Posted 9:18 AM by Robert

Davis Descending LXII: The Madness Of Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe


OFFICIAL RETURNS:

Recall Gray Davis?

Yes....................................................................4,246,844..........54.9%
No.....................................................................3,499,320..........45.1%


Arnold Schwarzenegger....................................3,601,797..........48.2%
Cruz M. Bustamante..........................................2,395,237..........32.1%
Tom McClintock.....................................................991,468..........13.3%

Total Vote For Republicans:.........................................................61.4%

The Los Angeles Times reports that a quarter of liberals and at least 3 in 10 moderate Democrats voted "yes" on the recall. ... Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante ... garnered slightly less than 60% of the Latino vote. .... People who made up their minds about the election in the last few days — when the campaign was dominated by allegations of sexual impropriety by Schwarzenegger — voted mainly for the recall.


The Wall Street Journalexit poll results are in some respects even more telling:

Black voters overwhelmingly favored Mr. Bustamante, giving him 65% of the black vote, compared with 17% for Mr. Schwarzenegger. Hispanic voters were slightly less supportive of Mr. Bustamante; 52% of Hispanics voted for him, while 30% voted for Mr. Schwarzenegger.

While 17% African-American support won't by itself get anyone elected, that level of support from such voters for a Republican should be alarming to Democrats - who normally bank on African Americans favoring Democrats by a much wider margin. Worse for Democrats: that Mr. Bustamante - the only Democrat in the field - received only 65% of the African American vote should be seen as a major Democratic disaster. That "overwhelmingly" the Journal uses is highly misleading - Democrats such as Bill Clinton and Al Gore counted on receiving more than 90% of the African American vote. For example, if a Republican presidential candidate were to carry 17% of the African American vote - or a Democrat were to carry as little as 65% of that vote - the consequence would almost certainly be a huge Republican win.

Response of Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe to recall election results:

"George Bush and [strategist] Karl Rove have got to wish this thing never happened."

Which I suppose means that Mr. McAuliffe is happy, grateful and thankful that this "thing" has happened? Has anyone asked him that question?