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Melanie Morgan- Contributor

Talk radio host Melanie Morgan can be heard on San Francisco's KSFO weekdays 5:00-9:00 AM. She is also fondly known as the "Mother of the Recall." [go to Morgan index]

The Lying Liars of the Left
Blame George Bush for California’s Recall (and why that makes Californians Laugh)
[Melanie Morgan ] 09/09/03

As I toil daily over a hot microphone—waiting anxiously for California to fall into the ocean---I wonder how nearly every political pundit in America got our recall effort wrong.

“Circus,” they cried.

“Too much direct democracy,” they opined.

The national media were outright hostile. Newsweek’s Howard Fineman and Karen Breslau cover story blasted “So this is California: in thrall, at least for the moment to an earnest crank and in the grip of what can only be described as a civic crack-up.”

Even my esteemed colleagues on the right thought Californians should suck it up and live with the failed leadership of Governor Gray Davis. After all, a weakened Gray Davis, they claimed, makes George Bush look good going into the 2003-04 election cycle.

Some, like George Will, went further:

“Truly conservative Californians—you few know who you are---will vote against the recall to protest the plebiscitary cynicism.”

Whatever.

But what really annoys those of us who support limited government, smaller taxes and fiscal responsibility is that the newly recruited left-wing supporters of Gray Davis keep repeating the mantra that George W. Bush is behind the recall.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has charged that the White House is secretly behind the California recall movement, adding, “The national Republican strategy of stealing elections through lawyers, loopholes and lies will backfire.” The caterwauling continued with actor Martin Sheen who said on an entertainment TV show that “the California recall is an effort to grab the state for the Republicans. Frankly, I suspect this came out of the White House.”

It’s a template that many pundits fell for—hook, line and sound-bite—but they couldn’t be further from the truth.

As an insider from the start, it has been laughable how often, and in how many ways, the political gurus at President Bush’s political operation stiff-armed California conservatives.

Howard Kaloogian, Chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee and long-time conservative activist, reports that several phone calls to the White House resulted in mocking conversations.

“Not interested,” said the political types. “Let Davis slowly twist in the wind. It’ll make our job easier in ’04.”

Never mind that the February state GOP convention unanimously endorsed the recall. Forget about those of us in the grass-roots who collected 500,000 signatures BEFORE Congressman Darrell Issa grabbed his checkbook because he correctly surmised that the recall would actually work.

On Shawn Steel, Co-Founder of the Recall movement—the embattled state chair would not cower to the moderates in the party. Instead, he appeared on our radio program and accomplished what few others ever dreamed.

Quite simply, he turned the Democrat machinery monopoly upside-down...something that would make the moderates nervous, envious and impotent. Note: When Steel and his activist wife Michelle Park Steel raised more campaign cash for George Bush than Gerald Parsky, the California money-man Bush favors, they were quickly added to the special invitation list at the ranch in Crawford. As the Republican establishment clique ate bar-b-cue and mingled with others, the Bush political operatives laconically refused help to Steel.

When powerful Republicans ignore reality, there’s only one way to play the game---purely on our terms. It’s called Talk Radio, the Internet, and grass-roots activism.

Are you listening Chris Matthews? How about you Bill Press? The entire chattering class of inside beltway boys (and girls) like George Will missed the biggest political story of the year, and it was right under their noses the entire time. All you had to do was turn on the radio. Or surf the net. Or heaven forbid—talk to real Californians!

As for Karl Rove and others inside the West Wing –they still don’t understand that by changing the political paradigm with a recall effort, the White House will benefit by extension. The populist uprising has resulted in a significant uptick of Republican voter registrations.

Emphasis here:  every story about the recall reduces the number of stories being written about Bush-hating Democrats. And that means less coverage of the nine democratic Presidential candidates who are having a very tough time raising money inside California, where campaign bucks are flowing toward pro-and-anti-recall groups.

The simple fact of the matter is that by arguing ideas and comparing records in a perfectly legitimate constitutional election, this state and every other will benefit from the discourse in the public arena.

I got it in January. Two million petition signing Californians understood by July. On October 7th, so will the rest of the country.

copyright 2003 Melanie Morgan