As a supporter of clean, accountable government, I’m troubled by the prospect of no recalls

Via Althouse comes this.

I’m also worried that the Wisconsin recall, which has drawn nationwide attention and money, will trigger a vicious cycle of partisan retribution. Your guy didn’t win in November? No problem. Start a recall drive now.

Most of all, though, I fear that the recall threat will make our elected officials even more timid and poll-tested than they already are. Sometimes, great leaders need to take unpopular positions…

In her own commentary, Althouse wrote, “On top of that, I’d say get rid of the recall mechanism altogether,” a notion that’s troubling to me.

Recalls are one of the mechanisms the citizenry has in place in order to hold their elected officials accountable, and removing the option of recalling elected officials does nothing but remove one layer of accountability from our government. While I appreciate the argument that recalls can be abused, leading to a perpetual cycle of regular and recall elections, the recall process (at least here in Wisconsin) does not lend itself to frivolous recalls. Gathering the number of signatures required to trigger a recall election is no small feat, especially statewide, as the individuals who tried to recall former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle learned.

While I’m open to arguments about how Wisconsin’s recall process can be modified to make it more effective, efficient, and free from abuses, getting rid of the recall mechanism altogether is a terrible idea.