California's gubernatorial recall election is a blatant attempt by reactionary Republican political forces to gain partisan advantage through the guise of a non-partisan election. The process deprives voters of both a primary election and an orderly discussion of the issues facing Californians. Financed by a rich Republican Congressman, the recall election's main beneficiaries are candidates who would be unlikely to survive the scrutiny of their own party's primary process.
It is true that Californians deserve better political leadership then they have received from their office holders and their referendum and initiative organizers. However, this recall will only introduce more chaos into the political system and further fuel the public apathy that permits corporate elites to avoid public scrutiny. Public cynicism and apathy further damage the chances for genuine democratic reform of a political system dominated by a wealthy minority.
Buried within the unwieldy ballot, California voters will also find a racist political initiative financed by another rich Republican, Ward Connerly. Proposition 54, the so called "Racial Privacy Initiative," would prohibit government agencies from collecting racial or ethnic information regarding employment and housing patterns, income disparities, effectiveness of the educational system, disease risks, police practices, and so on. Proposition 54 is a companion piece to Connerly's anti-affirmative action initiative of several years ago. That initiative was designed to eliminate government programs that compensate for the inequalities resulting from past and present racism. The current initiative would prevent government from even obtaining the information to show that inequality exists. The harm this initiative could cause cannot be overstated. For example, it opens the door to potential public health disasters that can result from the inability to collect race-specific medical information. Proposition 54 panders to fear and insecurity while abandoning the very concept of equality that its proponents claim to embrace.
The recall election and Proposition 54 have generated new activism among California progressives. However, much of the fund raising and organizing effort, and almost all of the media attention, have been devoted to the recall. Proposition 54 is as dangerous as the recall and should command the same level of attention. Democratic Socialists of America urges its members and friends to vote No on the gubernatorial recall and No on Proposition 54. We commend our members, local organizations and commissions in California working to defeat these measures and urge all progressives to join in the campaigns against them.
