good point

Um...I believe that I can. The filibuster rule is a countermajoritarian provision in a legislative body whose entire raison d'etre is countermajoritarianism. The purpose of the recall provision in the California constitution is to remove officials guilty of some sort of malfeasance. At any rate, Californians are welcome to recall Gray Davis if they really want to, I just think it's going to make life in their state less pleasant, since every future governor is now going to face these sorts of petitions.

I think we would both agree on that last point. Californians (of which I once was one) are petition happy bunch. Perhaps they need to go through this once and find that it does them no good.

I've not read the recall provision, so I will assume that your interpretation is accurate. It is worth noting that while the intent may be to remove officials guilty of some malfeasance, in practice there is no such requirement. Clearly the provision is broad enough to allow its use as a political device for those that are so inclined. The fact that no one, until now, had gathered enough signatures to cause its effect is testament to the hurdle it placed to a casual recall effort. If Californians find that the threat of such recalls in the future is too great they merely need to amend the existing provision.

The point remains, both are tools or weapons. The wisdom of the use of either is left to the electorate and history to determine.

It's okay if I think both parliamentary maneuvers and the recall are simultaneously sleazy but within the rules of the game, right?

Absolutlty! That's my view as well.

Look, when Lex Luthor finally executes his brilliant plan vis-a-vis the San Andreas fault, the recall thing will be moot. All hail Governor Otis!

On a larger note, I say "hell no" to consistency.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Filibustering is a legislative tool designed to allow political minorities to hold off, bargain against, or force compromise on a parliamentary majority. Recalls, on the other hand, is an electoral tool allowing for the overturning of a previous election by a second one. I happen to think that filibusters are necessary for the avoidance of tyranny-by-majority, and that recalls are destabilizing and obnoxious. You don't want to hear what I think about referenda. I approved of filibustering when it was Thurmond fighting for a disgusting, immoral cause, and I still approve of its use by the Democrats today.

What is the possibility of using the world's oldest political metaphor (Aesop's Fable BELLY and the MEMBERS) in this discussion? Began searching web for body-state-metaphor and very little happened in July 03...but now in March 04 the search turns up more stuff. I know it is just "stuff" but it might even generate a little fun. Or a lot of wierdness to sift through. BUT one modern update puts the analogy this war - lungs is the legislative branch, heart is the judicial branch, stomach is the executive branch.