Re: Short response to Eli

["Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

LouP asks:

> suppose that
> a cabal of garden variety bourgeois Democrats were using the recall to
> unseat an unpopular Republican governor.  In that case would you feel
> compelled to defend the democratic election of the Republican against the
> undemocratic Democrats?

I've already said the answer is "yes" under two circumstances - one, if
there was a "good chance" that the winner in the recall would be an
independent progressive candidate, and two, if there was a solid reason for
the recall, such as the existing Governor had campaigned on a platform of
allowing driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, and then as soon as he or
she was in office, vetoed a bill which allowed such a thing. In other words,
that person had essentially been elected under false pretenses.

THIS election, as I've said, offers no such situation. Gray Davis is exactly
the person who was elected last November. This is strictly a "do-over"
election, basically the Republicans (who were NOT the only signers of the
petitions, clearly, but WERE the "drivers" of the bus) realizing that Simon
wasn't their strongest candidate in the last election, so now they want a
chance to "do-over" the election (and, with unbalanced rules to boot, as in
my 47-42 examples in the last post). That kind of recall deserves to be
opposed, and most definitely NOT supported.

I'm glad you called my attention to the WW article. I note that it also used
my analogy of a "vote of no confidence," but says "Instead of spending
resources to shore up the capitalist electoral system, the interests of the
working class and oppressed people would be better served by calling for a
vote of no confidence in both arms of this system, the Democratic and
Republican parties." True enough, of course, but that isn't on the ballot,
other than through the option of voting for a progressive candidate on part
2 of the ballot. But part 1 of the ballot only calls for a vote of no
confidence in ONE of the two parties, and since a Republican is going to be
elected if it passes, a "yes" vote on the recall sure seems like a vote of
confidence FOR the Republicans. So I understand a "no" vote (my position),
and I understand an "abstain" vote (which I thought was the WW position),
but I don't understand a "we don't care if you vote no or yes" position.
Kanowitz's article says that "Organizing for a no vote on the recall gives
legitimacy to the Gray Davis administration." That I agree with to a certain
extent, and certainly the organizational time and skills of progressive
people are better spent on many other issues. But I think that "organizing
for a no vote" is different from voting no.

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