Posted 11:03 PM by Floyd

Mickey Kaus has posted some chortle-inducing quotes in which prominent Democrats claim that they are behind Gray Davis -- one thousand percent! Here is Hillary Clinton answering the call to arms:

I'm just going to do everything I can—until informed otherwise—to fight against the recall. Right now, as far as I know, we're all fighting against the recall.

Kaus noted that California attorney general Bill Lockyer was asked if he would run, and Lockyer said "I don't know." Today I saw the context in which Lockyer made that statement.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer issued a stern warning to fellow Democrat Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday: Run the kind of "trashy ... puke" campaign you did last year and a lot of prominent Democrats will vote to recall you and give the job to Republican Richard Riordan.

...

"If they do the trashy campaign on Dick Riordan ... I think there are going to be prominent Democrats that will defect and just say, 'We're tired of that puke politics. Don't you dare do it again or we're just going to help pull the plug.'

"There is a growing list of prominent Democrats that, if that's how it evolves, are going to jump ship."

Asked if he'd be one of them, Lockyer, who has also come out against the recall, calling it "unfair to Gray Davis and bad for the state," said: "I don't know."

...

This is a much nastier backstab than one would have guessed from Kaus' short quote. Lockyer is making a not-so-subtle threat to turn on Davis if the governor runs a negative campaign. This is like France telling Colin Powell that they would be happy to support an American attack on Saddam Hussein, as long as US forces don't use any computer chips. I mean, if you take away "trashy" campaigning, what exactly does Davis have going for him? His winning smile?