Free Republic

“Everyone in California must have health insurance," declared Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he rolled out a Massachusetts-style scheme to blanket the state in health insurance. The politician who came to power attacking an employer-health-insurance mandate, and vetoed a single-payer bill once in office, is now proposing a health-care plan that relies on the former and will almost certainly result in the latter. Arnold’s health-care program, designed with the loving care of the folks at the New America Foundation, requires everyone to purchase at least a $5,000 deductible health-care policy. It boosts Medicaid roles, opening the taxpayer-supported program to illegal immigrants,...

The governor was so proud of his May Revise of the budget that he didn't want to end the press conference last Friday. What is not to be proud of? $7.5 billion in unexpected revenues, repayment of the money promised to education, deficit is down to $2.5 billion (when it was expected to be $16 billion if the Davis spending habits had been continued), $2.2 billion into reserves and lots of goodies for the special interests. It is when you get into the details that you realize this is a crisis waiting to happen. Instead of a “fantastic” budget, it...

A Bit Of Unpleasantness With Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger moving from this statement of early Saturday morning — “I want to thank Senator Perata, Speaker Nunez, Senator Ackerman and Assemblymember McCarthy for all of their hard work this week. … I am encouraged by the tremendous progress we have made.” — to allowing as how he had differences with the infrastructure bonds bill shot down in the state Senate, and as the governor and fractious legislative Democrats and Republicans try one last gasp at regrouping to make the June California ballot, the minds of many in the Democratic Party turn to...

After a year of getting his footing in Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came out fighting in his second State of the State address Wednesday night. He threw down the gauntlet to the Legislature and announced he was prepared to make good on the promise of the 2003 recall election to shake things up in state government. His challenge: Help me completely reform state government and dismantle the shameful political system that has failed the people -- or prepare for the biggest political fight in years. "This is a time for choosing," the Republican governor told the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature. And...

The state budget impasse has taken a toll on support for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $103 billion spending plan, with Democrats and Republicans rethinking their approval of his strategy for erasing a $15 billion deficit without raising taxes. After struggling to reach agreements with Democrats, who hold overwhelming majorities in both the Senate and Assembly, the rookie governor now faces a full-blown mutiny from within the ranks of his fellow Republicans as well as opposition among Democrats. "I was prepared to vote for the governor's budget as modified by his May revision," said Sen. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, vice chairman of the...

By 2006, California could have a dramatically different political landscape, with part-time and more moderate legislators and a more streamlined state bureaucracy, if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's renewed threats against the status quo catch fire with voters. As the governor fights against a Legislature he says is resisting his calls for change, he is campaigning this weekend against individual lawmakers. He has again threatened to push a ballot measure to create part-time Legislature. Combined with an open-ballot primary initiative on the November ballot pushed by Schwarzenegger supporters, the crop of politicians elected in 2006 could find themselves both part-time and term-limited....

<p>Given the latest polls, there's a fair chance that, come Tuesday, California voters will approve Proposition 57, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $15 billion deficit bond, and reject Proposition 55, the $12.3 billion school construction and repair bond that appears on the same ballot.</p>

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to say that if he could sell some of his movies, he can surely sell California. But even if he succeeds in getting the major workers' comp and regulatory reforms he wants, California's business climate and its overall job picture will need a lot more attention.</p>

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the new budget reserve plan he negotiated with the Legislature will prevent the state from ever again descending into the kind of deficit spending spiral in which California finds itself today.</p> <p>But a close look at the details of the proposal, which will go before voters on March 2, suggests that it falls well short of accomplishing the goals Schwarzenegger was trying to achieve.</p>

Arnie Announces He Will Take On California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is going against his wife Maria Shriver's wishes and running for California Governor in 2006. The action man was forced to pull out of plans to run for office last year due to his filming commitments, but he's determined to get political, despite his wife's reluctance. Shriver, a member of America's famous Kennedy clan, believes her husband can do more good for people by privately championing causes. But, although Arnie agrees with her, he tells Esquire magazine that he plans to overturn California Governor Gray Davis as a Republican candidate....