To watch "The Talking Points Memo" in the Screening Room click here.
Before we give the stats, Governor Davis (search) is not alone in his deceit and incompetence. All over the country, venal politicians have lied to you and bought votes at your expense.
No longer does the best candidate win. It's now who can spread the most cash around. And of course, that cash comes from your hard-earned tax dollars. I'll prove that statement in a moment.
According to an NBC News poll taken this week, an astounding 72 percent of Californians believe their state is headed in the wrong direction. And 59 percent say they will now vote to throw Davis out of office on October 7. Only the fanatics like Barbra Streisand and Jesse Jackson still support Davis.
Now the NBC poll also says Arnold Schwarzenegger is almost certain to be the next governor of the Golden State. But the question is how did we get here? Gray Davis sold his soul to state unions, giving them enormous pay raises and pension benefits that taxpayers simply could not fund.
In return, those unions funded Davis' re-election last year and campaigned heavily for him, turning out a huge labor vote. In addition, Davis made workman's compensation easier to get, thereby bankrupting thousands of small businesses that can't afford the insurance payments, which rose 50 percent under Davis.
Add to this the energy debacle, whereby Californians have to pay huge bills because of bad contracts that Gray Davis signed, and you have a financial disaster.
The cold truth is that most of us are getting conned by the government on all levels, not just Californians. Politicians routinely make back room deals with powerful unions, special interest groups, and fat cat corporate bosses, promising them public money in return for votes and campaign contributions.
You very rarely hear about those deals, but they are made all the time by both parties. The reason Davis got nailed is that he had to raise the fees on cars to pay for all of his so-called benefits. So Californians got a bill rather than have their paycheck gutted. And that bill was absolutely the last straw.
It is very instructive to see some of the nation's most powerful newspapers condemn the recall, because this proves they are not looking out for you. It really doesn't matter if Arnold or anybody else becomes governor. What matters is that Davis is fired and humiliated in the process. That sends a message to all the other politicians who lie to us. Just because we elect them doesn't mean they can exploit us. If they lie during the campaign, give our money to special interests and otherwise misbehave, we, the people, should be able to fire them.
So Gray Davis, looks like you're going to be fired. And to quote Martha Stewart, "that's a good thing."
And that's the Memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Our pal, Jesse Jackson (search), has weighed in on the California recall.
Says Jackson, "Governor Davis is guilty of no crime, no malfeasance in office, nothing that would warrant impeachment or removal. If anything, he is a victim of circumstance and of George W. Bush."
So, according to Jackson who's supposed to be non-partisan because two of his organizations are tax exempt, President Bush is the reason Davis bankrupted California.
Ridiculous doesn't even come close.
--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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