SCHWARZENEGGER ALL OVER HIS FACE

Somewhere Gray Davis is laughing at us
By Kelvin Wade
July 22, 2010

Months ago I was watching an LA Lakers game and the camera cut to various luminaries in attendance. There was Usher, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sylvester Stallone. And with every appearance of a celebrity on the JumboTron, the crowd roared their approval. Then, the camera panned to the man sitting next to Stallone. It was Arnold Schwarzenegger. The crowd booed.

Years ago, I bet Arnold Schwarzenegger never thought he would be publicly booed.

Remember in 2003 when California Gov. Gray Davis had a 24 percent approval rating and 65 percent disapproval and Californians wanted to recall him? We had a parade of 135 potential replacements. When Schwarzenegger won, Californians were so excited. The Governator was going to clean up Sacramento.

Fast forward to 2010 and Schwarzenegger's approval rating in a new Field Poll is 22 percent while his disapproval is 70 percent.

In another stunning result, more people thought California was on the right track under Davis than under Schwarzenegger. It's seven years later and we feel even worse about the state of our state. Who would've predicted that?

We might as well send Schwarzenegger back in time to 2003 to terminate the recall.

There were those of us who didn't support the recall, who saw this coming. It was obvious any new governor would have to deal with a gridlocked, special-interest-controlled Legislature and California's governance by initiative.

We're in such dire straits that, in a state loaded with Democratic politicians, the donkeys gave the nomination to former governor Jerry 'Gov. Moonbeam' Brown. At the same time Republican politicians handed their primary process over to two millionaire nonpoliticians in Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman. 'Queen Meg' is spending lavishly for the nation's second worst job. The presidency is the first.

Our new fiscal year started July 1 and as usual we don't have a budget. Perhaps there's good news coming in November. No, I'm not talking about the gubernatorial election. At this point it won't matter so much who takes Schwarzenegger's place. There's obvious institutional dysfunction.

We can pass Proposition 25. It will lower the requirement for passing a budget to a simple majority, just like 47 other states have. No more budgets held hostage by a tyranny of the minority and special interests. It also permanently docks legislators' pay for each day over the budget deadline. No budget? They work for free. Lastly, tax increases would still require a two-thirds vote.

Also, we can pass Proposition 22, which would prohibit the state government from raiding local governments' revenues. Last year, Sacramento took $5 billion from local governments. It's one of the reasons Fairfield is trying to close an $8.3 million hole in the budget. Proposition 22 will keep that money where it belongs.

Yes, our initiative process is partly to blame for the mess we're in. Governing this way isn't ideal. But sometimes we've got to make the hard calls Sacramento won't.

Until we do, it won't matter who governs the state. And one day, Gov. Moonbeam or Queen Meg will find himself or herself being booed at a public event, their image forever sullied by the sleazy politics of an ungovernable state. Peace.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES: California is broke and broken. I'm amazed it still has the population it does, although it's declining. We've had 7 years of Arnold and we don't have a lot to show for it. There's been nothing bu bickering and posturing and the same smoke and mirrors as when Gray Davis was governor. We can't pass budgets on time. We pay people in IOUs.

I was opposed to the Proposition that changed our primary process so that only the top two contenders square off in November but I know why people voted for it. It's because they're ready and willing to try anything. Anything to shake government up and change the way we do business.

Schwarzenegger has had the same trouble in Sacramento that Obama has had in Washington. Just because you're a popular, charismatic leader doesn't mean you can walk into an entrenched bureaucratic system and change things through force of will. There are a lot of lobbyists and money that are hell bent on keeping the status quo.

So we're at the try anything phase. We'll try anything like another novice governor or heavily experienced retread. Let's keep the experimenting going on in November. Why not? What do we have to lose?

If all else fails, we can do what my editor is doing in several weeks: retire to Idaho.