Posted on 09/28/2003 12:35:53 AM PDT by ambrose
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Long Beach Press Telegram
Recall Davis, elect Arnold Oct. 7: Schwarzenegger has the right ideas to begin repairing California.
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - Gov. Gray Davis is a career government bureaucrat who ascended too high. His shameless pandering to campaign contributors, obsessive micromanagement and extreme timidity toward any type of risk- taking served him well on his rise to the top, in various No. 2 positions, but those same qualities proved disastrous once Davis was elected to govern, a job that requires leadership. His tenure in office has been marked with one leadership failure after another. First there was the energy crisis, which he didn't create but handled terribly. Then there was the state budget: After promising to manage the state's record surplus responsibly, Davis did the exact opposite and, along with the Legislature, turned the surplus into the largest deficit California has ever known. His recent flip-flop on the illegal immigrant driver's license issue showed all Californians what Sacramento observers have noted for some time: Davis will do anything for a vote (or, for that mater, a campaign contribution). The only area in which Davis has shown some consistency is in his odious campaign strategies. He wins by viciously attacking opponents and then offering himself as the better choice. Davis faces a recall election on Oct. 7 for which despite his vehement protests to the contrary he alone must accept blame. True, the recall campaign was supported initially by a partisan opponent who had designs on the office; however, 1.6 million Californians signed petitions in a legitimate expression of anger and frustration that has crossed all party lines. California needs leadership, not a bumbling, self-interested bureaucrat who clearly cannot handle the challenges that come with the governor's office. The Press-Telegram strongly urges a yes vote on the Oct. 7 recall. *** The next question in any recall discussion is, if not Davis, then who? That's a tougher decision for many Californians, and the Press-Telegram editorial board as well. We've wrestled with it for many weeks as the recall campaign has taken shape, and five leading candidates emerged from the pack. Eliminating some of the contenders was easy, starting with Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, another political chameleon who will be firmly planted in the back pocket of Indian gaming and other special interests that have contributed millions to his campaign. Just as worrisome is how, on the campaign trail, Bustamante has repeatedly lied about the cause of California's budget crisis, which he'd be called upon to solve. A Bustamante administration would bring three more years of the same special-interest pandering, deflected blame, damaging legislation and fiscal mismanagement that we've had in the past five. Tougher was state Sen. Tom McClintock, a savvy veteran whose knowledge of California's budget is impeccable. When it comes to fiscal policy, McClintock has all the right ideas. His commitment to his principles, which are solidly conservative, is admirable. But McClintock's problem, ironically, is that his commitment to principle is too rigid to allow for any compromise, and he's become a marginalized outsider in the Capitol. He is not a consensus-builder. At best he would bring a veto stamp to much of the dangerous legislation being passed through the Legislature these days, and that's good, but not good enough. Though Peter Camejo and Arianna Huffington are two bright, intelligent people (Huffington did a poor job of demonstrating that in Wednesday's debate), we don't believe they have what it takes to govern. Which leads us to Arnold Schwarzenegger. We were initially uncomfortable with the idea of having a movie star (an action movie star, at that), former bodybuilder and political novice in the governor's office. But as we looked past his image to examine Schwarzenegger's ideas about the type of change he could bring to California, he began to appear more and more as the best choice to replace Davis. First for economic reasons: Schwarzenegger's fiscal ideas are close to McClintock's, but he'd have more ability to implement them. Schwarzenegger has effectively communicated a solid understanding of the failed policies that are costing Californians their jobs and sending businesses fleeing to other states. He's in favor of workers' compensation reform and a constitutional balanced- budget amendment. Such an amendment, which would limit state spending growth to inflation and population increases, would force the state to act responsibly with its money, instead of running multi-billion dollar deficits and passing debt on to future generations. The measure wouldn't stand a chance in the Legislature, but Schwarzenegger would appeal directly to voters, in a positive sense, to push for an initiative. Same with the insidious redistricting that has created safe seats in the Legislature, gridlocked Sacramento and made special-interests even more powerful: Schwarzenegger favors an independent panel, which would be a major improvement, and has promised to do whatever he can to make it happen. No other candidate, realistically, could see that through. Schwarzenegger's moderate- to-liberal stand on social issues is more in sync with the majority of Californians. He wouldn't, for example, stand in the way of medical marijuana reform, domestic partnerships or stem-cell research. He is an aggressive supporter of education, and we're confident that would be reflected in his fiscal decisions. Finally, Schwarzenegger's celebrity and star power would be an asset. For once, TV cameras wouldn't leave Sacramento when the election is over they'd stay because people would be interested in following a Schwarzenegger administration. Important issues that are often seen as mundane, like workers' compensation and budget matters, would actually command air time along with car chases and celebrity weddings. Yes, Schwarzenegger is an untested political novice, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Davis was one of the most politically experienced governors California has ever had, and where did that get us? California has a lot to lose by retaining Davis or electing panderer-in-waiting Cruz Bustamante. No good can come from either choice. On the other hand, the state has nothing to lose, and a lot to gain, by electing Schwarzenegger.
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OUCH!...
The Long Beach Press-Telegram seems to agree with your thesis, Torie.
And calling Davis, Cruz or Arnold "godless" is pretty offensive. I certainly don't care for their political views. But godless?
p.s. you'd have a much better argument if this were an election for the papacy. it isn't.
No offence but you are offensive, I hope that didn’t offend you..
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