This post has been added to the… California In Transition- Must read Threads! 
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Posted on 10/16/2003 1:28:27 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
The Democratic spinners have been busy trying to put the best face possible on the landslide recall of Gray Davis and the impressive election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor, but it's tough going. Maybe, they suggest, American voters are angry at all chief executives facing big budget deficits – in which case they may be ready to "recall" President Bush in 2004.
And anyway, Schwarzenegger is far from being a typical Republican: He is pro-choice, pro-gay rights and pro-gun control. Save for the governorship, California is still solidly in Democratic hands: They control both houses of the legislature, hold both senatorships, a majority of congressional seats and all of the other statewide offices.
But Bush is far more popular than Davis, even in this third year of his first term, which is notoriously a downtime for presidents. Schwarzenegger notably downplayed his moderate views on social issues and stressed his conservative economic ones. Indeed, he actually modified several positions, insisting that he opposes both partial-birth abortions and abortions without parental consent, and disapproves of same-sex marriage.
Moreover, the election confirmed the polls, which had been saying for weeks (to the accompaniment of thunderous silence in the media) that if you added the votes of conservative Republicans who backed Sen. Tom McClintock to Schwarzenegger's support, the Republican total outnumbered the support for the Democratic alternative Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante by almost 2-to-1. (Of those who voted for a recall, Schwarzenegger was supported by 49 percent and McClintock 13 percent – a 62 percent total to Bustamante's pathetic 32 percent.)
So, the outcome is best understood as an expression of the voters' genuine outrage at the Democrats' performance since they achieved their total lock on California politics five years ago – and no wonder. They ladled out goodies to their special favorites as if the state treasury were a gigantic soup kitchen. Every major union lined up for its share of the loot.
The one-time bonanza in revenue produced by the high-tech bubble was treated as if it would last forever. When it didn't, California wound up with a deficit bigger than that of all the 49 other states combined. Small- and medium-sized businesses were clogging the roads leading out of the state, unable to pay the grotesque workmen's compensation benefits decreed by the "compassionate" legislature.
Davis managed to conceal the extent of the disaster until he was narrowly re-elected last year, then confessed to a deficit of $38 billion – and was duly thrown out on his ear.
What can Gov. Schwarzenegger actually accomplish? The Democrats in the legislature (which, remember, they still control) will do their level best to force him to raise taxes (which he has vowed he will not do) or make highly unpopular cuts in state expenditures. Both the governor and the legislature are limited, moreover, by the requirement to expend specified percentages of the state budget on particular programs (e.g., education) – requirements imposed by initiatives adopted directly by the voters, in an effort to control legislative greed.
But that very technique – calling on the voters to pass initiatives (which become law) and referenda (which repeal existing laws) – may turn out to be Schwarzenegger's secret weapon. He comes into office propelled by a huge tide of popular resentment against the legislature.
If that legislature tries too obviously to thwart him, or if existing limitations imposed by previous initiatives make serious reform impossible, he can "go to the people" over the heads of the legislators and ask the voters to support new initiatives and referenda next year. The odds are very good they will still be in his corner, and will vote as he requests.
The Democratic barons in the legislature know all this, of course, and they will therefore try to avoid direct confrontations with a highly charismatic governor possessed of a recent mandate to implement major reforms.
So, California may not yet be through providing political entertainment for the rest of America – and a certain amount of education, too.
Hee-Hee ... What a great line for those of us who only have to watch this mess.
I didn't realize that "California wound up with a deficit bigger than that of all the 49 other states combined", though I thought it was pretty big.
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Don't wait for the legislature to get it on the ballot. Certifying sufficient petitions by December will prevent SB60 from taking effect and keep more illegals from registering for the March election.
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