Get It, Mr. Davis: The Public Was Angry

Re “Davis Signs Last Bills of His Term,” Oct. 13: Gov. Gray Davis was convincingly defeated in the recall election. The people of California stated that we no longer want him as governor. I consider it characteristically disingenuous for him to continue to take partisan actions, such as signing controversial legislation, making partisan appointments, paying off his contributors, keeping his campaign promises. These actions are not in the best interests of California and not what the voters wanted when we fired him.

Jerry Schwartz

Manhattan Beach

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Re “Sad but Accepting, Davis Muses on His Loss,” Oct. 10: Davis is living in denial. He said that “people got tired of me after a while.” Not true. They were angry! Davis has lived his adult life in public service, which means he has never had a real job. Being governor is the first position he has ever had where he was truly accountable. He didn’t do the job and he was fired. Politicians need to feel the insecurity of employment like everyone else does.

Davis should seek employment in the private sector or try starting a business with his own money. Then he will feel how anti-business his administration and our socialist Legislature has made this state. But then again, having a meaningless post with a nonprofit organization, where productivity isn’t asked for, is what he does best.

John Buda

Covina

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Gov. Davis, I would like to thank you for all you have done for our state. I do not hold you accountable for all the state’s ills. I voted for you and am proud to say so. I was proud of us Californians when we proved Vice President Dick Cheney wrong and conserved our way out of the energy manipulations. But sadly, I am disgusted with this right-wing recall and the Democrats falling for it. I feel exactly the way I did after the 2000 election.

Nancy Flores

Rosemead

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Re “By Election Day, the Body Politic Had Gone Numb,” by Garry South, Commentary, Oct. 10: The people of California are sick and tired of the “puke politics” strategy that South used to run Davis’ campaigns in 1998 and 2002 and in advising the anti-recall campaign. When you really think about it, he was one of the reasons that Davis lost at the polls. South was also a loser at the polls; his strategy just did not work a third time, although I’m sure he tried hard to bring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reputation down and probably still is. I’m sure we have not heard the last of South.

Terry Moll

Tustin

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South hit the nail on the head. Clearly the 48% of the electorate that opted for Schwarzenegger were numb from the neck up. Candidate Arnold has never served in public office and refused to participate in the debates, except the one that gave the participants the questions in advance. His campaign was basically photo ops, with few specifics on how he would address our budgetary difficulties. But he was an icon, as action movie stars go. And in our culture, celebrity wins out on substance most of the time.

Bob Teigan

Simi Valley