The stage is set for a showdown in California politics. Just seven months after being re-elected, Governor Gray Davis could very well lose his job. If recall supporters get enough signatures, and current momentum suggests they will, Davis could be back on the ballot this fall facing a tough challenge from Republican hopeful Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Davis supporters say Republicans are bankrolling the recall. Others counter that it’s just an issue of accountability. California voters have tried this kind of thing before, putting someone in office, and then changing their minds. The question is whether a successful recall will jolt the American political system awake, reinvigorate the democratic process…or simply turn it off, and send voters and potential contenders scurrying away.
Guests:
Daniel Weintraub, Political Columnist for the Sacramento Bee newspaper
Bruce Cain, Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley
Ted Costa, CEO of People’s Advocate — a non profit group organizing the Gray Davis recall