Schwarzenegger was going to reform state government, but now he just goes along
Looking back on 2003, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had just won an historic recall election, we can see now what an incredible opportunity he had to wrest control of state government from the special interests. The timing was right, but the special interests refused to let go, aided greatly by Democratic and Republican leaders in the Legislature.
Schwarzenegger clearly tried to do the right thing, but he failed, just as all the reformers who came before him failed. He couldn't do it alone, and he had no help from other elected officials. So the public employee unions and business interests continued to look out for themselves, and the Legislature went along.
Evidence of Schwarzenegger's failure is the latest budget that he has proposed. It is full of gimmicks and isn't even a stab at realistic budget-making. The Bee's editorial board points out some of the holes in the latest budget proposal in this editorial.
Here is part of the editorial:
"Schwarzenegger keeps saying that the state has plenty of revenue to meet its needs if only the liberals who control the Legislature would quit their free-spending ways. That line would be easier to buy if the governor himself had the nerve to propose a budget that would force the state to live within its means.
"Instead, he has offered up a proposal that falls more than $5 billion short of balance and then relies on a collection of tricks, gimmicks and creative financing to bridge the gap. The biggest of those is a plan to advance $15 billion over three years from future proceeds of the state lottery -- money that would be repaid, with interest, over 30 years."
Comments
As all politicians do he folds instead of doing what he said he was going to do. Before he said he was not going to allow same sex marriage now he he says he will not block the boverturning of the ban on same sex marriage.
Posted by: Jackie Krage | May 17, 2008 4:43 PM
Jim:
Enjoyed your take on all of this.
In the spring of 2004 I wrote the following for a chapter on the recall that was published in a media and politics text. I was dead-wrong on whether or not Schwarzenegger would run again (he did), but some of the problems he is having now are not unusual when we look back over the lifespan of 'celebrity' politicians.
"In many ways it appears entertainers-turned-politicians begin to resemble the very individuals they usually rail against in their campaigns once they see how complicated things actually are away from the campaign trail. Governing is a complicated business and some of these individuals lack the political skills necessary to enact promised legislation or “clean house” in the way they promised to the voters. This recall race does tell us, however, that celebrity politics remains alive and well in America and the voters appear continually accepting of these kinds of candidates. Celebrity governance is a different story, though, and it is my feeling that Arnold Schwarzenegger may go the way of Jesse Ventura and opt out of running for another term. I say this for two reasons: (1) Plain and simple, Schwarzenegger does not need the money, power or prestige that comes with the position and is often sought by officeholders. As one of the top movie stars in the world he has already attained all of these things, and while the governorship gives him a certain kind of national legitimacy that he has not enjoyed previously, I would question whether his appetite for political life in Sacramento will remain strong. (2) When we usually discuss governors’ styles in the political science literature, one of the categories that often gets mentioned concerns a type of governor known as The Frustrated Warrior. The trademark of these types of individuals is that they sincerely hope to change the political system and they run their campaigns as motivated elements of change. Upon governing, however, frustrated warriors are unable to get many of their programs adopted. This fact, along with the fact that the personality traits of these types can lead to poor communication with legislative leaders, leads me to believe that Schwarzenegger, while always the warrior in his movies, may find the task too frustrating over time."
Posted by: David Schecter | May 18, 2008 3:33 PM
Until November 2005, Arnold was a strong supporter of business in California which is my strongest interest. He vetoed some terrible bad business bills, turned back the regressive car tax hikes and helped defeat mandated health care.
Then he wimped out to the unions in the special election in 2005. He started out gung ho, then disappeared from the fight. Had those propositions passed, we would be in a stronger financial situation.
Although he continues to veto bad business legislation, he did propose that God awful health care plan and has further burdened business with environmental restrictions.
according th the Taxpayers Network, California ranks number 1 in Government Burden on small business.
Taxpayers and businesses can only take so much.
Posted by: Fran B | May 19, 2008 9:02 AM