Two views of California

Tony Blankey takes exception to George Will’s piece on the California mulligan that I posted the other day. You may recall that Will found no good in the recall of Davis or in the rush to elect Arnold, other than the prospect that Californians, and both political parties in the state, will receive “condign punishment” for their parts in this process. Blankley thinks the recall of Davis has a great deal to recommend it. In essence, he argues that the California Republican party, by commendably standing behind its principles and nominating a conservative, deprived the voters of the opportunity to fulfill their desire to defeat Gray Davis. Now the voters are taking advantage of the law to restore that opportunity. A decent argument, although I imagine that one could frequently construct something like it, after the fact, to justify the recall of recently elected officials from both parties all over the country. But no matter. The deed apparently will be done, and few will shed tears for Davis.
Blankley is also unhappy with Will’s suggestion that California deserves “ruin.” Blankley writes: “Since the gold rush days of 1849, a wealthy, invigorating California culture has been one of the great engines of American progress.” I doubt that anyone, even Will, would seriously dispute this. However, this piece by Thomas Sowell suggests that, with or without a recall, California has lost its luster and is already on the road to something like ruin.

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