Nixon recalled; Auburn elected replacement governor

Political event

Auburn and his party campaign to remove Nixon, and he successfully rides the wave of anti-presidential outrage to the polls.

Nixon attempts to defend Goldwater's actions, though as racist violence in the South intensifies this grows more and more politically challenging. Meanwhile, he is perpetually lambasted for his lackluster response to the horrific flooding in the north, which has stagnated into a slum. The state’s Black and minority populations continue to explode. The Condors , led by Auburn, launch a campaign to recall Nixon, accusing him of criminal incompetence, complicity in the Goldwater administration's violence and racist rhetoric, and calling for sweeping economic reform.   Made a celebrity by the recall campaign, Auburn files to run for governor, touting the Party platform he and Xu developed. In front of radicals, he preaches leftist solidarity. In front of moderates and Republicans, he loudly critiques the US admin’s careless foreign policy, stressing the need for Californian self-sufficiency and “self-determination” (which he parses as greater political autonomy and the right to self defense, though he rebuffs claims he is endorsing civil war). US politicos are baffled by this new third party, which claims to be "Californian nationalist" but appears to be genuinely secessionist in all but name. To moderate or right-of-center non-Californians, Alton seems relatively nonthreatening, especially compared to his 'hippie' and Marxist or Maoist followers; his appearance and manner belie his radicalism. He is interviewed often on US talk shows.