Who wants to be governor?
Sixty-five signatures, $3,500, citizenship and residency. Only
in America can anyone in possession of these three items exercise
their ultimate right as a citizen to seek public office.
The California recall vote of Gov. Gray Davis is perhaps the
best example of democracy our great nation has ever witnessed. Yes,
there are so many different people from so many different walks of
life running for governor that the event has become a fiasco of
sorts. The event has only become a folly, however, because those
against the recall have made it into one.
In ancient Greece, Athenian citizens were required to serve at
least one year in their city-state’s legislature. A body consisting
of 500 voting members, each citizen was obliged to take part in
creating legislation and making decisions that affected everyone
under the influence of the metropolis. Our nation’s governmental
structure is more passive; citizens are not required to serve, but
instead are given an opportunity which most never use to their
advantage. The fact that Americans have never witnessed a spectacle
of democracy like this election should be thought of as tragic and
not treated as comedy. Even more tragic is the fact that there are
people on the ballot whose sole intent is to make the very
foundation of democratic rule appear trite and ridiculous.
When people look at the 135 different candidates on the ballot,
they will see a smut peddler (Larry Flynt), a porn queen (Mary
Carey), a 35-year-old former child star (Gary Coleman), a
fruit-abusing comedian (Leo Gallagher), a stripper (Angelyne), a
cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and a guy named Michael Jackson. I
think what most people are failing to realize, however, is how so
many of these people are against the recall and are on the ballot
for the sole purpose of satirizing it.
Take Gary Coleman for example; according to CNN.com, he was
placed on the ballot by a Bay-area newspaper as a protest to the
recall. Coleman, conversely, has been quoted as saying he plans to
vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger. As quoted on CNN.com, Coleman
states, “Now that Arnold is in the race, there is no race. Gray
Davis needs to pack his bags,” but Coleman still has no plans to
drop out of the race. If Coleman’s only aspiration is to hamper and
cloud the electoral process, he might as well post up at a polling
place with a shotgun and shoot at anyone who tries to vote. What a
shame it is that people are using their rights as American citizens
to trivialize the very practice that makes America great.
Michael Jackson, on the other hand, should be applauded for
using his right as an American to get on the ballot. No, I am not
talking about the Michael Jackson who used his freedom of
expression to metamorphose from a cool African American man into a
deranged Caucasian woman. I’m talking about Michael A. Jackson, the
satellite payload engineer from Long Beach, ex-Navy man and father
of two. I spoke with Jackson last week, and he feels the same way
about his state government as he does about his name; he wishes it
were different. While he doesn’t want to change his name right now,
he would like to try changing his government. He had been planning
on running for the state legislature until the recall came around,
and he decided to give running for governor a try.
Jackson is only one of a number of candidates who is genuinely
concerned about making a difference in his home state. Among these
candidates are teachers, lawyers, small business owners, a retired
meat packer and even a college student (who is on the ballot to
draw attention to recent tuition hikes).
Unfortunately for them, the comical connotations this race has
taken on will almost certainly do nothing but damage to their
budding political aspirations and reputations. By running for
governor they are being recognized by the whole world; by running
in the recall vote of 2003, they are getting laughed at, which is
sad.
Only in America can an average citizen wake up one day, decide
to run for governor and actually get on the ballot. Only in America
would people actually make a mockery out of a privilege that people
in other parts of the world die trying to secure. What a
country.
Heroes of the week: All the candidates running in the California
recall election because they actually want to be governor.
Zero of the week: The Democratic Party. This whole election only
serves to fortify why I changed my party affiliation. Ideologically
I’m a Democrat, but I’m a registered Republican because I feel the
Democratic Party today is a weak, groveling, reactionary
institution. Democrats point at the 2000 election fiasco and call
it a corrupt and undemocratic slight dealt to America by the
Republican Party, then attempt to keep Gray Davis in office by
turning the recall vote into a joke? The party should concede to
Davis being a poor governor (he does have the lowest approval
rating of any governor in history), cut ties and move on. Instead
they are using some of their party’s most faithful black sheep to
undercut the foundations of democracy. Sounds like something John
Ashcroft would do.
Joe is senior majoring in history. His column runs every
Thursday.
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