This tweet alarmed me:
And John Avlon alarms me, too.
On CNN Tuesday morning, Avlon called California's recall law "quirky.' But he also pointed out just what is at stake for the Democratic Party nationally if the insane California Republican Party has its way. As Avlon says, this recall is "another Republican end-run around majority democracy."
But even more terrifying, if this Republican-sourced recall is successful, "control of the US Senate could hang in the balance."
...Here's how it works. A simple question, yes or no, should the governor get recalled. If more than 50% of the voters say yes, Gavin Newsom is toast, and with him the Democrats. Then the next question becomes, who should replace him? Now, there are 46 candidates running. This isn't rank choice. It's first past the post. After the recall vote on September 14th, residents of America's largest state could wake up with a new governor who only got the votes of a tiny percentage of the electorate. This sounds kooky. Even by California standards, you're not wrong. This isn't constitutional at all if it leads to a new Republican governor receiving fewer votes than the Democrat.
Avlon goes on to talk about the horrible record of Larry Elder, which we covered yesterday. Then Avlon points out the most terrible, and possible, result of all: "With the US Senate divided 50/50, if something should happen to the oldest member of the Senate, 88-year-old Dianne Feinstein, the new governor of California would choose the replacement, flipping control of the Senate."
Yes, as is USUAL in today's politics, an election, no matter where it is and how "not-national" it seems, is all about control of the US Senate and in turn, the lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court.
Californians must NOT sit this one out. Vote NO on the recall, and leave question 2 blank. It's the only way to stop a completely illegitimate Republican takeover.
