 |
 -0 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
Democrats urge public not to sign Davis recall petitions The Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, were realistic in their assessment of the recall movement but said they hope to at least slow the process so voters won't decide the governor's fate until the March presidential primary, when a heavy turnout of Democrats is expected. The Democrats said they had asked the leader of the state's 20 Republican House members to join in the open letter to Californians but were rebuffed. The Democrats also blamed their GOP colleagues for a good part of the budget crisis that has sapped Davis' popularity, saying Republicans had done nothing to help California recover about $12 billion in energy costs paid to companies that allegedly manipulated the market. "California is known throughout the world for its wine, but this recall is nothing but sour grapes," Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill news conference as she and five other members released the four-paragraph open letter. After staying in session until early Friday, most members of the congressional delegation were already flying home to California for the Fourth of July recess. "We will not allow the whims of the right wing to overturn a legitimate election held just months ago," she said. Pelosi and the other Democrats also lambasted Republicans in the Legislature for what they said was intransigence during the state budget crisis. Not surprisingly, recall advocates had a sharply different view, saying the Democrats were more interested in protecting their party's power in Sacramento than in improving the economy or fixing the budget crisis. With proponents claiming they have nearly enough signatures to force a special recall election in October or November, Pelosi sounded less than sure that such a vote can be prevented. "You will see a very concerted effort to slow the recall down," she said, but by "pushing it to March," there would be a "fairer chance to defeat the recall." Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, the new chairwoman of the California Democratic House caucus, said a recall election, which would cost $25 million to $40 million, would be a waste of money. "The only jobs a recall will create are for political consultants and party hacks, not for the people of California," she said. Lofgren said she invited Republicans to sign the letter but had found no takers. Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas (Los Angeles County), who leads the state GOP House caucus, had already left the capital on a trade trip to Europe and was unavailable to respond. However, in a recent appearance on MSNBC, Dreier said he would vote to recall Davis. "He's been a bad governor," he said. Chris Wysocki, a spokesman for Rescue California, the recall group largely funded by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), said Pelosi's bid to push the recall back to March was a politically expedient idea. Issa has declared himself a candidate to replace Davis. "We'd still win in March, but we'd be six or seven months further down the road," added Wysocki, who reiterated his group's claim that it will collect far more than the 900,000 valid signatures required to force a special recall election this fall. While claiming that the recall isn't a partisan affair, Wysocki blasted the Democratic House members for their comments about their GOP counterparts and California's plight.
"The Republican members have been doing everything they can, like voting for President Bush's tax plan. The problem is that Davis has bankrupted
|
|
|
