Arnold Schwarzenegger Archives
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It's official: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a tin ear.
His decision to veto same-sex marriage legislation passed by the California legislature is a silly and a foolish sop to the Republic Party's conservatives.
Those folks are going to vote for Schwarzenegger anyway - providing he runs which is looking a lot less likely. It's the great undecided that Schwarzengger - in keeping with his election message - should be calling to his side and to the Republican Party. Particularly now, when Republicans are in such trouble.
This isn't hard: Folks who don't care about gay marriage as a political issue aren't all that political, for starters. Right now, they're thinking Katrina not Kate and Allie. Or, since they don't care about the idea of same-sex couples, they not opposed to the idea. (For more a look at the internal politics of gay marriage, please read our own Deborah Klosky).
None of this is hard to figure. Unless you're one of Schwarzenegger's Pete Wilson retread advisors. Those are the guys who undoubtedly suggested that supporting wack-job outfits like the Minuteman border patrol was a good idea but joining with the Democratic Governors in Arizona and New Mexico to declare a federal emergency along California's Mexican border is a bad idea.
Following that logic, I guess it makes perfect sense to alienate moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats at a time when the Republican Party - from the state house to the White House - needs to show a bit more compassion and a lot less conservatism.
Thu 10:26 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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A few weeks ago, when the details about Arnold Schwarzenegger and American Media got their biggest play, Gov. Terminator caught a break. It was the same week that New York Times reporter Judy Miller went to jail and the East Coast political media, never quick on its feet in July anyway, took only cursory notice.
But there's nothing going on right now. And today's story in the LATimes about the tabloid that paid Schwarzenegger to 'edit' its magazines also paid a woman for a story it never ran stinks well past high heaven.
This, of course, is always what the American Media deal has been about. The idea that Schwarzenegger - a man with a well-known distaste for reading anything too long, a guy who prefers to be talked to - "edits" is laughable. He was being paid by the magazine to be Schwarzenegger the body-builder. The actor -- not the poltician -- attracted advertisers and sponsors to the magazine and its various spin-offs and, to judge by the millions American Media was willing to cough up, it was worth it.
With that kind of money floating around, another $21,000 isn't a huge deal. That's probably a back page full-color ad and while wooing the movie star, now govenor, American Media was probably happy to pay it. For an actor, that's pin money. For a politician, that's real cash.
So the governor is in real trouble. And this story has a lot of the things that make for a good summer scandal: Sex, politics, money and movie stars. Last month, Schwazenegger's butt got saved by Karl Rove et al. This month it might be the other way 'round.
Fri 11:43 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It's possibly the oddest, certainly the least expected, twist in one of the more interesting political stories of our time: How did King of the Recall Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger get stopped dead in the water? What the hell happened?
I have no ready and easy answers. Really, I don't. I think it's a dangerous and fool-hardy task to try and sum up the governor's motives and predict his behavior. Many have done so before -- remember all those folks who said he wasn't running even as they sat backstage on the Tonight Show? -- and they've ended up with egg on their faces.
I prefer to save my yolks.
Part of what's going on with Schwarzenegger's bad press is nothing more than the triumph of the state's permanent political class. See, he's an actor. Of course he can't govern. That's jealousy and, more dangerously, particularly for Democrats, it's complacency. They think they've got the gov where they want him. They might be very wrong.
I've said this before: Schwarzenegger likes being underestimated. He considers it a position of strength because it allows him - the strongest of the strong men - to think of new ways of doing things, of new unexpected tactics. That's what Ali's rope-a-dope was all about: wearing down your opponent so you could marshal your strength and come out swinging.
But you gotta be strong enough to take it. And that's much easier said than done. If this is indeed what Schwarzenegger is doing by, among other things, refusing to cancel the November special election, it could work. Democrats can and have raised a lot of money to fight the governor. But they've also spent a lot, too. And they'll need to spend more. But Schwarzenegger can raise money. And he hasn't spent that much.
More dangerous: There's a point -- as any good salesmen knows -- whe the pitch is too familiar and it goes unheard. Big Bad Arnold, punisher of nurses, stripper of pensions, bullier of women is a one-note song and it's been playing for a year now. There are a number of ways Schwarzenegger - the non-political politician -- can handle this. Being a movie star first and a governor second gives him a lot of flexibility.
Some of this mess is Schwarzenegger's fault, however. He walked right into the diminished expectations set by the state's pols and fulfilled them. The ballot initiatives he's endorsed are flawed and may not appear on November ballot.
That's not deliberate. It's sloppy and it speaks to either a reliance on the incompetent or a disregard for the political process, neither of which are hallmarks of good government. Schwarzenegger has insisted on Hollywood-like control of his image which makes him look hypersensitive and egomanical, a man above the people he claims to be representing. He's treated Sacramento like a campaign platform -- a movie role, really -- not a duty, a job or an obligation. His magazine and real estate deals didn't help remove either of these perceptions. They were and are foolish and short-sighted money grabs of a wealthy man worried about going broke.
If Schwarzenneger wants to run in 2006, he's going to have to backtrack. Fast. And publicly. Look for the Kennedy touch, coming soon to a Commonwealth Club or Town Hall near you.
Now the beauty of Schwarzenegger is that he can do this. And voters will probably believe him. He's still, in the end, a movie star. He's still a powerful and engaging celebrity. But time is almost running out. But he needs to treat the governor's job as something more than a great, wonderful adventure.
Mon 11:18 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Man that was fast. Gov. Terminator really is moving quickly to becoming Gov. Terminal.
This million dollar deal – the Sac Bee says $5 million, the LATimes $8 million – with magazines that endorse and push dietary supplements is a whole lot easier for folks to understand than anything involving White House leaks, the CIA or inside baseball.
The Gov. got paid by the folks who make the stuff -- the good supplements (yeah, right) and the bad ones, too -- that made baseball player blow up like bugs and hit big fat home runs. Got it.
If Schwarzenegger were more popular this wouldn't be as much of an issue. But he's not. And the perception that underscored his election – that he was too rich, too powerful, too much of a movie star to be bought – just took a big hit.
Thu 11:02 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Let's talk about California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In some respects, the problems Gov. Terminator is having are the same problems that President George Bush is having: A recalcitrant legislature happily taking advantage of his extreme position on some important issues.
The two executive office-holders like to think of themselves as tough, decisive leaders. And, certainly, the Bush administration is doing a great deal to reassert the authority of the president and the office; that's really what's at stake in the arguments, legal and otherwise, over records and meeting agendas the White House doesn't want to share with Congress. They don't often use the phrase "executive privilege" but that's what they're asserting.
Schwarzenegger is trying something similar. He is trying to reassert the authority the governor has over state policy. That's what shrinking commissions and advisory boards is all about; those boards are a kind of patronage system for the Democratically dominated state legislature. Creating a weaker legislature is the main reason the governor would like to see redistricting enacted: it is an attempt – perhaps the only one the state may have – to wrest power away from the state employees' unions who, almost automatically, endorse Democrats.
With the "war" on terror and the fear that 9/11 has inspired – not to mention the fear of fear that seems to pervade American politics these days -- President Bush is having much better luck asserting his authority and that of his office. I'm going to leave it to presidential scholars to decide the merits of what he's doing. There is, however, no getting around the perception that the insular nature of this particular administration has left us with a series of unbalanced policies – not to mention the memos that support them. Some of is this starting to come home to roost in the U.S. Senate where the administration's hand-picked Majority Leader has shown himself not up for the job. That's creating a rare opportunity for the president's political rivals and his foes, the Democrats.
Gov. Schwarzenegger may be trying to imitate Bush's tough can-do approach to confronting and solving problems. It is, after all, an extension of his "Hasta La Vista, baby" Terminator image. Tough guy Arnold swept into Sacramento to clean house.
But, particularly during this past year, it seems that Gov. Terminator has turned into Gov. Terminal. He's hitting dead end after dead end. And he's called a special election for the fall that, if things keeps going the way they have been for the past few months, may well be the end of his political career.
Continue reading "Terminator to Terminal"Mon 12:48 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Last time he was this unpopular, Arnold Schwarzenegger made "Kindergarten Cop." Think he can find a funny and endearing way to get out from under falling polls, a nasty ad campaign and restore his image as the bi-partisan can-do non-politician?
Probably. But's going to take work.
In the most recent issue of The Washington Monthly, the LATimes Mark Barabak takes a look at the gov and comes away pretty unimpressed. Schwarzenegger is in trouble, he says. And it may be permanent.
Barabak is going to enjoy being right – really right – for a couple of weeks now. Because today's polls show that Gov. Terminator has made a mistake in pissing off the state's nurses, cops and firefighters. It's not that his approval rating has sunk to 40 percent, ten points lower than when Barabak was writing, it's that Schwarzenegger's disapproval numbers are at 50 percent. That's dangerous territory.
Some of this could well be that Schwarzenegger's biggest supporters – moderates in both parties – are off doing what moderates do in off-year elections: Thinking about something besides politics.
But there has always been an ugly, angry side to Schwarzenegger's devil-may-care charm. It probably feeds his determination and discipline. He does a decent job of hiding – or he has since he decided to be a politician -- it but it pops out at odd moments. It's why he feels free to treats women badly or to trash about Democrats as if politics were some kind of intramural dodge ball game. During the Recall campaign that determination was part of Schwarzenegger's charm, a sort of roue's attraction that set him apart from the professional politicians. But now that he's around all the time, the charm is wearing a bit thin; repeated exposure to what might be jocular nastiness in Hollywood where he's a big money maker or in bodybuilding competitions is giving voters and professional politicians a look at a character who is less than generous.
That doesn't mean as Barabak tries not to say but still believes, that Schwarzenegger is out for the count. It's far too early to make that prediction. Kindergarten Cop was a masterful stroke – one that made the awkward Conan and the threatening Terminator guy look funny and approachable. It gave Schwarzengger's career a big boost with a group that didn't know him or, if they did, didn’t like him. What many people like about Schwarzenegger – his self-deprecation, his humor and his willingness not to take himself too seriously – came through vividly in that film which changed the course of his career. And don't ever forget: this is a man who likes doing things others tell him are impossible and who thrives on being underestimated and written off.
Will the governor back away from the special "reform" election? It's looking like a distinct possibility. Does this mean the governor is giving up on his ideas to reform the budget? Probably not. But if he gives the Democrats some breathing room on redistricting – which he acknowledged was necessary anyway – he might get the reforme he wants through the legislature. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing and would – like Kindgergarten Cop proving he was funny – would show political observers like Barabak that Schwarzengger does understand this governing thing.
Thu 06:01 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Oh, we may be in for a very hot summer.
Political dominos, California style, has never been trickier for either side of the equation. It's one big fat "on the other hand" involving the ambitions of two men who personify the differences within the Democratic Party, a Republican celebrity governor who thrives on being underestimated – the Democratic Party's current attitude – and some hot-button social issues that could backfire.
Here's one hot-button: An initiative requiring doctors to notify parents when their daughters seek abortions. If the signatures submitted last week are all verified, the initiative will appear on the next statewide ballot. That will bring social conservatives – the state's inland counties – to the polls in droves. When? Depends.
The earliest state-wide balloting could be in the fall. That's if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decides that his pet reform projects won't make it through the legislature. Since the two easiest to understand measures - a change in the way teachers, members of the state's most powerful union, are paid and a new way to draw lines for Congressional and legislative districts - are blows to Democrats, it's unlikely Schwarzenegger will get everything he wants.
Continue reading "They All Fall Down"Mon 12:34 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It is getting harder and harder to ignore the coming split between labor unions and the Democratic Party. The split has started in California cities where hairline fractures are becoming cracks and it's going all the way to the top of the ticket.
When all is said and done, there's a good chance that the Golden State may not be a reliable Democratic stronghold because it is labor that provides Democrats with money and muscle during elections.
The signs are pretty much everywhere. But let's start in San Francisco, long home to some of the West Coast's most powerful unions. First, despite it's pre-Christmas strikes, the union lost its bid to make all contracts with San Francisco's hotels run on the same national timetable.
Continue reading "Fading Unions"Mon 12:35 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Okay, so my favorite Ambivalent Lawyer Josh Benson over there at Berkeley's Boalt Law School has written in to give me a hard time about the stuff I've written about Gov. Schwarzenegger.
He makes some good points and he pretty much represents the criticism I've seen and head elsewhere so I'll give him the floor for a few minutes. I don't really disagree with anything Benson is saying. But Democrats – national and here in California – are focused on process not on politics. I've been trying to write about how Republicans are deftly – national and here – are using politics to implement the policies they believe are necessary. Just 'cause you notice it don't mean you like it. I shouldn't need to say that's the way things are supposed to work but, uh, we live in difficult times.
Continue reading "Operation Stop Arnold: A Better Road Map"Thu 03:17 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Progressive libertarians of California, your moment is at hand. Make that moments. And if you're a tried and true California Democrat – as opposed to being a business-oriented moderate with a fiscally conservative streak -- you might want to pay careful attention to some of the strands blowing in the wind.
It's gonna be make or break for California Democrats this year. And, from the press accounts, it seems like they know it. The party that's been running the state – they run the legislature – is facing an opponent who is popular, savvy and ruthless. Oh, yeah, and he's an international movie star, too.
Here's the state of play:
Continue reading "Operation Stop Arnold"Wed 10:33 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Charles' take on Schwarzenegger is a good excuse to check in with our Governor. If ever there was a rich man parading – deliberately and with breath-taking calculation – as a Populist it's Gov. Terminator and his oft-stated desire to go to "the people."
Schwarzenegger has managed to capture a tremendous bipartisan frustration with government and bureaucracy and that should not be dismissed lightly. Now that his experienced legislative opponents are either retired or soon to be packing up their offices, signs of real hand-to-hand combat with the California legislature are quietly building. Schwarzenegger may well call for a special election on his reform packages, some budget stuff, some tax stuff and a bunch of administrative goodies thrown in. And that election – where Schwarzenegger won't really have an opponent, just some vaguely articulated ideas about how government and politics-as-usual – could be a very interesting an very telling contest. Gov. Terminator might not be able to get more Republicans elected to the legislature but he can sure influence how people vote on ballot initiatives. And in a state where the fastest growing voter registration choice is "none of the above" – which hurts partisan Democrats and helps moderate Republicans -- it's easy to see how Schwarzenegger could win and win big.
Mon 11:05 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It's an early Christmas over at Vanity Fair for all you Big Media critics.
Marie Brenner serves up a perfectly boring interview with the family Schwarzenegger (the magazne's website is little more than a list of upscale advrtisers so don't even bother looking for the piece on-line). The Schwarzenegger reporting gold standard remains Connie Bruck's piece in The New Yorker until the book on Schwarzenegger's political life and the recall that I keep hearing about comes out next year. The VF photos are great, however, particularly the cover shot: A full color, only-in-California shot featuring our groping Governor astride a motorcycle, his hand firmly planted on his wife's shapely calf.
Hollywood. Man, you really can't beat it.
Thu 10:29 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The idea of amending the constitution to let Arnold Schwarzenegger – or any of the 12 million people like him who were born outside the U.S. – become president is one that should be taken seriously.
Not because it's going to happen. It's far to early in this idea's little wacky-but-feasible lifecycle to make any predictions. Democratic opposition – he'd win the presidency in a walk – is stiff.
It should be taken seriously for a couple of reasons that have only a little bit to do with Schwarzenegger. First of all, the headquarters for the whole AmendForArnold she-bang is at 3000 Sand Hill Road. For those of you on the East Coast in politics this might not mean very much. For those of us on the West Coast with a more-than-passing acquaintance with things Silicon Valley, it speaks volumes.
Continue reading "Attention New Arrivals: Your Party is Waiting"Thu 03:07 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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One of L.A.'s finest, Marc Cooper has written as good an account of what's really going on with the various Indian gaming initiatives on the ballot next month as I've seen yet. He sorts out the tribe v. tribe issues and lays out the politics and the money – lots and lots of money.
I am remiss in not pointing to this earlier. Read it before you vote.
Mon 01:36 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s looking as though Contra Costa County is on its way to becoming the cautionary tale of cautionary tales for greedy labor. For Republicans like Gov. Terminator looking to crack down on the state's payroll expenses, this couldn't come at a better time.
The CoCo sitution could become a very big political fight because unions support much of what happens in the California Democratic Party. They’re the money and they’re the muscle. If they’re seen as the enemy – hard to believe but it is happening – the party is weaker. And it's not like Schwarzenegger's losing any steam.
Continue reading "Pigs Get Fed. Hogs Get Slaughtered."Mon 11:45 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Over at Tapped, The American Prospect magazine’s web site, young Matthew Yglesias has a post with some interesting implications for all you California anti-taxistas.
Yeah, you. And you, too. Yes, we – particularly those of us who are self-employed and cash out the occasional shares of, er, Google – get hit and hit hard on cap gains and income and all sorts of other tuff. But saying that means the state is "overtaxed" is using anecdote to devise policy. Silicon Valley’s self-employed money managers are in the minority. And yes, you pay more because you make more – that’s how it works. And yes, it's as much as your Dad made in a year. You would prefer something different? 'Cause that's possible....
Continue reading "California Dreamin’"Tue 05:07 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s the dog days of summer. The Republican National Convention is dominating the news.
Here’s something you don’t want to miss: Two stories about how private companies, interacting with California government agencies seems to have uh, cheated.
The first, from the AP courtesy of The Bee talks about Chevron’s influence on the California Performance Review. The second, from the San Francisco Examiner, tries to find out which bone-head in which San Francisco department let the developer – contrary to the plans approved by the city – tear down more of the structure than permitted.
Continue reading "Cynical Creations"Fri 10:46 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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By contrast, Gov. Terminator’s speech was positively cheery, no? Well, that’s our governor: A fun loving money-making moderate.
His invitation for immigrants like to join the Republican Party was broad and inclusive and as moving – in its freemarket way – as soon-to-be-Sen. Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic Convention. Oh, and this is no accident, this is a powerful fight for new new Americans, make no mistake, and we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the years to come.
Continue reading "Immigration Muscle"Thu 10:52 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Wired magazine has discovered politics.
Yes, Wired (which doesn't have its own web address) the former home of writers who looked forward to the withering away of the state has discovered U.S. politics. You know the stuff that concerns your daily life. It’s so retro, it’s really cool. It's only a matter of time before people with pierced lips and Treo600 phone start running for office. Oh, wait, I live in San Francisco....
Continue reading "So Tired"Tue 01:51 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The Arnold Assessments won’t stop. Must be a sign that Big Media – the East Coast version – is as bored with all the “hero/not-a-hero” arguments as I am.
Josh Benson at The New Republic has turned his attention to Arnold Schwarzenegger and he makes a few good points. Yup, Gov. Terminator has made it more expensive to go to college in California which is a lot more of a problem for folks trying to get the basics – into say, D’Anza, a community college in San Jose – than it is for out-of-state grad students. And yup, Gov. Terminator is vulnerable. And no, he’s not as much of a powerhouse in Sacramento as he is perceived to by from New York and Washington, D.C.
Continue reading "Revisionista Arnoldista"Fri 12:15 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Well, well, well, Gov. Terminator ain’t gonna pay for no stinkin’ bridge. The $2.3 billion in cost over-runs, he says, are the San Francisco Bay Area’s to worry about.
Oh my. Oh dear. Call me cynical – it’s okay, I can take it – but I smell a little old-fashioned political payback here. The kind that leads to naming names and assigning specific blame for cost over-runs.
Continue reading "A Long Ride Off a Short Bridge"Tue 01:25 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The fight to allow legal U.S. immigrants to vote is spreading. In Washington, D.C., they’re going San Francisco one better and talking about letting all legal residents who are not citizen in on The District’s elections.
Interesting, no? The biggest proponents are the city’s entrepreneurs, its small businesses owners. In D.C. that's Ethiopians. In San Francisco, it’s Chinese immigrants.
In this climate – voters rights for immigrants are breaking out all over -- it’s foolish to think that the Constitution can’t be changed to allow Gov. Terminator to become president. Very foolish. It’s equally short-sighted to think that immigrant voters are always Democrats, too. Whenever you see small business folks looking to control politics chances are good they’re worried about nuts and bolts stuff like taxes, street cleaning and garbage collection. Basic, sometimes conservative, stuff.
The New York Times piece detailing the D.C. maneuvering is quick to talk about immigrant voting rights from the last century, before anti-Semitism and its obnoxious sibling Red-baiting became so ingrained in U.S. immigration policy.
So here’s something to watch: How fear of terror colors this debate which, in many respects is a move for recognition on the part of recent U.S. arrivals who want – really and truly want – to partake in what they believe is the American Dream. This is a big fight and it will have political ramifications for both parties, the kind that can realign loyalties very quickly. So pay attention; it’s just getting started.
Mon 11:56 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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His tanned and toned face – along with that big tacky turquoise ring – are front and center as Gov. Terminator makes the cover of Fortune, not quite celebrating the passage of the state’s budget and not yet anticipating what promises to be a far more important – and lasting – political battle to reform state government.
The Fortune piece isn’t much, which is likely a timing problem more than anything else. The issue is meant to celebrate power which Schwarzenegger has, relishes, and employs in a variety of ways. But instead of concentrating on Gov. Terminator’s flexibility and his willingness to let Democrats get ahead of his own party (he's done it twice now), Fortune concentrates a bit too much on Schwarzenegger’s belief in the power of his celebrity.
Continue reading "Fortunate Sons"Sun 07:51 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Okay, so what’s really going on here in California with the budget?
A bunch of different things. Confusion, understandably, abounds.
First Gov. Terminator, who has famously said that he likes to work quickly, is a little teed-off over the Legislature’s decision to drag its feet. He promised a budget by the end of June and well, it’s July 19th. Looks bad. Not terrible. But bad, a chink in the old armor. And the governor’s got things to do, ya know? It’s a bi-partisan household, they got travel plans.
More interesting is the longer-term political strategy. Schwarzenegger may be using the Democrats’ foot-dragging as a way to build up a little political credibility with his own party. Remember how steamed the Republicans were when the Gov. cut a financial deal last time around and didn’t tell them in until the last minute? Not this time. All together now: Girlie Mon!
Besides, staring down the unions and the trial lawyers, well, that’s primo Democratic “special interest” territory, a red flag for any Republican, moderate or otherwise. With the unions geared up – financially and otherwise – to make absolutely the state goes for Democratic nominee John Kerry and his trial lawyer running mate, John Edwards, Schwarzenegger is scoring a few cheap points. The two pieces of tag-along legislation aren’t huge deals in the grand scheme of things. One would give schools the right to hire private (not necessarily unionized) companies for services like meals and bus service. The other is the repeal of a law, signed by lame duck Gov. Gray Davis, covering employee lawsuits against employers. Repeal is good for Republicans, bad for Democrats.
That’s the short-term play. But there’s the longer look. Two Republicans with ties to the administration – policy advisor Joe Rodota and Dan Schnur – are hinting that some of this fight is about the Gov.’s much-discussed but still secret reform package, which is scheduled to be teed-up after the budget. Schnur said as much to the Chron over the weekend. Rodota, appearing on KRON’s “4 the Record” political chat show suggested that an election-year showdown was simply a good way for Gov. Terminator to show future legislators that he means business.
Schwarzenegger might be ticking off hard core Democrats – and I have yet to meet a California Democrat who wasn’t, deep-down, scared of the unions – but there’s another audience here. California is filled with upper middle class self-employed folks – none of us have jobs, it’s true -- who don’t understand the unions’ or the lawyers’ power. These non-partisan Progressive Libertarians see these two groups as little more than special interests that control the Democrats -- to the party’s detriment.
The independence on the part of non-partisan liberals who might normally support the Democratic Party agenda dovetails nicely – but not completely – with an essay by Thomas Frank (author of the summer must-read for Progressive Democrats, “What’s The Matter with Kansas?”) that appeared in the LATimes over the weekend.
Frank says Democrats have abandon the middle class, choosing instead to follow the money – Hollywood, corporations, bankers -- and court upper middle class liberals who have the time to worry about so-called cultural issues. His thesis, with which I partly agree, got some nice comments from Political Animal Kevin Drum yesterday.
But the current state of California politics – where Schwarzenegger can successfully rail against the unions and the lawyers as a warm-up to more and more intense state-wide reform – provides a more realistic glimpse of another aspect of the party’s flawed strategy. The unions are as wealthy as corporate donors in many respects, but they lack the sort of on-the-ground negotiating muscle the once had. So, for many outside their organizations – or in, listen to what SEIU President Andrew Stern said when he came to San Francisco last month – their power has less status and their membership doesn’t reflect the folks they should be representing. In a Wal-mart nation, where we’ve come to accept that it’s every man or woman for his or herself and to hell with the other guy, the unions have gotten out of step. They are fat and happy. For Progressive Libertarians, not exactly a charitable bunch, that’s dumb and slow. And dumb and slow for a group that’s interested in speed, agility (mental and financial) and flexibility, well, it’s the same as roadkill.
Mon 12:46 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Up in Sacramento, Bee Columnist Dan Weintraub takes a look at the full-court press to get a state budget – a major fumble by Gov. Terminator (and he was getting such nice press, too).
Weintraub says Schwarzenegger should stop wasting his celebrity on a stupid deal that doesn't change anything and should, instead, push for wholesale reform of the state’s property tax system. Yes! And while he doesn’t use the Prop. 13 argument that I like so much – it’s got to go, particularly for corporate landowners -- he comes very, very close.
Now, columnists don’t call the shots – oh, that they did – but Weintraub’s calling on Schwarzenegger to use his star power for a big project is welcome.
Wed 12:53 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Finally, finally, someone has gotten around to doing a quality profile of Gov. Terminator. The July 28 issue of The New Yorker has the best, most intelligent treatment of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s life, his political ambition and his marriage to Maria Shriver that you’re likely to see. It’s an important piece, not just for what it says but how – and where – it makes its case.
It took someone who isn’t cowed by and who understands the power of celebrity – as it’s used in and outside Hollywood -- to really look at the governor. Connie Bruck, known for her savvy and well-reported books on Drexel Burnham, Time Warner creator Steve Ross and Hollywood power broker Lew Wasserman knocks another one out of the park with her piece on Schwarzengger.
Continue reading "A New Kind of Politics?"Mon 03:54 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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All this ruminating on Gov. Terminator brings us, as you might expect this being July in California, to a few thoughts on the budget and the reforms Gov. Terminator may or may not have planned.
Continue reading "Playin' Possum"Mon 03:41 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Reporter still don’t get Gov. Terminator.
He’s so honest and open about his willingness to be less honest and open, they’re not sure what to do. So they write it all down, throw in a few caveats and, it seems, hope for the best.
I kinda feel sorry for them. They’re really confused. I mean aren’t politicians supposed to pretend to be honest, self-effacing do-gooders? Yeah. In the movies.
Continue reading "The Big Smoky Tent"Thu 12:23 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Gov. Terminator wrapped himself in an Indian blanket and declared victory, announcing a deal with some of the state’s tribes over gambling. But as both The Bee and the LATimes spell out, this fight is far from won. A few months ago, The Chron’s Mark Simon sketched out the politics on this issue a few months ago. His piece is still worth reading.
Continue reading "Disappearing Wampum"Tue 05:28 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Gambling and Indians has moved from the back burner of California politics where its been boiling away nicely, thank you, to the front of the stove with the news that Gov. Terminator has cut a pretty solid deal with some of the tribes.
It’s an attempt to get gaming questions off the November ballot; but this fight is no slam-dunk. Schwarzenegger could be in for a real fight, the kind that makes or breaks. Things go well, the governor collects more taxes, casinos expand in a regulated and well-planned way and everybody's happy. Things go badly, the TV explodes with ads, casinos spring up whereever the tribes want to place them and Schwarzenegger gets a black mark on his so far sterling political record.
Continue reading "Ready, Set, Gamble"Wed 09:40 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Time, once again, for a look at how some of what’s said here is showing up out there in Big Media.
Salon weighs in with what – if the editors I’m talking to are able to shepherd their stories into print – will be the first of a series of reappraisals of Calfornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger as a politician. Over at the SF Weekly, Matt Smith turns in a thorough critique of Schwarzengger’s tax policies, taking a refreshing and much-needed look at what’s happening in the rest of the state.
Sun 02:08 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The Sacramento Bee’s Dan Weintraub is well on his way to becoming the Lou Cannon of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political career. Here’s a very good and in-depth interview he did with Gov. Terminator. Very interesting, particularly the part where our nominally Republican governor talks about being more of a centrist than a conservative.
UPDATE:Whattayaknow, Lou Cannon himself takes a turn at Schwarzenegger appraising in today's New York Times and notes that the current governor is not, actor stereotypes aside, Ron Reagan. There's nothing too revealing (for you regular readers) but Cannon lets Sen. John Burton make a good point about Schwarzenegger's Hollywood-honed negotiating skills.
Mon 05:51 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Sometimes – often, actually – when I read the papers I wonder what country I live in. 'Cause some days…some days….
Sunday was a classic. First, Garry Trudeau took a shot at Gov. Terminator’s bad habit (now apparently in remission) of grabbing women. Pretty funny. But, for Californians, beside the point. Take a look at Dan Weintraub’s take on Arnold Schwarzengger’s first six months in office. He gives the Gov. a “B” for effort and an “A+” for marketing.
Continue reading "A Tree Grows in Sacramento"Mon 11:07 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It could be election fatigue. Or it could be that with an immigrant in the governor’s mansion – a Republican immigrant in the governor’s mansion – the Southern California knee-jerk fear of the great Mexican menace isn’t quite as strong these days.
The Sacramento Bee reports that an attempt to revive Prop. 187 – the ballot initiative calling for California to restrict benefits for illegal immigrants -- has hit a snag. Organizers can’t get enough signatures to get the thing on the ballot. Some of this is, no doubt due, to turn out in the last election. You need more names on the petitions. But some could be due to the acceptance – by Republicans in particular – of politicians with not-so-waspy last names.
Or maybe it’s just that the state’s more recent immigrants, the ones who got here within oh, the past 30 years – just like Gov. Terminator! – are close to really seizing political power in the state. A business reporter covering the workers’ compensation negotiations in Sacramento said he was struck by Schwarzenegger’s tactics. As soon as he figured out that Latinos carried the freight on this issue – and that’s a deliberate pun – he behaved accordingly and got the votes he needed.
Tue 11:19 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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You can take the ‘blogger out of California and, it seems, you can take the California out of the ‘blogger.
Kevin Drum, formerly solo as Calpundit, now a staff ‘blogger (is there such a thing?) for The Washington Monthly, latched on to Gov. Arnold Schwarenegger’s suggestion that the state legislature meet only part-time. It’s probably not an entirely serious suggestion – from what I can see, Schwarzenegger likes to screw with reporters and if he can do that and yank Democratic Sen. John Burton’s chain, he probably figures it’s a day well spent. When I first heard Gov. Terminator’s comments all I could think about was Gore Vidal’s line about air conditioning ruined democracy because it allowed Congress to stay in Washington, D.C. through the summer.
Continue reading "It's There. Just Look."Tue 09:43 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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On the eve of what could be a big victory – the resolution of California’s nasty and expensive workmen’s compensation insurance system – let’s take a few minutes to consider Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a politician. This is no joke. And neither is he.
Schwarzengger understands how to win votes, on the street and in the legislature. Toward voters, Schwarzenegger is charming and patient, explaining that his candidacy has begun to interest more people in politics and government, a good thing.
Continue reading "All Things in Moderation"Wed 11:35 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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So far, there are two things to learn from this recent election.
Californians love Gov. Terminator.
And while they may like their state Senator or Assemblyperson, they do not like the legislature. Not even a little bit.
Prop. 56 – the food fight bill – to lower the requirement for tax legislation went down to defeat soundly. Only San Francisco approved the thing.
But Props. 57 and 58, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed, campaigned for and dragooned a passel of Democrats into supporting, passed handily. Pollsters are going to be talking about the proposition’s come-from-behind finish for a long time. The message for now, however, is pretty clear: don’t tug on The Terminator’s cape.
Continue reading "Lessons Learned. The Hard Way."Wed 03:11 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Ya gotta figure something’s really changed when Jay Leno has become the state’s premier political journalist. When The Tonight Show starts selling transcripts we’ll know the divide between entertainment and politics has finally been bridged.
The folks in Sacramento keep blaming this direct too-the-people approach on Schwarzenegger’s arrogance or egotistical belief in his ability to talk to the people. Or something. I got another take: Until Gov. Terminator can find some reason to take to the political press corps seriously, he’s not gonna. This is as true for the press, by the way, as it is the legislature and the Republican Party. Until Gov. Terminator needs you, he doesn’t.
Continue reading "Takin' It To the Street"Tue 12:20 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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1.Having read President Bush’s comments calling for a constitutional amendment to define marriage while maintaining states’ rights (baby: split), I’m standing by my that much of the tension underlying gay marriages is over the changing role of women.
C.V. Nevius turns in a nice column sort of making this point in today’s Chron by quoting a bunch of religious scholars who point out that marriage has changed – a lot – in the past 2,000 years. And while I’m saying nice things – hey, it happens -- about the crowd down on Mission Street, please note their coverage of the gay marriage issues has been complete, smart and, every once in a while – Nevius today, for example – useful.
Continue reading "Stuff We Knew. Misc. Entries."Wed 11:57 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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By popular demand, according to his spokeswoman, Gov. Terminator has emblazoned his name over the door to his office. Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Weintraub has posted a nifty picture and a little history: Until a movie star landed in Sacramento, the sign just said, “Governor.”
Reason for the change? Tourists want a piece of the Terminator. And it’s a lot easier to have them take pictures of the words “Arnold Schwarzenegger” rather than have them lurking around looking for the guy himself or stealing matches or spoons or whatever else they could get cart off.
That’s star power. That's not the only manifestation, however.
Next day, holding their noses and gritting their teeth, the state’s Democrats start falling in line to endorse – oh, go ahead, twist their arms – the $15 billion bond issue deal that voters will know as Props. 57 and 58. We knew this was going to happen but it's nice when a plan comes together.
TV ads starring Gov. Terminator and Silicon Valley fave Controller Steve Westly started running yesterday.
Coincidence? Sure it is.
Oh, and keep an eye on Westly during this ballot initiative campaign. It won’t be too hard, among other places he’s popping up at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club on the 26th for a lunch time speech. Once he was raising eyebrows for supporting Schwarzenegger on the budget deal. Now, it seems, Westly was ahead of the pack, picking up a little bit of traction in what continues to be an interesting – and highly public rivalry – with State Treasurer Phil Angelides. That might look like a fight between two medium-level government wonks but make no mistake, the choices that Schwarzenegger is forcing Democrats to make are choices the party is going to have to make up and down the state and across the country. And, in this first skirmish, well, the traditionalists -- the partisans -- didn’t win. It may be the first time but it won't be the last.
Wed 01:49 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Gov. Terminator is hitting his stride, acting like a real pol. It's a nice show to watch.
First, off to New York City to raise money for the bond initiative, Props. 56 and 57, on the ballot next month. Entry fee to meet the former body builder and retired movie star? As high as $500,000. With that kind of money being tossed around, I’m almost afraid to turn on the television.
Next a meeting in Silicon Valley to chat with movers and shakers there about making it cheaper to do business in California. Opponents of Proposition J, the San Francisco “workforce housing” initiative should be sure to read to the bottom of that story to see how closely the valley links affordable housing and economic prosperity.
In between, an endorsement of a fellow Republican who supports the bond issue – something of a make or break issue for the gov. But a Schwarzenegger advisor (Hi Marty!) says the Gov. isn’t making any more endorsements – a sign that he’s not spreading his popularity too thin. He knows its importance. And that's important.
Now, you’d think that strategic thinking like that, along with his hanging out with New York Governor George Pataki would be enough to make people outside the state think of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a serious Republic Party player. But it looks like it’s going to take a while. But they’ll catch on. Particularly if Propositions 56 and 57 pass. Which, given all that money and star power, they probably will.
Schwarzenegger’s working the move star thing big time. It’s a shrewd and creative use of political capital and it looks like it might work. I hesitate to disagree with Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Weintraub in this case, I think he’s making the wrong call on what Gov. Terminator can and can’t do in terms of public support.
If Democratic turn-out is as high here as it’s been in other states, Schwarzenegger could have a tough fight on his hands over the budget stuff. Realizing they don’t have the cash, or for that matter the better arguments, the state’s Democrats are certainly trying to embarrass him into a corner. But, well, the groping, grinning governor isn’t a guy who gets shamed into very much, now is he? Besides, isn’t this the same guy who saved Western Civilization as we know it? Okay, yeah, it was at the movies. But in these days of supposedly spontaneous "wardrobe failure," and disappearing weapons caches who can tell the difference?
Thu 11:06 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s hard to look at what’s going on in Sacramento without thinking of Yogi Berra.
It’s deja vue all over again. Only this time, the reporters watching The Terminator are pronouncing themselves pleasantly suprised to see how, um, effective he is.
Schwarzenegger’s budget is tight and mean. Sen. John Burton calls it full of despair. Cities and towns up and down the state are squawking that the money the Governor “returned” last year is now being taken away. Uh. Yeah. This is a man -- a former body builder -- who really understands the meaning of the phrase 'no pain, no gain.'
Experienced Arnoldista Jill Stewart spelled it out last time around. This week, Stewart’s predicting – or is that suggesting? -- that Schwarzenegger will start making nice to Democrats in order to cut a deal. And, she says, Democrats better straighten – or is that belt tighten up – and fly right. Right again.
We’ll see how nice Schwarzenegger is as all this deal-cutting unfolds. There’s plenty of room for negotiation as Schwarzenegger proved with the $2 billion deal he cut with the teachers association; a transaction as unexpected in its financial impact as it has been in its political impact. If he can do that, well, hmmmmm…things could get very interesting. That’s, of course, if they don’t get intensely nasty.
Tue 11:30 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Check out Bee political columnist Dan Weintraub’s analysis of Schwarzenegger’s “State of the State” speech. The Terminator means business – in every sense of the word.
Here’s the most important part:
The centerpiece of the relatively brief address was probably Schwarzenegger’s call for “radical” ideas to overhaul state government. He said he would appoint a commission to oversee a team of civil servants to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the government, examining every program to determine if it is still needed and, if so, whether it can be managed more effectively.
“Every governor proposes moving boxes around to reorganize government,” Schwarzenegger said. “I don’t want to move the boxes around. I want to blow them up.”
Calling the executive branch a “mastodon frozen in time” and “about as responsive,” the governor said he wants to consolidate departments with overlapping responsibilities, abolish boards and commissions that serve no pressing need and modernize a state purchasing system that he called archaic and expensive. “I plan a total review of government – its performance, its practices, its cost.”
Wed 11:05 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It's getting easier to feel sorry -- really sorry -- for the California State Legislature. Maybe, just maybe, they’re in over their heads with this Arnold muscle-head guy.
Take the recent budget deal, which was analyzed by several smart reporters and pundits. None eemed to have seen the broadside ax – the one that fell on the Assembly’s Republican necks – coming in the “stalled” budget negotiations.
One thing was really clear this weekend: Arnold could care less about fiscally conservative Republicans. When they get his box office star power, he’ll have a problem. Until then, hasta la vista, baby. Some of them are a little slow to get the message. Republican Todd Spitzer delivered this classic to the Chron. You wonder if the reporter burst out laughing half way through.
"The Republican caucus was less than pleased the governor put together a deal without Republicans at the table when the contract was signed," Spitzer said. "We made it clear that we can't continue to do negotiations without us at the table. He said, 'Absolutely, and it won't happen again.' "
It won’t happen again? Hey Todd, wanna buy a bridge? Nice color. Stunning views. For you: Special price.
Kind of amazing, huh, a governor who plays one side off against the other and doesn’t seem too upset about how he gets the job done. Geez. And still manages to get what he wants. In this case, Schwarzenegger took an important step: getting approval for a $15 billion bond measure. First thing, the state’s gotta get its pressing debt reduced so it’s not hanging around like The Ghost of Christmas Past all the while giving the state’s Republicans an excuse to rant and rave about the Democrats who, still, control the Legislature. The bond measure, which appears on the March California ballot (California: we vote seasonally) solves the fiscal and the political problem nicely. And if things get better – and they’re getting betting as I type – that debt might be retired a little earlier.
I don’t want to take all the credit for grasping this obvious point although the presence of a California budget story on the front page of Saturday’s New York Time was unsettling. No, as is usual almost every Wednesday, the SFWeekly’s Matt Smith nailed this one very nicely. “What’s been missing,” Smith writes “has been a look at just how canny [Schwarzenegger] was in creating the conditions that ultimately allowed for a compromise inclusive of rabid, anti-tax Republicans and committed, preserve-public-services Democrats.”
Yup. Fasten your seat belts kids. This is gonna be one fun ride ‘cause this Arnold guy. He knows his business. And right now, that’s politics.
Wed 04:40 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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More proof that Tom McClintock still wants to be governor is in today’s WSJ.
Gov. Arnold’s getting it from the right and the left but he doesn’t seem to care. Schwarzenegger’s ability to pick off moderate Democrats is going to be important. It’s, uh, it’s what Bill Clinton used to do. From the other side of the fence, of course. Clinton picked off liberal Republicans.
Besides, the last time the WSJ got on Schwarzenegger's case -- they said he wasn't a real Republican -- it did him a world of good.
Mon 12:30 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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They’re smiling over their coffee cups this morning in Atherton.
The Chron has a story on gubernatorial housing – apparently Sac isn’t as full of million dollar gated mansions as, oh, L.A. so Maria and The Terminator – who takes office Monday – is having a hard time finding a place to perch. The Chron says they’ve looked at every mansion on the market.
Well, Atherton, a mere two hours away – less if you have a CHP escort – has plenty of such homes, and it seems the first couple has been having a look at the local real estate. Makes sense, it’s the closest thing to Brentwood north of Pismo Beach. On top of that, it’s Arnold country.
Maria Shriver herself was recently spotted at La Belle, the Stanford Shopping Center’s beauty salon. Shriver doesn’t need the services of LaBelle -- she’s a TV star and undoubtedly has hot and cold running hair stylists. She was hanging at LaBella -- escorted by her buddy and soon-to-be-neighbor, HP CEO Carly Fiorina – to let everyone she and Arnold are in the neighborhood. It worked, too.
Sat 01:22 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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