WHY LARRY ELDER LOST IN CALIFORNIA
Will We Ever Have a Fair Election Again?
The Recall
Odd in many ways, California lets us recall our governor when we disapprove of his performance. This is a really good idea, similar to the vote of “no confidence” which can be called in the UK. We got rid of Gray Davis years ago, perhaps not doing ourselves any favors by giving the job to an action hero. Back then, we had over 100 candidates, but ended up ousting the disfavored Gov and, in reality show fashion, picking an actor.
Gavin Newsom definitely earned his time in the dunk tank. It wasn’t even his blatant disregard for the CCP virus rules he imposed—the overpriced dinner at the French Laundry, transporting his family outside the state to get haircuts and other goodies and having his kids take in-person school while the rest of our children were forced into a few hour-a-day, virtual indoctrination. No, he has worked fervently to destroy our economy, cave to teachers and prison unions (and anyone else who will give him money), destroyed education, significantly increased crime and made living in California unaffordable for many. Is there anything he has done right?
The Polls
As more people became aware of the laundry list of misdeeds, the polls started swinging towards recall. Finally able to achieve ballot status, Larry Elder excited many with his clear understanding of the major problems and with an offer of concrete solutions for many of them. In a short time, he became the leader, especially including traditionally Democrat voters such as Hispanics and Asian-Americans. He struck a powerful chord in many and his personal back story resonated. He was one of us.
And yet… Newsom won by almost the exact proportion he got in his original election. Given that those who might lie about their vote (conservatives afraid of the consequences), doesn’t that seem strange? Shouldn’t it have been a little closer?
The Strategy
Ever since their bad miscalculation on Hillary (Of course she will beat Trump – how can she not?), Democrats leave nothing to chance. They began by ensuring that Newsom had a presidential war chest to invest in his campaign. They let him change the date of the election, which he thought might benefit him. Judges supported trying to oust Elder from the ticket (they failed, but the effort was strenuous). And nearly every important Dem showed up in California to support Newsom. Attack ads started appearing—apparently you aren’t Black if you’re an independent or Republican. Here’s a terrific, qualified Black man running for office with a clean record and they made up stuff to tar him. But that wasn’t enough to make them feel safe. You can’t be absolutely sure, until you are.
My husband and I worked the polls in California one time and were shocked to see that we were mostly treated as useful idiots—hand out the ballots to anyone and everyone, even if they couldn’t speak English, you could have sworn you saw them in there before (or saw them drop an absentee ballot AND request a new one) or they otherwise seemed suspicious. It was clear that the goal was to ensure a LOT of votes, not legal votes.
When Trump lost, despite a lot of support from many people, particularly in battleground states, our prior experience with elections made us suspicious. We know illegals vote in our state—they’re given voters registration when they get their drivers’ licenses. And then, hundreds, if not thousands, of poll workers reported suspicious and outright fraudulent polling practices, far worse than anything we observed. I have to believe that yet again, it happened in California. Given the disastrous reign of the “pretty boy,” does it make sense that he would be just as popular as when no one knew him? Safe communities are reporting significant increases in crime, everyone is sick of the constantly changing rules on the lockdowns and masking and even those who think vaccines are a good idea are horrified that people are being forced to take one or lose their job.
Election Integrity
Every citizen should have the right to cast one (and only one) ballot. To ensure this, we need to basically look at what the Dems want and do the opposite. Make everyone register in a way that ensures integrity, by having to appear in person with proof of citizenship, or online with uploaded proofs that are hand-verified. No one gets a ballot unless they register. Every year, the rolls should be scrubbed based on deaths and moves. We have this information and the programming should be simple. If you vote in person, you must show picture ID (you have to at an airport). And for absentee voters, periodically, you should be required to prove that you still live where you vote.
Yes, there are people for whom these requirements might prove challenging, and no, they aren’t primarily dark-skinned. Everyone I know can manage this process, but if they are elderly, infirm or otherwise physically challenged, those exceptions can be managed in a caring, humane fashion. But it’s time to challenge our election integrity or we will have ceded control to an unelected dictatorship.
