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Sept 16, 2003 The California Recall election has produced a great deal of amusement for the rest of the country. That’s OK, we’re used to that here. Repeatedly over the years, what is first thought of as “just another wacky California thing” eventually spreads out until much of the country ends up following California’s lead. The Recall election is no different. The Recall process has provided an interesting glimpse into the mechanics of a major political power grab. Democrats are beginning to align themselves behind the most palatable alternative of voting against the Recall itself, but just in case, they will also vote for Cruz Bustamante. But what is more interesting is the way that the Republican side of the Recall election is shaping up. Two Republican candidates have separated themselves from the pack and have firmly established themselves as the most viable front- runners. Tom McClintock and Arnold Schwarzenegger are clearly the main Republican choices in the Recall election, but their differences are profound and seem to reflect a growing schism within the Republican Party as a whole. While Schwarzenegger is clearly the popular favorite in California. Aside from the obvious advantage of massive name recognition, Arnold also presents a very moderate platform that is strong on fiscal responsibility while being lenient on such things as abortion, racial profiling and gun control. By contrast, McClintock has firmly ensconced himself in the hard-core Conservative wing of the Republican party. Both Schwarzenegger and McClintock believe that they should be THE Republican candidate in California, and that, for the good of the party, the other should step down . The problem? Well, right now it doesn’t appear that either is willing to step down for the other. Schwarzenegger won’t step down because he has built up some very strong momentum by positioning himself to be most appealing to the majority of middle of the road Republicans and fence-sitting Democrats who have become disenchanted with Davis. McClintock won’t step down because he believes that his kind of fiscally responsible, no-nonsense kind of leadership is exactly what is needed to correct the staggering problems facing California’s economy. McClintock’s election team has already started to take shots at the more moderate aspects of Schwarzenegger’s platform and it is the difference that these shots represent that reflect a far deeper schism that seems to exist within the Republican party itself. Namely, the Conservative wing of the Republican Party has moved so far over to the Right that it has begun to exclude it’s own party members who do not share those conservative positions. Will this schism, as represented by the power struggle between McClintock and Schwarzenegger, grow large enough to finally divide the Republican party? Could the rising power and momentum that the har-core conservatives are experiencing snowball into a movement to create an entirely new political party? Or will this momentum move to permanently reshape the philosophical core platform of the Republican Party, thus making the basic Republican platform philosophically unpalatable for moderate Republicans? If so, then will these moderate Republicans move to form THEIR own party? So once again, California finds itself in the position of leading the country into the future. The recall election itself is only the beginning. Regardless of who wins, the groundwork for a radical realignment of the philosophical underpinnings, and the future of the Republican party is being laid. ------------ Email Scott Jones: rosenquill@rocketmail.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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