Thread by @nycsouthpaw

It’s apparently so little represented anywhere on the news that I guess I should spell out my own view of the recall election.

California is an idiosyncratic state. It has a truly massive Democratic supermajority in the electorate, a rump Republican party that’s given over to extremism, and a byzantine initiative and referendum system everyone responsible despises (but can’t manage to reform).

One feature of that referendum system is that it’s ridiculously easy to trigger a recall and, crucially, gain an outside chance of electing a fringe candidate. Because if the recall question succeeds, the top vote getter on the replacement question takes over the office.

In a recall, the sitting Gov could be ousted despite getting 49.8% of the vote on question 1 and his replacement could take over despite getting only 22.7% of the vote on question 2. Candidates who could never win a proper general election in CA have a chance in a recall.

When both parties are serious contenders in CA’s ordinary elections, the recall isn’t too attractive. They have better uses for their money and their own office-holders to protect. But for CA Rs who are mostly hopeless in elections and utterly shut out of govt, it looks p good.

So that’s what happened here. The CA GOP, lacking better options, tried to shoot the moon. It wasted a lot of money and time, showed via Elder that they’re still deep in the grips of Trump fanaticism that’s unacceptable to a large majority, and they got beat back down.

And that’s why I think all this pontificating about how Democrats got caught with their pants down, and are facing a big revolt over a fancy dinner, is completely backwards. The recall attempt is a symptom of CA Dems’ strength, and CA GOP’s haplessness, in regular elections.

Thanks @chrislhayes for putting the puppy on the tv.

https://twitter.com/Pexsy/status/1438300713390596096