Chapin’s point was that parties matter, that then-candidate Al Gore, whatever his flaws, was responsive to a different set of forces than George W. Bush, and that elections are about a choice of parties and social forces at least as much as they are about a choice of men and women. At this moment, we plainly choose the Democrats. They are not inherently a progressive party, but at the moment, the powerful progressive forces in California are successfully shaping much that the Democrats do; the constituents and the party are both on a roll. We are for them; they‘ve got their act together, and they -- and the state -- need a Democratic governor who will ratify what they do.
Is Gray Davis the best the Democrats can do? Of course not. Pretty much any Democratic governor of California in the year 2002 would have signed the bills he signed. There are progressive Democrats who could be governor -- State Treasurer Phil Angelides, for one -- who have demonstrated far more leadership than Gray on these matters, on the energy crisis, on the fiscal crisis of the state. But for four more years, Davis is the vehicle through which the party must act.
Early in his tenure in office, Davis famously said that the role of the Legislature was to implement his vision. Happily, it didn’t turn out that way. Davis didn‘t really have a vision of his own save enlarging his campaign treasury. The Legislature -- prodded by workers and clean-air activists, enviros and social-justice advocates, as well as by the usual business suspects -- did have a vision, and it wasn’t half bad.
So, the L.A. Weekly backs Gray Davis for governor, because much of the time, he‘s compelled to implement John Burton’s vision.
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