Radio hosts John and Ken are anything but happy about the budget’s recent passage. In the public eye, they led the charge to oppose any new taxes in a budget deal, and did their best to pressure Republican legislators throughout California to oppose the compromise that was reached between the Governor and legislative leaders.
The ouster of Senator Cogdill as minority leader by the Senate Caucus struck them as a step in the right direction, but clearly had little effect on the actual budget process as new leader Dennis Hollingsworth was unable to stop his three colleagues – Cogdill, Ashburn and Maldonado – from crossing the aisle to vote for the Democrat budget. One might think this is all history now, but heads are still being placed on a stick down in Los Angeles. The newest target – Assemblyman Jeff Miller.
Confused yet? No, Jeff Miller was not one of the so-called six losers who voted for the Democrat budget. At face value, Miller, a freshman Assemblyman from Corona, would appear to be a solid conservative in line with the radio hosts’ views on the subject. But nonetheless, a fatwa has been issued, and a drive to recall the legislator has been launched.
The reason for this power-play? While support of the Democrat budget led to Cogdill’s ouster, Mike Villines, his assembly counterpart, easily survived a vote of confidence during the process and still maintains his position as minority leader, a fact that many conservatives find appalling. Thus, Miller was chosen, supposedly at random, as a target for not backing the ouster of Villines.
Targeting Miller is nothing if not an interesting concept. The point John and Ken are trying to make is clear – conservatives still wield a good deal of power in certain parts of the state, even if their overall influence in California diminished in the 2008 elections. Miller might not have expressly done anything wrong on his own, but if a recall were to qualify and prove successful, it would send a very clear message to those Republicans who might consider crossing the aisle in the future.
So what of Miller himself, the man caught in the conservative crossfire? In a Riverside Press-Enterprise article this morning, he stated: "From time to time, I’ve had threats of recall and always taken them seriously. But you can’t let it distract you."
While Miller may sound nonchalant about the target on his back, I would venture a guess that he and his staff are quite concerned over the prospect of facing a recall. Miller in fact had no opponent in the 2008 general election, an indication of the political leanings of the 71st Assembly District he represents, and he could suffer a rapid fall if public opinion were to turn against him.
The real question is, will John and Ken (and those conservatives behind them) get what they want? There’s probably not much doubt that, were Villines to step down or be replaced, there would be little reason to target those who continued to back him; the idea of Villines’ base of support eroding as a result would not surprise me in the least. I would venture a guess that some of the more outspoken conservatives in the Assembly, who backed the ouster of Villines in the first place, probably find this whole thing amusing and probably even support it.
Is it a good or a bad thing that a pair of conservative radio hosts from Los Angeles can exert this kind of influence? That’s up for debate, but regardless, the outcome will be nothing if not interesting.