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No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself. The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern. I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Davis Fights BackText of Gov. Gray Davis' speech at UCLA Following is the text of Gov. Gray Davis' speech Tuesday [august 19, 2003] at the University of California, Los Angeles: Thank you, my friends. Viva California. Thank you, my friends, for coming here tonight, and those of you watching at home. I know California is going through a difficult time, and this is a challenging moment for all of us. I come here to take responsibility and set the record straight and to talk about our future. Let's first talk about energy. I know many of you feel that I was too slow to act during the energy crisis. I got your message and I accept that criticism. I played the hand I was dealt as best I could. I inherited the energy deregulation scheme which put all of us at the mercy of the big energy producers. We got no help from the federal government. In fact, when I was fighting Enron and the other energy companies, these same companies were sitting down with Vice President Cheney to draft a national energy strategy. Recent federal investigations have proven that California was victimized by a massive fraud. Energy executives are on their way to jail. Three years ago, I refused to give in to the pressure to raise rates astronomically. Everyone I talked to said "raise rates, raise rates, raise rates." I would not do it. And I also couldn't let our homes, our businesses, our schools go dark. So I went to work, bought power, built new plants, encouraged conservation for the good people of this state and encouraged the use of clean energy. My friends, last Friday, 50 million Americans lost electricity for 29 hours. In California, not a single light has gone out in the last two years. I'm not looking for praise. We made our share of mistakes. And, like you, I wish I had known then all I know now. But my friends, if any of the Republicans in this recall campaign criticized the way we dealt with the energy crisis, you ask them specifically what they would have done to keep the lights on. Now let's talk about the budget. I'm not happy with the budget I signed recently. I said so then, I repeat that today. But it was the best we could do given the position of Republican legislators who would not compromise and who wanted to strip away health insurance benefits from 400,000 children of working parents rather than increase taxes on the wealthiest Californians. But as everyone considers how we got into this situation, let me put our situation into perspective. The American economy has tanked. Over the last couple years, it has shed 3 million jobs and gone from record surpluses to record deficit; 46 other states are facing similar problems. Yes, I could have been tougher in holding down spending when we had big surpluses. But let's be clear. Our increases on my watch went to education and health care, and I make no apology for that. When I took office, we ranked near the bottom in per-pupil spending, 43rd to be specific. We are now 26, and we're making progress. In fact, just last week, just last Friday, the superintendent of public instruction announced dramatic improvement in student test scores for the fifth year in a row. Let me just say that the thanks should just go to the teachers, parents, school board members, principals and all the hard-working people in education. Let me tell you something else about the budget. In California, the Constitution prohibits spending a dollar unless you get a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. So those spending increases I mentioned during the early part of my term - health care and education - those increases were supported by Democrats and Republicans in Sacramento. And one more point about the budget: Some Republicans accuse me of hiding the deficit. That is preposterous, my friends. In California, state finances are a matter of public record. They're available to anyone who wants to see. Now let's talk about the recall. This recall is bigger than California. What's happening here is part of an ongoing national effort to steal elections Republicans cannot win. It started with the impeachment of President Clinton, when the Republicans could not beat him in 1996. It continued in Florida, where they stopped the vote count, depriving thousands of Americans of the right to vote. This year, they're trying to steal additional congressional seats in Colorado and Texas, overturning legal redistricting plans. Here in California, the Republicans lost the governor's race last November. Now they're trying to use this recall to seize control of California just before the next presidential election. They spent $3 million to put this recall on the ballot, but you're going to have to spend $65 million of your hard-working tax dollars to conduct that election. I'm sure you'll agree with me that money could be better spent educating our children. Call me old fashion, and I am. Call me old fashion, but I believe when an election is over, the people have spoken and it's time to get to work and do the public's business. There are many reasons to be against this recall. It's expensive, it's undemocratic, it's a bad precedent, and it almost certainly will breed more recalls. The end result will be more campaigning, not less, more politics, not less, and less time to do the public's business. The Republicans behind this recall say they want you to oust me for past mistakes. My friends, they don't give a rip about past mistakes. This is all about control in the future, seizing back the governor's chair and believing with so many candidates running they can do it with just a handful of California voters. That's what this is all about. In the next seven weeks, my highest priority will be doing the job you elected me to do. But make no mistake, I am going to fight this recall and the right-wing forces behind it. Take that to the bank. My friends, from day one I have fought to improve our schools. This year in Sacramento, believe it or not, the Republicans wanted to kick 110,000 kids out of kindergarten. But we worked together and we stopped it. Our schools are getting better, and I pledge you to work every day to improve them further. That's my highest priority. I said from the very beginning, my three highest priorities are education, education, education. The schools are getting better, kids are learning more, teachers are better trained, doing a fabulous job, parents are more involved. We're on the right path. I'm also proud to tell you I signed some of the toughest environmental laws in America over the last five years. Laws that clean up our air, clean up our water and protect our magnificent coastline. California has become a national leader again on the environment, and I will never allow California's strong environmental record to be reversed - not by Republicans, not by anyone. I'm going to fight to protect this environment. The same is true for reproductive rights, privacy rights and civil rights. We passed the toughest laws in the nation, bar none, on all three subjects. And while the Bush administration spends its time peering into our bedrooms, our homes and our libraries, I have been working with Democratic legislators in Sacramento to pass the toughest financial privacy law in America. My friends, no one, no one should look at your bank balances, your spending habits or your personal financial data unless you give them permission to do so. I will sign a bill this year that will protect your financial privacy whether I'm governor for another seven weeks or another three years. Now let me speak about another issue that will be on the ballot, Proposition 54. Proposition 54 is another Republican effort to divide Californians over race. I am going to fight this initiative, and I'm going to fight every day to make equal opportunity a reality for every person living in this great state. Thank you. Thank you. Now the budget problems we've been dealing with need a long-term fix. I have signed the budget. But we need a long-term fix. And I will soon appoint a distinguished commission of knowledgeable people to propose changes in our budget structure to avoid the wild fluctuations we've seen the last four years and which we saw in the early '90s. I also want to make this state better. I want to make it better to work and to do business, whether you are in the private sector, the public sector or the nonprofit world. Wherever you're working, you are experiencing skyrocketing increases in worker compensation rates, and I pledge to you that I will sign a bill this year that will stop those increases. There is much more that needs to be done in California. This election is about your future. I intend to fight for it, and I need your help. Now this is not going to shock you. I may not be the warmest TV personality in politics, but I am warming to this fight. And I will go all over this state, talk to all comers, answer all their questions, and I might have one or two of my own to ask them. Now the Republicans say this recall is about ousting me for past problems. But my friends, we're getting over our past problems. California did not go dark. I signed a budget. The schools are getting better, and our economy will turn around. But this right-wing power grab is something we won't get over. It will do lasting damage to our state, our environment and the very fabric of our democracy. This is a fight worth making and I need your help. My friends, if you give me your help, I'll do everything in my power over the next three-and-a-half years to represent everyone in this great state - Democrats, Republicans and independents - to give our children the future they deserve. Thank you for coming here tonight. God bless you, and God bless America." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.bayarea.com This speech is provided to advance the discussion of the California Recall. |
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