Arianna Huffington joins California governor race

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=430980

The Special election to recall California's unpopular governor, Gray Davis, will receive a shot in arm today if, as expected, Arianna Huffington, the gadfly columnist and political salon hostess, announces she is joining the race as an independent.

Ms Huffington, who once wrote a book called How to Overthrow The Government, has come under pressure from thousands of grassroots activists who set up a website called Run Arianna Run.

She announced yesterday that she would be holding a news conference in south central Los Angeles, a world away from her mansion in the Brentwood hills but an eye-catching way of establishing her populist credentials.

In 2000 she ran shadow political conventions to highlight the corporate money-grubbing of the major parties and has since been involved in campaigns against the War on Drugs and gas-guzzling four-wheel-drives. Her latest book, about the unholy alliance of politicians and corporations, is called Pigs At The Trough.

...I would prefer it to be HER.

Once a Republican, always a republican. Let's hope it's Larry Flynt over this turn-coat.

Tell that bullshit to my parents.

anyone that mopped the floor with that asshole dennis miller is cool in my book

interesting to see what some think of us former repukes. You know not everyone is lucky or smart enough to be a born Democrat some of us come to it later in life but we can still be true blue Democrats. :argh:

I really like Arianna but I don't think she's qualified to be a Governor......

My cats are more qualified! She's as bad as the rest--she knows she can't win a state-wide election since the Repukes hate her, and intelligent Dems (I'd like to include myself in that group) will NEVER vote for her after that filthy campaign she ran for her husband in 1994. She's a con-artist.

reading, and putting the past behind them. Come recall time, you may be singing a different tune.

for her, read the 3-4 pages in Blinded by the Right. At least know who she is, if you forgot her attacks on Gore during the 2000 election.

Can someone explain this California thing to me? What the hell is going on here. IMHO, Ariana is an opportunist. She works hard to be contrary just to create the appearance of having something different to say. She works too hard at it.

Good question. Here is a relevant BBC article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3127409.stm

The challenge to Governor Gray Davis is becoming too silly - even for some Californians. The state has long been the butt of jokes that too much sun - or cosmetic surgery or wealth - has addled the brains of its residents.

Each time politicians try to remind a broader public that at stake with the possible recall of the governor is the fate of a key state - California in itself is the world's fifth-largest economy - another event puts the issue right back in the realm of late-night TV comics.

All this is providing plenty of entertainment for the rest of the country, but is just too much for some Californians.

Steve Lopez, writing in the Los Angeles Times, said Larry Flynt's candidacy could be useful "just in case there was anybody left in the nation who didn't think Californians should be burned at the stake".

Look, she can't be any worse than Gray Davis (wanna know where he took his money from????) or Issa, or Ah-nold or Simon, or Riordan OR Feinstein (drug warrior)...

Yeah, she's had a flaky past.

And ya know what? Gore was milquetoast. Better than Putsch, to be sure, but he seemed more like a palooka staged to let these Nazis in power.

No, give me Arianna. She might have been involved with weird cults (MSIA, anyone?), but then again, so is George W. Bush.

Her name was misspelled in the above post. The website mentioned is

http://www.runariannarun.com/

david

...at http://www.runariannarun.com/article.php?id=48

He makes some good points. The recall is GOING to happen-- I honestly can't imagine Gray Davis surviving this-- he's almost as unpopular among dems as among repigs. I wish he had the political wisdom (and personal cajones) to resign and thereby avoid taking CA further into this train wreck, but that's apparently not going to happen either.

The fact that Huffington trashed Gore makes little difference to me-- Al Gore ran a terrible campaign and in the aftermath I've little more support for Gore than for Davis.

My personal best scenario to emerge from this would be Governor Camejo.

Camejo would be fantastic, and wouldn't it be a HUGE slap in the face to George and the neo-cons (though I'm supporting Arriana and against recall).

I'm an HSU Alumnus by the way! Ahhhhh, I miss the North, but Santa Barbara's pretty nice too. :)

david

I read that she officially announced her candidacy on the "Today" show this morning, but CNN reports that her official announcement on her decision will be carried live at 1:30 pm (edt).

:shrug:

CANCEL THAT.. CNN just showed her speech podium, complete with banners reading "Arianna for Governor."

I guess it's official... hmmm.

I was hoping she'd announce in on Left, Right and Center on Friday. Oh well. I hope when she's Governor it doesn't mean she'll have to quit the show!

I only wish Robert Scheer was running!

david

Kucinich 2004

I see a lot of people here talking shit about this lady. First she's more qualified than the average car salesmen that usually win elections in this corrupt ass system. Second I believe people can change. Wasn't Gore "pro life" for years. Didn't his wife do her best to impersonate a repuke when she her some records that offended her yuppie ass personally? Didn't Clinton support a lot of shit that put him to the right of most of us here? I could go on and on. None of that kept me from voting all three times for them. Including when Gore selected that bullshit artist Lieberman. So if we can agree on that. I'll say that I'd rather have someone that that used to belong to the darkside and understands how filthy they are (like David Brock). Than some namby pamby bullshit ass pink tutu wearing gutless Democrat (the list is quite large so I'll spare you). I don't know about you but if I were her and was such an opportunist I'd be making money with the right wing instead of attacking the Bush Crime Syndicate every time I open my mouth. Wouldn't you?]

So cheers Ari baby :beer:

backup!

I'm #1 for democracy, and we elected Davis, like it or not, fair and square. This Recall is just plain stupid (Arriana agrees, by the way).

Buuuuuuut, given the uber-rare chance to actually get a progressive into the Governor's mansion is too good to pass up.

Now are we sure that we can cast a "NO" vote on Recall and still vote for another candidate? We had a recall election in my local district and you either had to vote "NO" to recall *OR* for another candidate. Voting for another candidate meant a YES vote for recall.

Stupid, but true.

And why is it that when a woman politician is refered to her first name is used, but a male's last name is used. This hit me really profoundly in an Opinion piece I read by Oly North where he was panning all the Dem candidates (using their last names), but kept calling Ms. Clinton, "Hillary". Kinda odd.

Sorry, off topic.

david

Kucinich 2004

go girl!!!

http://www.ariannaforgov.com/

represented my district in Congress. Her political flip-flops are tiring, as she spews her endless dribble whether right or left. Don't forget her attacks on Gore. She's simply not qualified to be governor, and I'll vote no on recall and choose Larry over Arianna.

and now is an unafilliated progressive. I think that she would be a good choice. However I also like Flynn because he would drive the right nuts. Thankfully I don't live in California. I have a pig named Earlich for governor who is a sore looser.

She's my choice! I'm voting NO on the recall and Arianna for GOV.

...a lot of you are sadly misinformed about Arianna.

Ooh, she criticizes Democrats when they whore for corporate interests. GOOD.

go vote. it's on the front page at CNN.COM

away from the Dem candidate.

That's why she's running.

From the articles that I have read, she was ready to trash her old ways and what she thought. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Davis serve out his term or some good Dem take the helm. Anything but Arnold or any other republican who are causing this whole mess to begin with. Kenny Boy and Cheney are the ones who put the screws to CA in the first place and the fearless leader gladly did his part. :think:

She's a nice lady, I love what she says, but we're talking the Governor of California. This is just getting to be beyond ridiculous. Arianna, Arnold, Arnold, Larry Flynt, a porn star. Grey Davis is the only serious candidate in the race right now, until the Lt Gov files tomorrow, but still. I can't believe what is passing as politics in this country. PT Barnum was truly born in the wrong century, or maybe Karl Rove is just his reincarnation. :crazy:

Amen to that. All we need now is a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate!

http://www.omrlp.com

http://usloonyparty.tripod.com/