On the day of the historic California Recall election, I find myself wondering why I even care. After all, this is California, the home of the crazy, the wacky, home of Ronald Reagan, an actor turned governor turned president of these United States. This is the definition of democracy, isn't it? Never mind that a rich Republican named Issa basically funded the entire recall with his own money. Never mind that a disproportionately large percentage of minorities will be disenfranchised simply because we're in such a rush to oust Davis. We are seeing democracy in action.
Well, is that really what we want? We do hold certain restrictions to the excercise of pure democracy. Take the electoral college, for example. We want to be able to ensure that a mere popular vote does not have enough power to decide something as important as the position of the leader of the greatest democracy in the world. A presidential candidate can't win just by carrying certain large states, and never bothering to address or even visit places like Rhode Island, Hawaii, and South Dakota. Yes, it is true that these states do not matter, and are often embarassing to other, more important states (such as Massachussets). But we do place these restrictions.
Take the term limit, for example. An elected official is entrusted by those who vote for him to represent his or her constituency to the best of his ability. This often entails making decisions that are less than popular. This is why governors, senators, presidents, etc., serve terms. How can we expect a governor to better his state when every time he excercises any aspect of tough love, he becomes susceptible to another election?
This is why California matters. We need to be opposed to this recall, not because we need a Democrat in the governorship of California, but because this is how our country has functioned for the duration of its legacy.