One candidate is famous for her pouting lips, cleavage and pink Corvette. Another is best known as a hustling pornographer who survived an assassination attempt. A third is a former punk rocker who had a hit 20 years ago with a song called Property is Theft. And a fourth is a bodybuilder whose catchphrase is "I'll be back."
All would-be candidates for the governorship of California have to file their nomination papers by Saturday. So far, 344 people have taken out the necessary papers to run and pundits predict that at least 100 of them will have their names on the ballot when the matter comes before the electorate on Oct. 7.
What seemed like a clever move by rightwing Republicans in California to remove the unpopular Democrat governor, Gray Davis, and replace him with one of their own has turned into farce, reinforcing the old stereotype of California as the home of Goofy.
Last month, enough signatures were collected to put the recall of Davis to the vote but Darrell Issa, the multi-millionaire Republican congressman who financed the move and hopes to replace Davis, has opened a West Coast Pandora's box.
If Davis is recalled, for allegedly misleading the electorate last year about the state's fiscal deficit, a simultaneous vote for a new governor would give Californians such a choice that the winner could be elected with as little as 10 percent of the poll.
All it takes to stand is 65 voters' signatures and US$3,500 so, not surprisingly, everyone with a show to publicize is registering.
No California governor has ever been recalled so the arcane rules have never been clarified and are under challenge in court from Davis whose supporters warn that the current process could be as chaotic as the Florida election in 2000.
Today one of the best-known contenders and one who stood a good chance of winning is due to quit. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bodybuilder-turned-actor, who promises in his movies that "I'll be back," is indicating that he won't be. After weeks of coyly hinting that he would stand, he appears to have bowed to family pressure to stay out of the race.
There is no shortage of other candidates who are better known for their public personas than their political experience. Angelyne, a buxom blonde who has been appearing on billboards in Hollywood since 1984 for no reason that anyone can quite explain, has announced that she will run. Her Web site answers the question "what do you do?" with the reply: "I don't do - I AM!"
She is unlikely to run as efficient a campaign as Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine and the subject of the 1996 film, The People vs Larry Flynt, which told the tale of this Kentucky boy who made a fortune from pornography before being paralyzed by a shot from a would-be killer.
This week in Hollywood, he announced that he would run under the slogan "the smut peddler who cares" and said: "I may be paralyzed ... but not from the neck up, like Gray Davis."
An Orange County punk rocker, Jack Grisham, of the band TSOL, who once sang songs like Abolish Government and Property is Theft, has also confirmed that he will run. He is adamant that this has nothing to do with an album the band is launching next month. Georgy Russell, 26, who is running on a "clean energy" ticket, is selling "Georgy for Governor" thongs to finance her attempt.
A much more serious candidate, who is due to announce her intentions tomorrow, is Arianna Huffington, former president of the Cambridge Union, a "recovering Republican," as she calls herself, and a syndicated columnist who is best known for her libertarian/left positions on everything from campaign finance to the environment and corporate corruption.
Opinion polls are indicating that 55 percent support a recall but Davis is a prolific fund-raiser and is promising to spend US$20m to beat the bid.
Shamans in Peru on Monday gathered for an annual New Year’s ritual where they made predictions for the year to come, including illness for US President Donald Trump and the downfall of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill,” Juan de Dios Garcia proclaimed as he gathered with other shamans on a beach in southern Lima, dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and headdresses, and sprinkling flowers on the sand. The shamans carried large posters of world leaders, over which they crossed swords and burned incense, some of which they stomped on. In this
‘NO COUNTRY BUMPKIN’: The judge rejected arguments that former prime minister Najib Razak was an unwitting victim, saying Najib took steps to protect his position Imprisoned former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was yesterday convicted, following a corruption trial tied to multibillion-dollar looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund. The nation’s high court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than US$700 million channeled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund. Najib denied any wrongdoing, and maintained the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by businessman Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains
Near the entrance to the Panama Canal, a monument to China’s contributions to the interoceanic waterway was torn down on Saturday night by order of local authorities. The move comes as US President Donald Trump has made threats in the past few months to retake control of the canal, claiming Beijing has too much influence in its operations. In a surprising move that has been criticized by leaders in Panama and China, the mayor’s office of the locality of Arraijan ordered the demolition of the monument built in 2004 to symbolize friendship between the countries. The mayor’s office said in
FIGHTING CONTINUES: Thai military dropped 40 bombs on border areas, Cambodia said, while Bangkok said Phnom Penh launched heavy attacks and damaged homes Cambodia yesterday accused Thailand of intensifying its bombardment of disputed border areas, even as officials from the two countries attend a multi-day meeting aimed at negotiating an end to deadly clashes. The neighbors’ long-standing border conflict reignited this month, shattering an earlier truce and killing more than 40 people, according to official counts. About 1 million people have also been displaced. Cambodian and Thai officials were in their third day of talks at a border checkpoint, with ministers of defense from the two countries scheduled to meet today. However, the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense said Thailand’s military carried out a heavy
RSS