I think all of the talk about MEChA is way overblown. Some have compared it to the KKK, which is laughable. I knew some MEChA members when I was at UCLA and they were mainly just some rather earnest left-leaning Latinos.
This is what the University of Oregon’s MEChA chapter writes about itself:
Here’s another good article about MEChA
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09132003/commenta/commenta.asp
Um…
I think you missed this comment by silenus:
“Of course, if Bustamonta gets in, we will all be citizens of Mexico before New Year’s.”
:eek:
More attention needs to be paid to the MECHA connection:
MEChA’s symbol is an eagle clutching a dynamite stick and machete-like weapon in its claws; its motto is " Por La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada (For the Race, everything. For those outside the Race, nothing)." The MEChA Constitution calls on members to “promote Chicanismo within the community, politicizing our Raza (race) with an emphasis on indigenous consciousness to continue the struggle for the self-determination of the Chicano people for the purpose of liberating Aztlan.” “Aztlan” is the group’s term for the vast southwestern U.S. expanse, from parts of Washington and Oregon down to California and Arizona and over to Texas, which MEChA claims to be a mythical homeland and seeks to reconquer for Mexico (reconquista).
MEChA’s liberation agenda, outlined in El Plan de Aztlan, states defiantly:
“We do not recognize capricious frontiers on the bronze continent. Brotherhood unites us, and love for our brothers makes us a people whose time has come and who struggles against the foreigner ‘gabacho’ who exploits our riches and destroys our culture. With our heart in our hands and our hands in the soil, we declare the independence of our mestizo nation. We are a bronze people with a bronze culture.”
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3039
Those who are quoting the 55% in favor of recall should remember, that’s down from 58% a week earlier. Even this short an election cycle seems to be enough for people’s anger to calm down, and real concern for our institutions take hold.
Arnold’s numbers are going to plummet after his one and only promised debate, when voters realize two things:
A) He has absolutely NO plan for fixing the mess, whereas Davis at least has a really, really bad one;
B) They don’t want to hear the English language tortured that horrifically on a regular basis for the next three years.
Right now it’s probably even money that the recall will go through, and I would not be surprised if voters let Davis continue doing his sorry-ass job of running the state, if only because the unpredictability of the alternative is making them shake in their boots. He’s had the fear of God put into him, and people may feel over the course of the next three weeks that they’ve made their point.
Worst thing that happens is Bustamante takes the office. The GOP hasn’t a prayer.
Amen.
Not so sure about that one… Time will tell.
55% is “massive” ? :dubious:
GOM, thanks for the link to the Capitalism Magazine site. I was going to ask you for a cite that MEChA’s motto is as stated in your post, but it appears I might as well ask Michelle Malkin. A Google search on the phrase yielded such a low signal-to-noise ratio that I despair of finding it given as the motto on any MEChA site, if left to my own devices.
Just a word to the wise (which I’m told should be sufficient; but I have no reason thus far to suspect that you are among them): when lifting an entire section of a published article, the polite thing to do is to indicate (the quote function is ideal for this) that it is, in fact, a quoted section. Given the small percentage of the original article that you actually used, you would have been quite comfortably within “fair use” territory; not bothering to do so gives the impression that you are trying to pass off the work as substantially your own, especially to people who, already being willing to accept your alarmist assertions, are less likely to open the link to verify your source.
For the record, my intention is to vote against the recall, because I view it as a time- and money-wasting attempt to nullify the legally completed election we already had less than a year ago; and to hedge my bet by voting for Cruz Bustamante as the replacement for Davis should the recall succeed. The reason for my choice is that I believe that succession to the job is ALREADY HIS by virtue of the office he holds today. I do not accept the validity of the finding by whatever court has spoken most recently on the subject, that the state constitution considers removal from officce through recall to be a special case of “unavailabilty to serve in the office that calls for him to be permanently replaced by the Lieutenant Governor.”
Let Cruz succeed to the office just the way he would have had Davis died suddenly in June, or had he resigned prior to the recall being certified to go before the voters. Then let Arnie be the Lieutenant Governor. I could live with that.
I realize that such a “bait and switch” on all of the candidates who filed to run for what they thought was the governorship would never fly; also that as the law currently stands, a Governor Bustamante would (will) be appointing his own successor to the lieutenant governorship, but the idea of Arnie running for and winning the office of Lieutenent Governor amuses me. Also amusing to me is the idea that Cruz could offer the position to the next highest vote-getter; or that he might even offer it to an ex-governor Davis. 
LATE NEWS FLASH: going back to my list of Google hits, I did find a counter-assertion to the aforementioned claim about MEChA’s motto. I found it in the article linked here (registration required). And to demonstrate to GOM how it is done, here is the relevant paragraph:
In the interest of honesty, I must admit that googling that motto does not yield any links to a MEChA website.
Sorry. I’m an idiot. Googling the motto with the English translation doesn’t yield a MEChA website, but googling it without translation gives several. Well, at least two, among the more than two thousand hits.
Here’s my thing.
Bustamante says he’s got the way to get us out of the financial crisis that’s crippling us. I hear that and think “Did you happen to mention this revalation to your boss, the Governor?? Or were saving it? Or did you not even consider coming up with a plan till your chance to get on the ballot presented itself?”
I think Bustamante’s plan will work just as well as Davis’s plan.
Wellthe way to get the state out of the mess is going to amount to a a combination of reduced spending and increased revenues. Nobody who says any different before the election is making assertions that conform to the reality of the situation.
Be that as it may, this voter is not even bothering to follow the campaigning. As I stated above, I believe the job devolves to the Lieutenant Governor by provision of the State Constitution, and I intend to vote to keep this line of succession.
I only hope that as a result of this issue, steps are taken to resolve the ambiguity that allowed the replacement election to be scheduled.
A proposed constitutional amendment would actually change the laws regarding a recall in two major ways:
the number of signatures required would be 12% of ALL registered voters, not 12% of voters in the last gubernatorial election
a recall of the governor would not have a replacement election, but would instead result in the elevation of the lieutenant governor
One thing this election may point out is that the position of lieutenant governor is entirely useless. That position has almost no authority and it would make more sense to have one of the statewide consitutional officers who actually has to WORK to take over. Seven states manage to get by without a lieutenant governor. In those states either the Secretary of State or the President of the State Senate is second in line.
I think Bushamante’s plan is a variation of several plans the didn’t pass in the legislature. The Republican minority there has blocked any plan which would involve tax increases. In any event the Lt. Gov and Govenor aren’t close, and don’t work together. Or didn’t prior to yesterday. Any real plan to solve the states crises will have to, well see kaylasdad post. To do this the govenor is going to have to put before the voters a ballot initiative allowing a simple majority vote on spending plans. The current 2/3rds vote is what allowed the Republicans to force there hand.
First of all, having the Lieutenant Governor take over is totally contrary to the whole point of recall elections. Recall (as I posted in another thread on this issue) that the recall, the referendum and the initiative were established by the Progressive Republicans in 1911 to provide the electorate with a way to terminate bad governing by corrupt elected officials. In the case of California, the corrupt officials were those foisted upon Californians by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Assuming that the Governor is corrupt, it is likely that the Lieutenant Governor is also bought, so automatically elevating him or her would make the recall process useless.
Frankly, kaylasdad99, you ought to study both the court decision on the issue (I believe it was linked in a post from the other thread) and the history of the recall provision (which amply justifies the interpretation of the court) before reaching a decision on the issue. Further, your position on why you intend to vote for Bustamante is quite suspect; supposing Bustamante were someone really unsuited for the job of Governor, would you really recommend voting for him for no other reason than your opinion he should succede to the post automatically? What if the Lt.Gov. was State Senator McClintock (a completely possible scenario since on more than one occaision, the parties have split the top two offices)?
BobT, am I misremembering things, or wasn’t there a situation that occurred in California late last century where the Governor had to scurry back to California because the Lt. Gov. from the other party made decisions and appointments in the Governor’s absence? Did they ever amend the Constitution to preclude that from happening again?
No. I put *“massive” * the voice raised in sarcasm, which should be apparent in context. Or not. Next time- more emoticons.
Actually, the saying “Por la raza…” is part of “El Plan Epsiritual de Aztlan” which is not a poem, but an embarrassing bit of undergrad political writing from the 60s. Take a gander and judege for yourself. You can find it on pretty much every MEChA web site. Just google MEChA + your favorite college, and if there is a chapter of that org at the school, chances are you’ll find it on their site.
California’s lieutenant governor does take over if the governor is out of state and there have been situtations where this has been a problem.
But not a big one.
Flash: the recall has been delayed by the 9th circuit.
From the same link, it looks like the firm of Rehnquist, Scalia, and Partners cannot avoid this particular hot, steaming cow-patty on their bench. With any luck, we’ll get to hear them explain why Bush is not a citable precedent.
Suprise suprise, the 9th Circuit Court, the most liberal in all the land, stepped in. I dont think you can take this court seriously with their past BS rulings (i.e. The Pledge) and their 92% turnover rate.
But for the purposes of my post, I’m not interested in what literary box to place “El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan;” I’m concerned with whether the “Por la raza…” quote is MEChA’s motto. It isn’t.
Kaylasdad:
My point was that you implied it was hard to find the “Por la raza…” quote, when in fact it’s on every MEChA web site I looked at. I agree that it’s not their moto. It appears to be the “motto” of whatever group* originally wrote “El Plan…”.
Looks like MEChA’s motto is “La Union Hace la Fuerza”, although that also seems to be used by a lot of non-MEChA groups as well. You can find that phrase on the MEChA symbol of the eagle clutching dynamite and a machete. My translation of that phrase would be “Our Union is our Strength” or “Power through Union”, but a native speaker might do it better justice.
*from the Berkely MEChA site: