Posted on 11/11/2006 4:54:28 PM PST by Amerigomag
In winning his landslide re-election victory, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also found most other campaigns going his way. Only the narrow defeat of his appointed secretary of state, Bruce McPherson, could be counted as an actual setback, and not a major one at that.
First, of course, was the passage of all the Big Bang Bonds infrastructure initiatives that he supported. Schwarzenegger lays claim to the enactment of California’s biggest public works program since the Pat Brown era of the 1960s The defeat of all the tax measures on the ballot was right in line with the Arnold playbook, as was the landslide passage of the Jessica’s Law and the defeat of the measure which would have made eminent domain much more difficult for public works projects.
The former Mr. Universe endorsed the Republican ticket, with the exception of the nominee against Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Toward the end of the campaign, Schwarzenegger criticized his running mate declaring him “totally wrong” on the matter and saying California would never build for the future with McClintock’s approach. McClintock would have been a problematic lieutenant governor for Schwarzenegger. The new lieutenant governor, John Garamendi, a center/left figure, is much more aligned with Schwarzenegger on such issues, and has better personal chemistry.
The massive victory of former Governor Jerry Brown for the powerhouse post of state attorney general also accrues to Schwarzenegger’s advantage. Like Schwarzenegger, Brown has embraced bipartisanship and a pragmatic approach to most issues. Like Schwarzenegger, he champions efforts to fight global warming and develop renewable energy and advocates on behalf of stem cell research and new technologies in general.
The former governor actually has already been allied with the present governor on a number of other issues, such as the debt recovery bonds inititiative in early 2004, local government funding, and the dramatic last minute defeat of the Proposition 66 initiative to cut back on three strikes and you’re out sentencing requirements. Brown was a special guest of Schwarzenegger at this year’s State of the State address and appeared with him as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bonds push earlier this year.
The defeat of McPherson, who Schwarzenegger appointed as secretary of state to replace elected Democrat Kevin Shelley, is a setback but not a major one. The office which, despite its name, is a largely ministerial office. Schwarzenegger should have no problem working with the very capable Democrat who won the race, LA area state Senator Debra Bowen.
The fact that the very conservative Republican nominee for state controller, Tony Strickland, also lost (to Democrat John Chiang), means that Schwarzenegger’s good friend Steve Poizner is the only other Republican in statewide office.
Had McClintock, for example, been elected lieutenant governor, he would have been the favorite to claim the Republican’s gubernatorial nomination in four years, when Schwarzenegger must leave the governorship due to term limits. Although very popular with conservative Republicans, McClintock’s views would have provided a target rich environment in a high-profile race for the governorship. Now Poizner, a super-rich Silicon Valley entrepreneur and good friend of Schwarzenegger, who encouraged him to run, has the office of state insurance commissioner, should he so choose, with which to develop the bona fides to take on what will certainly be a stronger Democratic nominee for governor in 2010.
THE SHAPE OF SCHWARZENEGGER’S LANDSLIDE — which came, paradoxically, in the face of a big national Democratic wave — was especially striking. Despite facing an opponent who pitched his entire campaign to Democrats, the former action superstar made enormous inroads into constituencies long viewed as part of the Democratic base. Schwarzenegger won 45% of the union household vote to Angelides’ 49%. He garnered an amazing 27% of the African-American vote, 39% of the Latino vote, and 62% of the Asian-American vote.
It all contributed greatly to a largely across the board triumph for Schwarzenegger, in which most all outcomes accrued to his decided advantage.
This article is excerpted for length and the full article is reccommended
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