Posted on 04/21/2006 10:13:33 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER hasn't just abandoned his campaign promise to fight the special interests that dominate Sacramento politics. He has thrown it from his favorite Hummer and driven over it. His craven surrender to the tyrannical prison guards union is so complete that his aides have been subverting the authority of the state corrections chief by consulting union officials on her choices for warden positions and other jobs.
And that, according to one insider, is the explanation for the resignation Wednesday of Jeanne S. Woodford, acting secretary of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Woodford quit just two months into the job; her predecessor had departed because he felt the governor was not backing him in the face of resistance by the guards to reforms.
--snip--
Schwarzenegger hurriedly replaced Woodford on Thursday with James Tilton, a numbers cruncher from the Department of Finance who will run the department until the governor finds a permanent chief. Whether Schwarzenegger first begged union leaders for their approval before appointing Tilton is unknown, but it wouldn't be surprising.
Under the cynical calculus of political consultants, Schwarzenegger is probably doing the smart thing. The governor is up for reelection and doesn't want the guards to actively oppose him. Of course, the public embarrassment of having two prison chiefs quit in as many months as the system degenerates into chaos isn't great for his image either, but few voters know what's going on behind prison walls.
Smart as they might be in the short term, however, Schwarzenegger's moves are disastrous for the prisons. And they show he is nowhere close to being the kind of governor he said he would be.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Surrender? I'd characterize it as 'collaborate.'
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.