Office B Gray Davis example essay topic

PREPARATION OUTLINE General Purpose Statement: To Persuade. Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience of the two reasons why California's gubernatorial recall was unjust. Central Idea Statement: The two reasons why my audience should think that California's gubernatorial recall was unjust are because the law that permits the recall is out dated and the case made against Governor Gray Davis had merit, but was not sufficient enough to take him out of office mid-term. I. INTRODUCTION A. According to an article in the Sacramento Bee, a local newspaper in Sacramento, there has been 32 attempts to recall governors in California throughout history. 1. Every attempt has failed until this year. B. I believe that the decision to recall Gov. Gray Davis was unjust. C. Through my research of California's constitution, web sites for and against the recall, and numerous newspaper articles on the subject I have learned a great deal about this political wrong. D. Establishing Mood 1. Should be in an inquisitive, interested mood. E. Two reasons why California's gubernatorial recall was unjust are: 1.

The law that permits the recall is out-dated. 2. The case made against Gov. Gray Davis had merit, but should not have been sufficient enough to take him out of office mid-term. Transition: Now that I have previewed the two reason why the recall was unjust, lets now look at the first more in depth. II. BODY A. The first reason why California's gubernatorial recall was unjust was because the law that permits the recall is out-dated.

1. According to the Official California Legislative Information website, the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall (Article II) amendments were ratified in 1911. a. Sections 13-15 or the Recall section states: 1) A petition to recall a state official must be signed by 12% of the registered voters that voted on the original election for that office. a) In 1911 the population of California was low 1) at that time it was hard to get the 12% b) Now California has over 35 million people (1) How hard is it to get 900,000 signatures? (Rhetorical Question) c) In my opinion the percentage should be raised. b. California's governor in 1911 was Gov. Johnson 1) He pushed the amendment through the legislature. a) An article by Bill Whalen in the Los Angeles stated that the amendment was: " a Progressive- era innovation that was designed to remove office-holders who were corrupt, not merely unpopular".

2) In the same article Gov. Johnson, at his inaugural address told the Legislature that He didn't believe that the recall amendment was the cure to all political ills. Transition 2: Now that I have explained the first reason, let us now focus on the second reason why the recall was unjust. B. The second reason why California's gubernatorial recall was unjust was because the case made against Gov. Gray Davis had merit, but should not have been sufficient enough to take him out of office mid-term. 1. Re callers accuse Davis of "gross mismanagement" of: a. The Energy Crisis 1) This problem was not caused by Davis. a) According to the political magazine, The Record, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that energy companies manipulated the market, cheated California, and should pay back at least $3.3 billion b) On CNN's "Larry King Live" Davis said he used his emergency powers to accelerate construction of more energy plants. b.

The Budget Crisis 1) According to the Los Angeles Times, this might not be entirely Davis' fault either. a) Davis has proposed two budget solutions this year b) To fix this problem it will require some combination of cuts and tax increase. (1) Republicans are unwilling to support any tax increase (2) Democrats are unwilling to give up any social service programs 2. Davis does have some faults, but no new ones were revealed since last Novembers re-election a Davis was reelected with more than 47% of the vote. 1) The Republican leader in California's Assembly, Dave Cox, was quoted in the Mercury News Paper as saying, "There have been no new revelations since the November election. All of the issues that are highlighted as reasons to recall the governor were public prior to the election. The voters elected Gray Davis".

Transition 3: Now that I have explained both reasons why California's gubernatorial recall was unjust, let me begin to wrap things up.. Conclusion A. In conclusion, two reasons why California's gubernatorial recall was unjust are because the law that permits the recall is out-dated and the case made against Gov. Gray Davis had merit, but was not sufficient enough to take him out of office. B. Gray Davis has been indecisive and inept on many key issues, but this is no reason for a recall. If California voters didn't like Gov. Davis, then why did they reelect him last November? I think this sets a bad example for the rest of the nation. What happens if the Democrats push for a recall? California is too fragile, both parties need to come together and fix there states problems rather than cause new ones.

Bibliography

1. Author: Margaret Tales Date: May 30, 2003 Article Title: Don't Recall Davis, Feinstein Urges Publication Title: The Sacramento Bee 2.
Author: Official California Legislative Information Date: Ratified in 1911 Date Downloaded: Oct.
20, 2003 Article Title: Article II Publication Title: California's Constitution Web Address: web 3.
Author: Bill Whalen Date: June 4, 2003 Article Title: Davis Recall: Be Careful What You Wish For Publication: Los Angeles Times 4.
Author: Will Shuck Date: March 31, 2003 Article Title: Davis Recall Bid Blunted Publication Title: The Record 5.
Author: Thom Patterson Date: September 14, 2003 Date Downloaded: October 23, 2003 Article Title: Genesis of Recall Rooted in Energy Crisis Publication: CNN.
com Web Address: web 6. Author: Editorial Date: February 25, 2003 Article Title: Recalling Gov.
Davis Won't Fix the Budget Publication Title: The Mercury News 7. Author: Gray Davis Date: ? Date Downloaded: October 23, 2003 Article Title: Official Ballot Statement Publication Title: No Recall website Website Address: web.