TODAY’S SUNDAY COMMENTARY IS "GUEST HOSTED" BY LONGTIME FLASHREPORT FRIEND SHAWN STEEL. STEEL, A PROMINENT LOS ANGELES COUNTY ATTORNEY, IS A FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY, AND HAS PENNED THIS BOOK REVIEW…
Los Angeles Times reporter Joe Mathews’ new book, “The People’s Machine: Arnold and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy” is quite the rage in Sacramento and for California political junkies. Mathews recounts the political formation of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the origins of the 2003 Gray Davis Recall that dethroned a sitting governor for the first time in 80 years – and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger in his place.
That time now seems like eons ago, but we should remember the California Republican Party was on its back following the November 2002 election disaster in which all but one statewide GOP candidate went down to defeat. The Party had reached a nadir. Much of the organized big business community had deserted to Gray Davis, with the state Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable served as affable allies against Republicans, and particularly Bill Simon.
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