Jerry RobertsBy Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
Republican wannabe governor Larry Elder this week claimed he’s “detected fraud” in California’s recall election — days before vote counting even began — a move that Santa Barbara senior stateswoman Hannah Beth Jackson says is “right out of the totalitarian playbook.”
“The (Republicans’) feeling is, ‘if I lost the election, it must have been rigged,'” former state Senator Jackson told Newsmakers, a few hours before polls closed for the recall election. . “What’s very scary to me is, this comes right out of the totalitarian playbook.”
“Take a look at some of the countries in the world where they said the elections are fixed, therefore we’re suspending the elections – well that’s where we’re headed in this country,” she added. “If people believe…what is not true, because it serves whatever their purpose is, democracy is doomed.”
While Gov. Gavin Newsom last night stomped the effort (MSNBC called it first, at 8:35 p.m. PDT) to eject him for office, some Republicans, led by talk show host and GOP front-runner Elder, had preemptively claimed without evidence that Tuesday’s election was fraudulent.
Last night, Elder walked back his statements somewhat — telling his supporters to be “gracious in defeat” when they loudly booed a mention of Newsom’s name — but his earlier effort to sow mistrust about the results mimicked the 2020 strategy followed by Donald Trump, in a bid to delegitimize President Joe Biden; Trump himself issued a statement two days before Tuesday’s recall saying it was “rigged.”
“The politics of fear and irrationality has taken over the Republican Party,” Jackson said. “When people say this election was fixed…this is not even the Republican Party that George W.. Bush and the Bush family knew — it’s become a cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance.”
Since leaving office in January, Jackson has put out her shingle as a public policy and political consultant, working most recently to help the Montecito Association spread the word about Senate Bill 9, a housing measure recently passed in the Legislature which effectively outlaws single family home zoning in California.
Forty-nine days before the city’s Nov. 2 Election Day, Newsmakers invited the longtime state lawmaker to drop by for a gabfest about politics, during which she also:.
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Expressed support for changing Santa Barbara’s mayoral election system to provide for a run-off between the top two finishers in a primary race, in order to avoid the spectacle of a mayor — the only official who is elected citywide — winning with only a fraction of the vote: “What we should have at the end of the day, like we do in most elections, a general election, where the top two vote getters duke it out for the position. That would force people to be clearer on what their vision is and…allow people to really be able to hone in on just what the future of this community is going to look like.”
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Doubled down on her endorsement in the mayor’s race of James Joyce III, her former top aide, who is one of three major challengers to incumbent Cathy Murillo: “We really need an infusion of optimism, an infusion of vision…James is the kind of person who will bring everyone to the table and say ;what are your needs, and what are your needs and how can we come together, how can we get to yes.'”
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Maintained that Democrats “have done a terrible job of articulating what (they) have done for the Latino community,” referring both to struggles her party has had in motivating Latino voters in the recall and to gains that Trump made nationally among the cohort in the 2020 race.
Check out our conversation with Hannah Beth Jackson via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The audio version is here.
This just in
Former SB Assemblyman Pedro Nava, who now serves as chair of California’s Little Hoover Commission, said on Tuesday that the independent oversight agency, which investigates state government operations and policy, will hold hearings to study whether the century-old recall system should be changed.
“Our Commission can bring a unique perspective to discussions of recall reform,” Nava said in a written statement. “Should the recall system be changed? And if so, how?”
Hey, we’re just asking questions
As developers, contractors, architects, public employee unions and other labor organizations pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign treasuries of mayoral candidates, who will be the first candidate to step up with a tough ethics proposal that limits campaign contributions and bans donations from those with business before City Council?
How much stock should we put in the top line numbers of that shock poll now circulating among the cognoscenti that shows Randy Rowse leading Cathy Murillo, with a huge 40 percent of voters surveyed still undecided in the mayor’s race?
Who will lead — and who will trail — in our upcoming, top secret Power Rankings of campaign signs now festooning yards, lawns, windows and illegal locations throughout Santa Barbara?
These and other political secrets revealed and mysteries unraveled, only in the Newsmakers newsletter.
SBLETS – it’s over, your side lost. Time to get back to work!
At least they didn’t declare victory before the election, which would have been consistent with the Elder declaring fraud before it occurred. If he is the face of the Republican party in CA, you will never win another statewide office again without a recall election and an actor pretending to be a governor.
Gracious like Republicans and their anti-vax anti-mask freedumb attacks? Quite the double standard you are setting.
SAIL – context. Also, they’re not “quoting MSNBC,” they’re asking how MSNBC can declare a victor “35 minutes after the pills (sic) close.” Sounds like you’re just trying to find any fault you can with my comments.
Oh sure. Larry Elder playing tapes of dog barking while referencing Maxine Waters. Absolute disrespect. He is nothing but a provocateur shock jock. The Republicans just made some terrible choices in a recall that they might have won. Too into Trumpism and undermining our democracy to run a smart campaign. HBJ has never been disrespectful towards the other side. She is a gifted speaker and avery smart woman. She has never had to resort to barbs and name calling.
Byz, try wrapping your head around the fact that schools in middle-class to affluent communities do just fine in measures of student achievement. It isn’t until you include schools in poor communities with uneducated parents, single parents, low wage jobs that the US starts to look bad. I’ve never understood why you think schools can solve societal problems like these- teachers are not social workers. You think HBJ could really fix fundamental problems with how our society is structured? I don’t think she has superpowers.
BYZANTIUM – When did Jackson “hurl slurs” after a victory?
Wow. I ask a question and you jump down my throat.
Nice attitude. It was non political & logistical.
Don’t pretend you know me or my voting history.
SBGETS – oh please….. we all know what you meant. It’s like me feigning shock if someone were to call me a liberal. Cute try though…
SBGETS – I’ve read enough of your comments to know what you were implying. Spare us the faux outrage.
Who cares what station “called it first”? It is ‘reporting’ such as this that makes one fear for the intellectual future of the body politic.
3:16 – what is the concern? Do you think it was called too soon? When it comes to a point where, no matter how many more people vote one way or another, they use math and numbers to determine there is no possible outcome for one side in an election. Those who suggest fraud without any evidence are the only ones causing any “fear” for the future of our democracy.
Context?. Ever hear of Defund the Police.? Funny how a simple three word phrase can be misinterpreted?
10:41 sounds like he’s wholeheartedly embraced the “cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance” part.
It’s estimated to have cost 300 million for the recall. Money that could have benefited Californians. We need to sue those responsible for this frivolous recall.
Plus determine whether it was just frivolous and stupid, or an attempt to subvert our government financed by outside actors.
Predictable. Why bother reporting Jackson’s party machine misrepresentations? What kind of state did Jackson leave us with after her career in public office, esp claiming she was the “education” candidate? #45 ranked K-12 schools and barely functional illiterates who now get called high school graduates ready for college. She did enough destruction to this state during her overlong elected tenure. Please no more from this woman.
At least, Elder said to be “gracious in defeat.” We need more of that. Politicians that try to make their supporters feel like losers after losing an election are the lowest kind. Voters are not losers because their choice did not win.
And of course, some Jughead has to give a down arrow, good grief…
Now if we could only teach Democrat pols like Ms Jackson to be gracious in victory; instead of hurling out more unfounded slurs, the human race would show signs of advancement.
BYZ – it is pleasing to know you are being moderated, given the volume of lies you unleash. So you admit, she did not “hurl unfounded slurs,” she merely has an opinion about the current state of your party that you don’t agree with. Got it. It’s much more admirable and dignified (since that’s how you insist HBJ acts) to simply say you don’t agree with her opinion, as opposed to accusing her of these “unfounded slurs” against those who insist the election (2020 and now) were lost only due to fraud.
The recall was a complete and utter waste of everyone’s time and money. Almost $300mil wasted for a Trumpy radio host with zero experience to lose in a landslide. If the GOP had any sense they would have backed a fiscal conservative and moderate. Instead they’re hostages of their rabid base. Now Newsom has more support and $24mil in leftover campaign funds. Brilliant move, GOP.
It really doesn’t say much for the Republican party when their most popular candidate wants to pay reparations to slave owners for having their slaves taken away, tells women to stay out of politics because they don’t know as much about it as men, and wants to get rid of the minimum wage. Also, he has been said to have pointed a firearm at a woman he was in a relationship with during a heated argument.
Please, no more from members of the cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance.
And of course a member of the cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance expresses his.
Now if only we could teach members of the cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance … anything.
A member of the cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance demonstrates his.
“Sound liberal to me.” — All the worse for you. Can’t the members of the cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance recognize each other? The rest of us can.
“Funny how a simple three word phrase can be misinterpreted” by members of the cult of anger and bigotry and ignorance.
I agree Pit, and in responding to the pandemic those poor communities with uneducated/single parents and low wage jobs were thrown right under, ehh, in front of, the covid bus by Newsom/State of CA while the middle-affluent communities, aka the pajama class, went right along with it staying safe working from home, helping their kids with zoom school, and having their groceries delivered while never missing a paycheck.
3:16 here: The AP appears to have called it first. So what. This rush to be first is not news. The media is not the arbitrator of the election or its results. If a media personality proclaims the result it is hardly worth attention. People have been corrupted into the thinking that we need to “know” immediately instead of having the patience to wait until the actual process is complete. Such prioritizing of a childish instinct has made our democracy and citizenry less responsible. In CA nearly 30% of the recall vote is still outstanding. If this were an election that was more competitive we would be complaining about the time it takes to count the votes instead of praising the officials for doing it right. The cost of “knowing’ immediately is sloppiness and conflict. Especially when those claiming to “know” are without the real data. PS My comment never said there was “fraud” in this and I can’t imagine how you would come to that accusation/suggestion. I think that our democracy rests on getting real votes counted by real processes, not relying on the media rush to headlines.
Pretending to care about these people when you vote, support and continue to promote policies, politicians and media personalities who do the exact opposite, makes you either a bad person or an easily manipulated person… Your words, your positions, your chosen politicians and media talks how hosts all align against the PEOPLE, the WORKERS, the FAMILIES, and especially SINGLE PARENTS. Give it a rest, as you are the one who needs reform and a whole lot of honest self reflection…
BYZ – still waiting…. You say Jackson was hurling slurs. OK, when? Or, more likely, was this just another one of your drive by, baseless proclamations, that you have no intention of supporting or responding to?
You have no idea how I vote and I wholeheartedly reject this concept of putting people in column A or column B based on their opinion on one or two issues. It’s this blind party allegiance on every single issue we need to collectively move away from. Red/Blue, Fox/CNN, it doesn’t matter, neither are right about everything, neither are wrong about everything, unfortunately, they all care more about money and the power of their party than their constitutes and viewers.
VOICE – “You have no idea how I vote” bwahahaha! Oh yeah, you’re the epitome of party ambiguity. ROFLMO! “One or two issues???” My God man, you have an opinion, a very strong opinion, on just about every single article on this site. Wiping away tears of laughter as we speak….
Why we don’t have an easily auditable and verifiable system to vote in the US is beyond me. It would squash all questions of fraud. We have banking systems and DeFi that process trillions of dollars in transactions each day, securely, yet we can’t track votes for a few hundred million people in an secure and easily auditable way?
Sacjon, you will be pleased to know I am under heavy moderation on this forum and am not allowed to immediately follow-up on your commenting requests. Ms Jackson’s entire comment was a slur on the GOP and unfounded, except in her own warped, confirmation bias mind. How do you fact-find opinions, sacjon? I am a Republican and she can be nostalgic about the Bush brand of GOP as the party of blue blood privilege all she wants, but that train left the station long ago. The current GOP has much wider and broader appeal and the numbers prove this. One thing the GOP is not, and this will warm Ms Jackson, it is not the party of the public sector unions that have always provided Ms Jackson with her ow iron-clad political base. Though the numbers of government employees opting out of their previously mandatory union membership should give Ms Jackson pause .Except perhaps the police unions who got caught up in the current Democrat internecine turf war where SEIU and the teachers unions are trying to devour them.
It is not a very far stretch for us to belive that you do NOT understand something…
Great opinion piece on American Thinker: “Loser state votes to remain a loser state”. By Patricia McCarthy, Sept 16. 2021, for those who want to search out this excellent commentary.
Exactly what did she do that you didn’t like?
Don’t speak in generalities that a single politician can’t possibly hope to change.
It doesn’t say much for the Democrat party they could not find one good thing their own candidate and why he should not be recalled. Defeat for Newsom was looming. Only after Democrats resorted to their typical politics of personal destruction creating false scenarios about what they now targets as their primary opponent, Larry Elder. Democrats were perniciously skillful turning this recall yet again into a vote against Trump, and not the intended referendum on the extremely poor record of Governor Newsom himself. As they say, winning is everything and elections have consequences. It is now Newsom’s burden alone to fix the gaping wounds he has inflicted on this state and the stark geographic dislocation of his support base – which came primarily from the heavily concentrated coastal populations, to his utter loss in the rest of the state geographically, which is shorter on population but not in real estate- up to 82% favoring recall in eastern California counties . Maybe Newsom can now “bring us together”? Not everyone in this state is hoodwinked by his sheer incompetence, including the recent state audit report declaring all state programs are incompetently managed, not just the Newsom $31 billion loss to fraud in the EED handing out “covid relief” funds.
Why are you ignoring the $31 billion Newsom wasted on fraudulent payments abusing the EED “covid relief funds”. A primary duty of government is to respond to the constitutional election mandates. And a valid recall is a primary duty of this state. Sheer incompetence in managing state departments as the recent state audit concluding wasting billions of tax dollars is not a fundamental state privilege. With so much cancelling and banning of opposition views going on one can forgive the bubble most voters continue to live in. One an only hope the truth will continue to breathe somewhere in today’s media.
Automatically claiming fraud if losing an election is a ploy to put a drain on the other sides’s coffers. That can be fixed: Make a law that says if such a claim entails costs to defend, the claimant must put up a bond to cover costs if the claimant fails to prove the claim of fraud. This should include costs to the general public (taxpayers) for a nuisance suit. Either the claimant pays costs or his law firms pay what he can’t or won’t. This kind of sheenangan needs to be stopped.