed
a sigh of relief as I cast my vote last night,
knowing the end was near. But I was wrong.
I know today that Democrats were just getting
warmed up. If they were shrill before, they're
becoming positively venomous now. In what seems to
be par for the course in politics these days,
Democrats cannot lose graciously. They can't give
up the fight when they know they've been beaten
fair and square. Already, some of them vow to
recall Schwarzenegger. Today, Nancy Pelosi called
yesterday's election a "sad, sad day" for
California and for the country. Perhaps she didn't
notice that nearly two-thirds of Californians
favored removing Davis from office.
It's the party of sore losers. They wailed about
the 2000 presidential election because Al Gore won
the popular election, while George W. Bush won the
electoral college. They didn't understand the
electoral system, which our country's founders
brilliantly designed to prevent the large urban
centers from controlling the results of national
elections. They felt that, since Gore got the most
votes, he should have become president. Now,
however, they protest California's recall election,
even though it was a process fully exercised by the
will of the people, with the majority of voters
choosing to oust Davis and elect Schwarzenegger.
They want to have their cake and eat it too.
And the campaign rhetoric continues, though the
election has ended. During the past two months,
much was made of Schwarzenegger's (and other
candidates') promise to rescind the tripling of the
car tax, the illegal alien
drivers license bill and other unpopular
Davisisms. However, none of the major media outlets
commented on the fact that these bills had become
law, and therefore couldn't be overturned simply by
executive order. You had to really dig deep and do
your research to find out about this heretofore
little-known hole in the campaign promises.
It was no coincidence, in my mind, that this
wrinkle hit the front pages and the airwaves
yesterday—the day of the election—and has
now become a major issue. As I interpret it, the
media knew about it, but also correctly surmised
that Schwarzenegger would be a shoe-in candidate.
They therefore strategically sat on the conflict
inherent in the campaign promises until people had
already voted. Had this come out previously, it may
have slightly impacted Schwarzenegger's chances,
but the outcome would have been the same. However,
by being withheld till after the election, the news
became much more scandalous and potentially
damaging to Schwarzenegger. In other words, instead
of causing candidate Schwarzenegger to lose some
votes, the revelation makes governor-elect
Schwarzenegger look like a man full of empty
promises. Maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist, but
that's how I read it.
In short, Democrats are to blame for the
cynicism and discontent felt by a large percentage
of Americans toward the political process. Their
behavior over the last few months—and
particularly over the past few days—proves
this. Theirs is the party of divisiveness. The
party of social tyranny. The party of sore losers.
I've about had my fill, but I hope they keep it up.
The American people are mad as hell, and they're
not going to take much more.
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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