Well, it's looking more and more like California will actually recall its governor. What's really bizarre about it is the way in which his replacement will be selected - basically anyone who wants to pay the $3500 registration fee can be on the ballot (which will take the form of an afterthough question to referendum on Davis's recall), and a simple plurality will be needed to win. Depending on the number of candidates, this means the winner could take office with the votes of only a tiny fraction of California's population. The mechanism is especially favorable to those with good name recognition; this is why there's so much speculation that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be California's next governor.
The whole referendum system has really destroyed California - according to a recent NPR piece 90% of the state's budget is locked into entitlements or programs mandated by referenda, so that neither the governor nor the legislature has that much power in the first place. Given this context, it seems strange to hold the governor responsible for the huge budget problems California faces now - won't a recall just serve as an indictment of California's whole political structure? The power of any new governor will be further eroded, making it even more difficult to address the serious problems facing the state. The referendum in this instance is being used specifically to demand more accountability from elected officials, but ultimately it just takes away their power, localizing it not in the hands of the people, but in the hands of those who have the money to run massive media campaigns for a population of tens of millions. It's a disastrous policy that just works to undermine any kind of stability in government institutions.
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