# Recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom of California **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 19, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239 "2021-03-19T13:27:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/241 "2021-08-21T13:13:37Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Having someone with no democratic legitimacy whatsoever as head of government of the largest state in the union would be a terrible look for democracy. But you don’t fix the terrible things by doing more terrible things. That’s your wobbly lifeboat right there. > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Oh, for sure, it would be terrible electoral politics for Newsom to _personally_ advance it. California Democrats don’t seem to want to touch it either, so apparently it’s not something the party at large wants to get behind. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/242 "2021-08-21T13:19:17Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > But you don’t fix the terrible things by doing more terrible things. That’s your wobbly lifeboat right there. There is no “do nothing” option, sadly. Submitting to the power of an undemocratic usurper is _also_ a terrible look for democracy. It’s all bad once the bad thing happens! ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/243 "2021-08-21T13:27:34Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > It’s all bad once the bad thing happens! Well, gee, that sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/244 "2021-08-22T02:53:54Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > You should have said “They probably assumed **SHE** is as corrupt as the governor…” > Lt. Gov. of California is [Eleni Kounalakis.](https://ltg.ca.gov/) She includes her former title of ambassador (to Hungary, 2010-13) in the name of her current office? Yeesh. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/245 "2021-08-22T02:58:48Z")
Page 2. _An ambassador of the United States may continue to be addressed as “Mr. /Madam Ambassador” after retirement or after returning from his/her duties abroad._ > **[176174.pdf](https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/176174.pdf)** ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/246 "2021-08-22T03:03:01Z")
Harry Truman said, when he left the White House, that he was glad to go back to just being plain ol’ “Mr. Truman” again. I wish more former officials thought that way nowadays. And regardless of State Department policy, it seems pompous for her to still use “Ambassador” when she has another, current title. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/247 "2021-08-22T18:47:25Z")
I think she is just (for a political animal) subtly reminding everybody that while she is currently a State official, she was and may well be again a National one. So don’t fuck with her. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/248 "2021-08-23T13:07:51Z")
I think it makes her look more silly than fearsome. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/249 "2021-08-23T14:30:32Z")
In a previous life I had the misfortune to know an individual who had served one term in Congress two decades prior who insisted that people refer to him as “Congressman.” He also had it on his business cards, which seemed unseemly. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/250 "2021-08-23T14:32:26Z")
Joe Kennedy Sr. and George H.W. Bush both liked to be called “Ambassador” long after they had left those posts. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/251 "2021-08-23T16:27:47Z")
Yeah, “Ambassador” seems to be one of those titles that for the purposes of accepted etiquette stay with you forever, however it’s not an academic degree or ordination either and just IMO from the POV of small-r republican values, it should be more proper that someone be addressed by their **current** office while they hold it and definitely any time they are somewhere under color of it: if I’m part an event _because I am currently serving as Secretary, senator or professor_, I should be introduced as that, regardless of whether my resumé includes ambassador and admiral. Then when I go back to private life, sure, if you want to be fancy about addressing me, go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/252 "2021-09-04T02:46:31Z")
Well, the latest polling being widely reported here is Newsom is likely to stay in office. The surprising thing is “Whiny the Elder” is the leading candidate to replace the Governor, if by some miraculous circumstance the recall succeeds (there is a fresh poll from 9/3 at this link that was already shared here)… > **[Latest Polls Of The California Recall Election](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/california-recall-polls/)** > > Do voters in California want to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/253 "2021-09-04T03:55:17Z")
I would be very careful about polling, especially in a recall election. The real question is, who actually gets off their couch and votes? The people who oppose Newsom will be highly motivated to vote; the people who reportedly say they’re against a recall may or may not be motivated to actually do the dirty work of voting. ---
**Author:** ![Shagunathor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Shagunathor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagunathor)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/254 "2021-09-04T04:03:48Z")
I don’t know if it is statewide, but at least here in LA county it is another vote-by-mail election, so hassles are minimized for a very large portion of the California electorate. Should help the otherwise lazy to actually vote. I was disappointed “give Larry Elder a wedgie” wasn’t an option on the ballot. Woulda helped turnout, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/255 "2021-09-04T04:09:04Z")
> [@Shagunathor](#): > > I don’t know if it is statewide, but at least here in LA county it is another vote-by-mail election, so hassles are minimized for a very large portion of the California electorate. Yep, mail in state-wide. I received mine a week ago and the election isn’t until the 14th. So far mail-ins are running about 2-1 Dem, with liberal urban areas showing the heaviest returns. But still a long way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Shagunathor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Shagunathor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagunathor)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/256 "2021-09-04T04:16:26Z")
It will be interesting to see what the turnout will be. We’ve got an off year election which usually depresses turnout, but it is mail-in which increases turnout. Which factor will dominate? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/257 "2021-09-04T04:48:48Z")
Fortunately, in this election you don’t even have to get off your couch to vote. Ballot tracking services are reporting that Democrats have an enormous lead in number of ballots returned so far. Not definitive, of course, but very encouraging. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/258 "2021-09-04T16:09:44Z")
I’ve lived in all of the three largest cities (SD, SF, LA) for a considerable time in each, and I agree that SF politicians can _rise_ to prominence simply because it’s easier for them coming from a more politically homogenous, smaller area, but in the end, they sustain their political life _ONLY_ if they can fathom and balance the vast areas of LA, Orange and San Diego counties. Whining about San Francisco is simplistic and myopic. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/259 "2021-09-04T16:15:10Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > I think that if every “No on recall” voter also voted for Angelyne, it would send a message about this whole imbroglio. Me too. If Angelyne becomes governor, we Californians will get what we deserve for engaging in this idiotic process. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/260 "2021-09-04T16:18:16Z")
Refusing to engage in this idiotic process is why I left the second half of the ballot blank. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239.md?page=14)