Keep the bum in

He’s under attack from those both inside and outside his tent. The attorney general is using the word “puke” in describing Davis’ campaign tactics, as members of Congress are breaking ranks and calling for another Democrat on the recall ballot.

The governor is so worried now that he’s doing something unprecedented: opening up to the voters and the media, attempting to soften his beyond-stiff image. You gotta feel for a panicking politico.

The recall forces and talk radio are hammering the governor on all sorts of issues, and some of the blame is misdirected.

The energy problem stems from the deregulation of 1996, two years before Davis’ election. The victimizers, of course, were the out-of-state energy companies, such as Enron. Granted, Davis, ever the cautious conniver, did very little and so rightfully took the heat.

Some of the budget mess is attributable to the Silicon Valley meltdown. And what about the Bush administration’s failure to deal effectively with the national recession? But that information complicates matters and confuses the “throw the bum out” crowd.

It would be, however, delicious to see the voting public throw out leaders who swim in the oily waters of political partisanship and big-money interests. One can dream that a true reformer will sweep into office and start a revolution with tight limits on campaign donations to stop corporations, unions, wealthy individuals and casino-owning American Indian tribes from running things.

But, alas, it will not be. The recallers are only calling for removal and are not coming up with major reforms (see “Recall Death Match.”)

Perhaps the recall only reflects widespread public revulsion, not only against its target, but also against politics-as-usual in California. Regular, voting citizens should get angry when politicians do nothing and then lie about it later.

I’m tempted to vote to recall him just to vent, but I probably won’t. Sadly, when it comes to a choice between him and the cast of characters now before us, Davis could hurt us the least. That kind of choice is worthy of our anger.