When he cast an aye vote for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2009-2010 state budget, which included about $12.5 billion in tax increases, Adams instantly became a pariah in conservative GOP circles — targeted for political extinction.
Criticism and threats of doom came from unusual sources. His irate mother-in-law, a devout conservative named Bonnie Ebright, called him to say he was betraying his party and country. A hugely popular Los Angeles radio show, hosted by a pair of commentators beloved by the right, responded to news of his vote by demanding his swift ouster. Conservative Rep. Tom McClintock called for Adams’s immediate removal from office via California’s recall process.
Schwarzenegger rallied to the assemblyman’s side at an Adams fundraiser, which merely threw gasoline on the conservatives’ fire. The recall effort moved forward. Adams could not quite believe what was happening — particularly that he had been spurned by the very people to whom, he said, he had devoted his career. He saw the turmoil as symptomatic of a drive coming from “Taliban purist elements” of his party, he said.
“It hurts, but there is a new push by the purists out there,” he observed. “This recall [effort] isn’t helping Republicans, if you ask me. And we as a party already have problems enough in this state without this.”
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