Davis Recall Bid Has Supporters and Doubters at GOP Convention
SACRAMENTO — Hundreds of California Republican Party activists on Saturday rallied behind the campaign to recall Gov. Gray Davis as a small but growing faction of the state GOP questioned the wisdom of the idea.
The nascent move to try to oust the Democratic governor in a special election became a centerpiece of the state Republican convention here as a few hundred delegates and other Davis foes held a demonstration outside the Capitol to show support for a recall.
After losing every statewide race in November, the Republicans are trying to regroup for their 2004 campaigns to reelect President Bush, toss Sen. Barbara Boxer out of office and narrow the Democrats' majority in the Legislature. But the partisan fervor of the GOP rank and file was most visible in the renewed effort to bounce Davis.
State party Chairman Shawn Steel, Republican legislators and others made their case from the Capitol steps after joining in the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer.
"Conditions in our state have become intolerable and can no longer be ignored," shouted state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks. He called Davis more "corrupt and incompetent" than the crooked politicians whose misdeeds led to the government reforms of the Progressive Era.
"We are tired of seeing our earnings taken from us and handed out to all the governor's campaign contributors," he said, alluding to accusations that Davis has traded state favors for campaign cash.
In many ways, the rally echoed the failed campaign of Republican Bill Simon Jr. to unseat Davis in the election last November. Behind the stage was a banner saying "Fire Gray Davis," the slogan displayed on Simon's campaign bus. The crowd chanted "Dump Davis," a favorite from Simon campaign rallies. Just off stage was Simon strategist Sal Russo, now an advisor to the recall organizers, and two other Simon campaign operatives.
Speakers at the rally borrowed Simon's main campaign theme: They accused Davis of mishandling the energy crisis and the state budget. Among the speakers were two of the Northern California conservative radio talk show hosts who often gave Simon a friendly media forum during the campaign.
Today, the roughly 1,400 delegates to the convention, being held at a hotel and a nearby civic hall, are likely to pass a resolution supporting the recall, said GOP spokesman Rob Stutzman. Nonetheless, signs of caution have emerged among elected officials and other Republicans at the gathering of party loyalists from around the state.
