Don't give CA to the GOP

AS WE WENT to press, just days before the Aug. 9 deadline for gubernatorial candidates to file to put their name on the recall ballot, the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and all of the potential heavy-hitting candidates, were still supporting what the Green Party's Peter Camejo calls a "suicide pact": they were all refusing to run a candidate in the recall election, creating the very real possibility that a hard-right-wing Republican could be the next governor of California.

As Tim Redmond and Savannah Blackwell report on page 13, there were signs that the protect-Davis-at-all-costs solidarity was beginning to crack. Two members of Congress, Brad Sherman and Loretta Sanchez, were publicly urging the party to run another candidate. Attorney General Bill Lockyer was openly critical of Gov. Gray Davis and urged him not to resort to another slash-and-burn negative campaign. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein – by far the strongest contender – was still hesitating, and nobody else close to her stature was even publicly testing the waters.

This is a frightening prospect.

Polls show a wide range of state voters – even a lot of Democrats – are furious at the governor, and their anger runs deep. Davis can and will spend millions to try to portray the recall as a right-wing conspiracy, but it's not at all clear the tactic will work. Even if Davis survives the recall, he'll be a wounded, ineffective governor, unable to deal with the debilitating financial crisis that has reduced California's bond rating to near-junk status.

So, for the good of the state, the Democratic Party, and the clear majority of voters who have rejected the GOP message and made it clear they want Democrats in statewide office, somebody with the stature to replace Davis needs to be on the ballot. If Feinstein won't run, then former representative Leon Panetta, or Lockyer, or Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante – or someone else who has a chance of winning – should. Now.