Recall

Take out the over-the-top claims about "free speech blockers" and this video posted by supporters of the recall effort against Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon gives you a look at what a blocking campaign looks like. And it's not nearly as big a deal as press reports and advocates on both sides of a measure make it out to be (blockers really don't block much, but they're rarely the "thugs" they're described as by those being blocked). Blocking campaigns are mostly a waste of everybody's time and money.

The video shows some political looking folks showing up and surrounding a circulator. At one point, one of the blockers claims the recall petition is really about gay marriage. Self-styled reformers would like to make it crime to make such false claims, but this is political speech.

Now comes news that an effort to recall the Democratic speaker of the state House in Michigan has gained new momentum. Conservatives there are upset about Speaker Andy Dillon's support for tax increases. It's already a nasty business. As the Detroit News reports, recall supporters are criticizing Democrats for hiring a convicted felon to lead a "blocking campaign" to dissuade voters from signing the recall petition. Dillon's supporters went to court and got an order telling recall backers to stop using out-of-state petition circulators. But Dillon is taking it seriously, sending out mail to every voter in the district.

State Senator Jeff Denham, target of a June 3 recall vote, has filed two criminal complaints against the main backer of the recall, the Democratic Senate Leader Don Perata. In the complaints, filed with the state attorney general's office, Denham charges Perata is using government staff and resources to back the recall. The Sacramento Bee has the details and the full complaints. This is as much public relations as anything else, amplifying reports about Perata pushing legislative staff to participate in the campaign. If there is an investigation, it's unlikely to be completed before the vote.

In California, you need to state some reason in your recall petition, but there's no rule governing what those reasons must be. Supporters of State Sen. Jeff Denham, who faces a recall vote June 3, have argued that he shouldn't be recalled because he's not guilty of criminality or public official corruption. A Denham radio ad says: "When a public official is guilty of malfeasance or criminal conduct in office, the California constitution provides for the right to recall."

Wrong. There's no constitutional standard. And this is not a small point. In his successful 1911 campaign to convince California voters to amend the state constitution to include the recall (along with the referendum and initiative), Gov. Hiram Johnson was criticized again and again on this very provision of his recall proposal by, among others, then-U.S. President Taft. They were worried that a recall with no standard would be used to remove judges who made unpopular decisions. In 2005, I reviewed Johnson's gubernatorial papers, on file at the Bancroft Library at Berkeley, and his response to this criticism was fierce, unrelenting and often profane. Essentially, he would say, "What part of 'the people are absolutely sovereign' don't these guys understand?" In Johnson's defense, the recall has been rarely used against judges, or legislators. Only four have ever been recalled. And this is the first legislative recall vote in 13 years.

Here, by the way, is Denham's latest TV ad.

The first ads have gone up in the effort to recall Jeff Denham, a Republican state senator in California. This would be the first legislative recall in California in 13 years. Don Perata and labor are behind the measure. Denham, a moderate who was one of the few Republican legislators to vote with Democrats, is accused of treachery by Perata for not voting for last year's budget (Given how quickly that budget fell apart and led to the current budget crisis, that vote is highly defensible).

But the attack of this ad is more personal. It's at once, funny, unfair and probably effective in getting voters to pay attention to the recall.

The governor has just scheduled the election to recall California State Sen. Jeff Denham, a Republican, for June 3. If successful, the recall would be the first of a legislator in more than a decade.

The effort to recall Republican state senator Jeff Denham has qualified for the ballot. Voters in his district, which stretches from Salinas to Modesto, will likely vote on the recall June 3.

Denham, who was re-elected to his second and final four-year term in 2006 (state senators are limited to eight years in office),  is an interesting target. He's been one of the few legislative Republicans to vote with the Democrats on big votes. But senate Democrats and their union backers were furious at Denham when he refused to support the budget they negotiated with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year. Curiously, Denham's concerns about the budget seem to have been well-considered, with the explosion of a massive deficit this year. I'll be traveling to Denham's district and will have a closer look at the recall as the vote approaches.