Eighteen years ago, when California Republicans succeeded in ousting Democratic Gov. Gray Davis halfway through his tenure, just because they didn’t like his big budget deficit and his gray personality, I warned in The Philadelphia Inquirer that the recall tactic “exemplifies the era of politics as permanent warfare,” that it “undercuts the finality of elections,” and that the tactic should only be used when a top elected official is accused of something extraordinarily serious, like a crime.

I felt the same way nine years ago, when Wisconsin Democrats tried and failed to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker, taking advantage of a state provision (similar to California’s) that sets up a recall election after enough aggrieved partisans sign a petition. Recalls, which are allowed in 18 states, are perfect gimmicks for our instant gratification culture. They were originally intended to give the people more democracy; now they’re vehicles for populist anger run amuck.

As Bruce Cain, a University of California political analyst, once told me, “It’s TV-clicker politics. In our culture, consumers are used to changing a product if they don’t like it. Or if you don’t like a TV program, you get rid of it right away. There’s a great impatience now, and it carries over to our politics, a growing impatience with elections themselves. ‘Why should I put up with this turkey any longer?’ So you try to change the channel.”

Which brings us to what’s happening right now in California. One week from today, we’ll learn whether Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has been ousted – “recalled” – for the dire offense of…well…I’m not sure what. He has a $76 billion budget surplus, so it’s not that. He’s not boring like Gray Davis, so it’s not that. Apparently it has something to do with the fact that taxes are high, the housing supply is tight, and he went maskless at a restaurant during the pandemic. Conservative organizers rounded up enough petition signatures for the Sept. 14 recall, and if 50.1 percent of the voters say yes to Newsom’s ouster, take a guess who will likely replace him:

A right-wing radio host who opposes California’s mask mandates; who opposes vaccination requirements; who’s tight with anti-immigrant zealot Stephen Miller; who opposes legal abortion; who has denied that climate change is real; who says that “the ideal minimum wage is $0.00”; and who has lauded Donald Trump as “divine intervention…He is almost God-sent.”

This is California we’re talking about. A blue state, the fifth largest economy in the world. A blue state that Trump lost last November by nearly 30 points.

How has such a nutso scenario entered the realm of possibility? Because the once-obscure recall amendment, inserted into the state constitution in 1911, has made it so.

On the recall ballot, Newsom would be tossed out even if he garners 49.99 percent of the vote. If that happens, voters then choose from among 46 potential Republican replacements. The front-runner is Larry Elder, the aforementioned radio host, often nicknamed “The Black Trump.” To become governor (he has zero governing experience), all he’d need is a plurality. With 46 names on the replacement ballot, Elder could wind up in the big chair with roughly 25 percent of the total vote.

The impact of this totally legal coup would likely be felt in Washington. If or when ailing 87-year-old Dianne Feinstein cedes her Senate seat, the right-wing radio host would be empowered to replace her with a Republican…and bingo, say goodbye to the (barely) Democratic Senate and any hopes that Joe Biden’s ambitious agenda can be enacted.

But what’s truly most disturbing about this recall fever – made possible by only 1.7 million petition signatures out of 22 million registered voters – is that it plays into the GOP cult’s increasingly authoritarian ethos: If you don’t like an election result, storm the U.S. Capitol. If you don’t like an election result, foment bogus recounts in states like Arizona. If you don’t like an election result, enact new state laws giving the cult’s legislatures the power to overturn the next vote tallies. And if you don’t like a gubernatorial election result, give some angry cohort the immediate emotional satisfaction of a recall and hand over the reins to a talk show host who, when asked recently whether he believes that Joe Biden won the election fair and square, duly replied: “Give me a mulligan on that one.”

Granted, the latest polls say that Newsom will survive the recall, but we know from recent experience that polls often underestimate the anger factor. And granted, gubernatorial recalls have been exceedingly rare – Gray Davis’ 2003 ouster (he was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger) was the only time a governor had been recalled since North Dakota did it in 1921 – but today we’re adrift in an era of dire instability.

You know the old saying that as California goes, so goes the nation? Newsom recently plucked that chord while talking to supporters. In his words, “We are America’s coming attraction.” He meant that in a good way. We’ll soon learn whether it’s a compliment or a portent.