Fear Was the Spoiler in California Election

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Fear was the spoiler in California’s October 7 gubernatorial election. So-called progressives abandoned their ideals and didn’t vote for Green Party candidate Peter Camejo, the most prominent progressive in the race. 

Why did so-called progressives miss a golden opportunity to elect a progressive governor? 

Peter Camejo received 211,595 votes or 2.8 percent of the vote, far below the almost 400,000 votes he received in last November’s election. Progressives voted for Camejo but many Green Democrats, Huffington liberals, and “scared of Schwarzenegger” voters reverted back to their Democratic shells and didn’t vote for Camejo. 

This election also brought out other so-called progressives— Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), actors Dustin Hoffman, Paul Reiser, Endeavor talent agency partner Ari Emanuel, “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin, producer/eco couple Larry and Laurie David, and a couple hundred other Hollywood types. They chose not to support Camejo, but couldn’t throw enough money at one of their own—Arianna Huffington, rich and white, chameleon extraordinaire. Huffington started out as a right-winger supporting Newt Gingrich, then she became progressive, and now it appears she’s the honorary chairperson of the Democratic Party. 

The Democratic Party did not support Lt. Governor Cruz Bus- tamante for the same reason Huf- fington “progressive” Democrats didn’t support Camejo. Both Bustamante and Camejo are people of color who are okay for a second choice, but not okay for a first choice when one of their own (Huffington and deposed Governor Gray Davis) is running. 

We also have to consider the celebrity of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Did the voters have all the facts? No, but they had some facts and voted for Arnold anyway. On election morning, Peter Camejo appeared on the “Steve Harvey Show.” Peter is an honorable man who deserves respect, but Harvey’s “angels” thought a porn star was just as valid a candidate as Camejo. 

Do voters who vote on star power and not facts care about issues? Do they care about the “war” on Afghanistan and Iraq? Are they against the death penalty, three strikes, racial profiling, the Patriot Act, wars of conquest, and nuclear weapons? Apparently not, because a vote for Arnold is seen as a vote for George Bush. 

We cannot negate the power of the corporate media, including Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, Jay Leno, and Larry King. They, along with the networks and newspapers, dealt California a fatal blow by refusing to give equal time to other candidates. 

What about the Democratic Party? Amazingly, the Democrats still have no clue why they lost. The Democrats have such bad policies and such an unpopular leader that they are no longer trusted by the vast majority of voters. But to hear them tell it, it was the right- wing conspiracy. Republicans make up 35 percent of registered voters. Not all 35 percent voted on October 7, but Davis was recalled by 55 percent of registered voters. At least 20 percent and more non-Republicans voted Davis out of office. 

The voters were sick of Davis and he and his party refuse to admit it. Davis was vulnerable from the start and played a key role in keeping more competent Democratic candidates out of the race. He kept competition out of last year’s race by pumping $10 million into the Republican primary to defeat Richard Riordan, a moderate Republican, instead of arch conservative Bill Simon. The Democrats could have saved the governorship for themselves if Davis had put ego aside and resigned. True the recall would have gone on, but it would have been a recall against Bustamante who no one would have recalled. 

Fear, racism, and Davis’s ego spoiled it for California. But there’s a silver lining. Camejo participated in six debates—the first time a third party has been included in televised debates for a statewide office. He was viewed as the winner of many debates and perceived by everyone as a serious candidate with real solutions to California problems. He shattered preconceived notions about who the Greens are. 

Camejo put the Greens on the map in California. Already five State Senators are pushing through Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) legislation, a Green issue. Fear was the spoiler in this recall election, but a progressive stayed the course and hopefully truth will one day free us from fear.

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Donna Jo Warren is a native of South Central Los Angeles, and was the Green Party candidate for Lt. Governor in November 2002.