WILL MEL GIBSON REPLACE SCHWARZENEGGER AS THE FAR RIGHT'S CHOICE FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA? LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF A DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Mel Gibson is a short right-wing Australian actor who used to be popular for violent futuristic fantasy films and now makes violent religionist fantasy films. He had a huge surge in popularity a couple years ago when SOUTH PARK resurrected his sagging fortunes by creating a brilliant episode about his religionist mania (voted #5 all time greatest SOUTH PARK show) called THE PASSION OF THE JEW. But if the last refuge of a scoundrel is religion, the last refuge of a religionist loon is politics-- and the California Republican Party has a deal for Gibson.

According to Robert Salladay in the L.A. TIMES, there is "a movement to draft Mel Gibson, the actor and director, to run against Schwarzenegger in the Republican primary next year." Republican strategists know how simple and cost effective it is to inspire already delusional religionist fanatics to mix up reality with tv and movies. Schwarzenegger is a spent force in right-wing politics, especially now that his connections to several financial scandals are coming to light, and the state Republican Party is hoping to hold on to power with a different candidate.

With the religionist right foundation of Schwarzenegger's political base up in arms, California Republican Party bosses have demanded a private meeting with the governor to complain about the hiring of Democrat and women's choice operative Susan Kennedy as his chief of staff. GOP party bosses are so enraged by the appointment that they are threatening to abandon Schwarzenegger during his re-election bid next year. According to Salladay, "Schwarzenegger is risking a nasty fight that could cause the party to rescind its endorsement during February's convention in San Jose."

"We need to have a good backup," said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, an organization of extremist loons that is so far right and so ridiculous that it is kept separate from the quasi-respectible state party. Spence's whacko group has already set up a web site to bolster Gibson. "He seems to be more consistent with the Republican message than the governor does." [Good point; he embraces the Nazi vision in a way that might embarrass Scwarzenegger, because of his ancestry and his dad's rumored participation in war crimes against Jews.]

"The trouble with celebrities or major politicians is they, by necessity, live in an insular world, and their information is limited or distorted," said Shawn Steel, the former state GOP chairman and current member of the board of directors. Is that an argument for Gibson to replace Schwarzenegger?