Except, Of Course, For Arnold
A brief addendum to my earlier post about the new importance of Republican governors: Schwarzenegger doesn’t count.
True, he has a few accomplishments, here and there, to his credit. But when he steps down in January, he will leave the Golden State in worse shape—much worse shape—than it was in when he took office. He will have failed, utterly and completely, to enact any fundamental or lasting reforms. And in the great issue of the day—will government serve the people or remain in thrall to the unions and the left, Schwarzenegger, who just this past Friday joined Jerry Brown in filing a motion arguing for the immediate resumption of gay marriages, proved worse than useless.
He took office with wealth, fame, and the goodwill of Californians. He will have left office having accomplished nothing.
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Jun '10
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
All the action hero role-playing apparently had little effect on Schwarzenegger, the Governor, because he turned out to be a coward. About the best thing you can say about California is, it could've been worse. That's his legacy. It could've been worse. He was afraid to any burn bridges with his Hollywood colleagues, or his in-laws, so he put his spine in a lock-box to be retrieved upon leaving public life.
Jul '10
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
Californians swung for the fences with Arnie and got an infield pop up.
May '10
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
Reminds me of Steyn warning us to beware the pol who proclaim social liberalism and fiscal conservatism. Sorry, my Libertarian kinder: I never works out, does it?
May '10
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
O hell. I totally mangled that. Long, long day, finishing up in Ozona, Texas.
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
If I recall correctly, there's a scene in "True Lies" where Arnold, on a horse, leaps off some prominent DC building - the roof of the Hay-Adams, I think - and he ends up somewhere DC residents would recognize as being many, many miles away. Maybe that was Arnold's problem: we'll fix it in post. Clever editing will solve everything, as long as people don't really know why it can't work in real life.
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
And that, EtoileduNord, is beautifully put.
May '10
Re: Except, Of Course, For Arnold
Our state's not in the mess it's in because the governor favors strict emissions controls or gay marriage. It's in this mess because of the extreme ideological gridlock in Sacramento. A left-leaning movie-star Republican was not a bad attempt to get around that but ultimately it didn't work. I have no doubt that Meg Whitman is a far more competent executive. And I have no doubt that she can write a clear-headed, cogent, tough budget. But can she get it passed? I see nothing to suggest that the entrenched political camps can be swayed any more effectively by her. Regardless of who wins the next governorship, we are likely to see heels dug in even more aggressively in defiance of a more ideological chief executive. California ain't no North Dakota.