Governor or Bust.
-amante, of course. Even if the myriad of contenders in the
recall election fractures votes into chard-like percentages, a
narrow 15 percent victory would be more justifiable for Lt. Gov.
Cruz Bustamante than for any other candidate. Since he was already
popularly elected into the office second only to the
governor’s, Bustamante has legitimacy on his side.
His track record also proves him to have the most relevant
experience ““ after Larry Flynt perhaps, who may be a degree
more experienced. Having represented Californians for many years,
Cruz is espoused to some of our most sacred ideals, such as
protection of gay rights, legalized medicinal marijuana and a love
of money.
Upon labeling tribal donations to Bustamante’s campaign as
“legalized bribery” and “on the shady side of the
law,” naysayers like Arianna Huffington and Tom McClintock
(who himself recently received a tribal gift that is green and can
fit in a lock, I mean, bread box) got a bawdy Bustamante beat-down:
“Tell me how you really feel.”
But in all seriousness, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante ““ despite
the fact that he is a politician ““ is the most promising
gubernatorial candidate. Sure he accepts large campaign donations,
but only to rescue California from the flaming bag of recall
Darrell Issa left on our doorstep. Bustamante means only to fight
fire with fire.
Even more impressive is Bustamante’s loyalty to public
college students. He is the best vote for a UCLA Bruin. As an
ex-officio UC regent, he has attempted to defend us against
affronts like Proposition 54 and tuition increases. In the most
recent regents’ fee hike battle, Bustamante revealed his
devotion to students as well as a piece of his refreshing economic
philosophy by stating: “It is unacceptable that the state and
the University of California would balance its budget on the backs
of the students.”
Fancy that ““ a politician critical of robbing education
blind and who has never served as a minister to the Movement of
Spiritual Inner Awareness. I know, Arianna means well.
Aside from his defense of education ““ and having a pulse
““ Cruz Bustamante differs from Gray Davis in his recently
more liberal approach to serving California.
During the Walnut Creek debate on Sept. 3, Bustamante stated
that his answer to the electric companies’ threats to shut
down power unless prices were raised would have been to call their
bluff. Davis justified his concessions to the electric companies by
explaining that he didn’t want to jeopardize the safety of
the “500,000 people in this state that are hooked up to some
life-saving machine at home,” but this seems little more than
cowardly rhetoric. The governor could have just delivered a list of
those 500,000 names to the electric companies and then dared them
to throw the switch. And that is the difference between Cruz
Bustamante and all the other candidates. He is the one contender
with the guts to stand up for Californians in that way.
Although it worries many non-Latino voters who fear alienation,
his youthful activism in Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan,
a Latino student organization whose ideals have been accused as
being racist, should be forgiven.
Bustamante’s personal and professional history is a
testament to his lively persona. Bustamante’s controversial
activism shows his willingness to aggressively pursue the goals he
finds important to his people. Bustamante defends all Californians
as his people.
Understandably, however, some non-immigrant voters worry
Bustamante will make immigrant accommodations his top priority.
Perish the thought ““ a governor catering to the demands of an
interest group. Well, at least it will be a change. Ten years ago,
California’s worst recession since the 1930s spawned a wave
of umbrage toward illegal immigrants and their competitively cheap
labor. In 1994, Gov. Pete Wilson had the brilliant idea of fixing
California’s economic problems by denying public services to
illegal immigrants. And who knows, it may have worked had a federal
court not found it unconstitutional. But it didn’t.
So perhaps a fresh approach ““ not involving the
persecution of illegal immigrants, stealing from education and
corporate deference ““ is what California needs to get well
soon. If not, there’s always Larry Flynt.
Griffin is a third-year political science student.