Impact of recall reaches Bloomington

Junior Leah Schultz said people start laughing when she tells them she is from California.\nRecently Schultz's home state has been mocked and criticized by many for its unusual political behavior.\nCalifornia voters elected Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday as their 38th governor in a recall election to oust current governor Gray Davis. The recall election, an uncommon event in American history, has had a tremendous political impact on the nation -- including Bloomington -- and has created controversy in the IU community.\nShultz said while she didn't vote in the election, she was shocked by Schwarzenegger's win.\n"I didn't think that it would actually happen," Schultz said. "With all the liberals in California and the fact that he is a Republican is shocking."\nPolitical science professor Michael Ensley said he is also surprised with the results. \n"I am surprised by the margin that he won by," Ensley said. "There were huge margins for the Republicans despite a predominantly Democratic state."\nVoter turnout for the recall was expected to be high. According to CNN.com, 385,000 more people were registered to vote in the recall than in the 2002 election. Schwarzenegger received 55 percent of the vote among those who supported the recall. \nNick Barnes, a junior studying telecommunications and a resident of California, said Schwarzenegger's victory did not surprise him.\n"People are sick of someone who can't control their funds," Barnes said. "Davis has not proven himself several times." \nBarnes, who voted by absentee ballot in the election, would not say how he voted. \nShultz said the problems that occurred with Davis were out of his control. \n"Arnold Schwarzenegger has made promises but does not have any concrete plans," she said.\nEnsley, who specializes in elections, said he thinks the recall will have a minimal impact on the rest of the nation. \n"I don't think that this will become a widespread phenomenon," he said. \nEnsley said one of the recall's good effects is that it brought more focus to state politics. \nBut Edward Carmines, a professor in the political science department, sees a different picture. \n"I think the main thing is it will introduce the recall as a political option in the future," Carmines said. "It will certainly be the case in California, but in the rest of the nation is yet to be determined. Even though he ran as a Republican, he is not really seen as a traditional politician." \nCarmines said he believes Schwarzenegger might be able to get Republicans and Democrats to cooperate with each other in order to solve the economic situation in California.\nBarnes said he believes California will just be a joke to the rest of the country from now on and the state will not be the same in the nation's eyes. \n"I think we lost any prestige that California once held," he said. \nShultz said the recall is a threat to democracy. \n"Granted Gray Davis was not doing the best job," she said, "but there have been presidents that have not done a great job and they stayed in office." \n-- Contact staff writer Mike Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.