How to get elected in California.....
Heres a quote from a different source...
"The campaign to remove Governor Davis is backed by at least $600,000 from Republican Congressman Darrel Issa, who aspires to be the next California governor."
Is this the outright BUYING a political office? Is this the future of politics? Is this a exploitation of electoral rules for political gain?
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?o...27CAD96FAB296A
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GOP seeks candidate in Davis recall drive
PARTY INFIGHTING MAY HURT EFFORTS
By Dion Nissenbaum
Mercury News
SOLVANG - As Republicans wake up to the very real possibility that they could oust Gov. Gray Davis a year after he won re-election, they are beginning to worry that their own infighting could undermine their chance to make history by recalling the unpopular Democrat.
If they have any hope of toppling Davis, key figures in the recall drive told a gathering of moderate Republicans on Saturday, they need to rally behind a single politician so they don't dilute their power.
``We need to have, if we can, one candidate,'' said Rep. Darrell Issa, the Vista Republican who has spent more than $645,000 to finance the recall campaign.
Issa is among at least a half dozen Republican candidates testing the waters for a potential run against Davis if the recall becomes the first in California to qualify for the ballot.
While the campaign has until Sept. 2 to turn in nearly 900,000 valid signatures to elections officials, Issa and his allies are rushing to turn in enough petitions by mid-July to force a special recall vote this November.
Issa told the group that the campaign has gathered nearly 700,000 signatures and is well on its way to meeting its goal.
Now that Issa's money has brought the once-moribund recall to life, Republicans are trying to make sure they don't squander their surprising second chance to topple Davis, who has seen his popularity sink to historic lows as he struggles with California's worst-ever budget crisis. Davis narrowly won re-election in November over Republican businessman Bill Simon, a political novice who ran a lackluster campaign.
Should the initiative qualify for the ballot, it would ask voters if they want to recall Davis and would offer a slate of alternative candidates to consider. Because anyone who can raise $3,500 and collect 65 signatures can put his or her name on the ballot, it could be a crowded field.
``We do have an inherent problem of narrowing the field or if the other side narrows the field more they will win,'' Issa told more than 300 Republicans gathered for the one-day convention, which was hosted by former Assemblyman Brooks Firestone.
To winnow the list, Issa suggested that the Republican Party hold a nominating convention to choose one candidate -- but conceded that getting everyone to take part and agree to the rules would be difficult. That concern was echoed by Simon, another potential candidate weighing his chances.
``I don't know if it's realistic to have a single candidate,'' Simon said to reporters after speaking to the gathering.
The biggest wild card for Republicans is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the popular and wealthy action movie star who has been carefully groomed to jump into politics. While Schwarzenegger is putting off questions about a run for governor until the release of the new ``Terminator'' movie in July, he has sent strong signals that he wants to jump into the race.
Republicans at the gathering pressed both Issa and Simon for a commitment to step aside if polls show Schwarzenegger can win the recall election. Simon said he would ``probably'' do so, while Issa would only say: ``If I saw evidence that I could not win and another candidate could win, I will do what's best for our state and best for our party.''
Because not everyone will agree to support one GOP candidate, some Republicans expressed fears Saturday that the recall could backfire if Democrats manage to overcome their own divisions and rally around a popular candidate like U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, should she decide to run.
``What our party has to realize is that just because everyone is mad at Gray Davis, that doesn't mean they will elect someone from another party,'' said Beth Rogers, a former Republican congressional candidate and head of a fundraising group for GOP women.
That fear was also raised by Gerry Parsky, the influential Republican with close ties to the White House. As the recall got under way, Parsky and the White House kept their distance while many leading California Republicans dismissed the idea as a misguided distraction from the bigger issues facing the state.
On Saturday, Parsky urged Republicans to rally behind a candidate in the mold of President Bush.
``We as a party must be very thoughtful and disciplined if we want to find ourselves in a better place after this is all over,'' Parsky told the group. ``We should once again look to the president, his vision and message as a guide to those who would seek to run in a recall election.''
Both Issa and Simon sought to stake out that turf at the gathering, with both men delivering pointed critiques of Davis and laying the groundwork for their expected campaigns.
``Getting rid of a thoroughly dangerous man who is destroying our state is what the recall is all about,'' said Issa, who compared himself to the idealistic teenager he was when he joined the military.
``In many ways I'm like that 17-year-old who wanted to go to the Army to save the world,'' he said. ``I may not be the most equipped, but I'm the most motivated.''