Posted on 09/07/2004 8:43:46 AM PDT by politicalvanguard.com
Schwarzenegger vs. Feinstein: battle of titans
By Thomas D. Elias September 7, 2004
So, how does Sen. Arnold Schwarzenegger sound? Maybe it lacks the resounding ring of the "governator," but it could have a lot more stability.
In fact, Schwarzenegger for Senate in 2006 is a new rumor in California politics, and neither the governor's spokesmen nor anyone else has yet shot it down.
For this is one rumor that might make some sense.
A famously unpredictable figure who waits until the last moment before making key decisions, Schwarzenegger is about as logical a 2006 Republican Senate candidate as anyone could find. But it would be foolish to expect him to tip his hand until he absolutely must.
That doesn't stop others from talking. "Anything's possible with him," said longtime Republican consultant Arnold Steinberg. "And this sounds plausible."
It's plausible for a plethora of reasons. For one thing, Schwarzenegger makes no secret of his wish to be president. But he can't run without prior passage of a constitutional amendment allowing immigrants like him to hold the office.
Such an amendment has been before the Senate for months, sponsored by Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah. It's gone nowhere. Even if it got the required large majorities in both houses of Congress, like any constitutional amendment, this one would need approval from three-fourths of all state legislatures before becoming law.
Feminists recall how the seemingly straightforward Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress easily enough during the 1970s, but fell just short of ratification by the required 38 state legislatures.
If Congress ever passes the Hatch amendment, every legislator in America will know it aims in part to ease Schwarzenegger's rise. Republicans control nowhere near 38 legislatures, so don't expect the Constitution to change soon for him.
Which means that he'll likely have to wait many years for change.
Should he spend that time in Sacramento, where he'd be termed out in 2010 at the latest? Or seek an office with no term limits, like the Senate?
To reach the Senate, he would need to step past Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose seat will be contested two years from now. A California electoral heavyweight, she won 56 percent of the vote in her last campaign and still maintains poll approval numbers about that high.
At 71, she shows no less vigor than 20 years ago, when she was mayor of San Francisco. She has no plans to step aside for anyone.
"Our campaign is already on," says Kam Kuwata, Feinstein's longtime campaign manager. "We will have $2 million to $3 million in the bank by the end of the year, and Dianne feels she's doing important things in the Senate. Plus, we know exactly how to win a campaign for Dianne against any Republican."
But Schwarzenegger may not be having as much fun being governor now as he did a few months back. Things were easy for him in his first seven or eight months. He flexed his political muscles, single-handedly rescinding a vehicle license fee and pushing two bond propositions to passage. His star power and imposing presence awed Democrats in the Legislature.
That's wearing off. The honeymoon's end began in the struggle over the state budget, and Democratic lawmakers are no longer lapdogs for the biggest movie star ever to enter politics.
As August waned, they sent Schwarzenegger a spate of worker- and consumer-rights oriented bills they know he opposes, daring him to veto them and thus expose his favoritism of business interests over all others.
And the state Senate elected combative Democrat Don Perata of Oakland its new president, with a likely four-year tenure. Perata used his first appearance with Schwarzenegger to blast the governor's plan for sticking San Francisco Bay area commuters with most costs of rebuilding the earthquake-damaged Bay Bridge.
Schwarzenegger then called Perata a "fantastic" legislator, but it's clear Perata won't be as cozy with him as the departing Senate president, John Burton of San Francisco. Don't soon expect to see Perata fetching Austrian pastries for the guv, as Burton has often, jokingly, done.
Perata's election signaled that Schwarzenegger will have to battle for many of his proposals.
Plus, by the very nature of the office, any California governor must take positions in every controversy that comes up. Senators can choose which issues to make their own.
All of which gives flesh to the rumors of a putative Senator Schwarzenegger. And yet, Kuwata notes, "If he runs, he risks losing the chance to be lionized as one of the great California political figures of all time. If he lost, he'd be remembered as no more than a passing fancy."
The bottom line: Schwarzenegger keeps his own counsel more than any other politician of recent times. He knows a Schwarzenegger-Feinstein race would be a battle of titans like California hasn't seen since Ronald Reagan beat Pat Brown in 1966.
Will he do it?
We'll know in the spring of 2006.
-- Thomas D. Elias, of Santa Monica, is a columnist and author. His e-mail address is tdelias@aol.com.
Feinstein couldn't beat Pete Wilson. I doubt she'd fare better against Arnold.
I can just picture it: Conan the Republican storming the great stone fortress!
I hear Condi Rice is resigning from the W administration soon...man, could we use her back here in CA for governor or senator!!!
I dont know about this somehow the Senatorinator doesnt quite have the same ring to it as the Governator, but either way getting that old lady out of office would be sweet.
Rumor has it that Arnold has movie deals signed for '06 so I wouldn't bet on him staying in politics...
with his "nut" who could afford it! LOL
Arnold doesn't want to be a senator. Senator is a boring job. No action.
You're on to something.
But there are leaders and there are legislators.
Rudy is a leader. Arnold is a leader. Mitt is a leader. Dole was a legislator. Never mix the two.
Feinstein & Boxer: Communists, both.
And Condi would be a better choice for the GOP.
I heard different. Condi is staying to take Powell's job at state. To be honest, Condi doesn't have the track record in California politics to take on Feinstein. The Schwarz wants to be near the center of the action. If he can't be President, he'll try for a top cabinet post or Majority Leader.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
As far as Arnold is concerned, I thought he had already made the statement that he would not run again, so I would also take that to mean the Senate as well as the Governor's race.
"the job of Governor there offers anything other than extreme frustration."
Well the job of governor is certainly an opportunity for a person to show their ability and eventually become POTUS as Nixon, Reagan and Bush have reallized...
"She couldn't order anyone bombed there, even though they might deserve it."
With the situaion in the world today, I wouldn't advise talking about "bombing" any place in America...we already have too much of that in the world as it is and it makes for poor taste in jokes...and no matter how much you may dislike CA, we have more registered Republicans here than anywhere else in America
Bush gained some valuable experience as Governor of Texas, but the Democrats there were civil, unlike California and all the "Willie Brown wannabes", and their proposed extra tax on telephones to provide for free cell phones for all the homeless.
There were some very good reasons I left there in 1993, and I really don't miss it.
Well there is still hope and we will continue to "fight the good fight" in CA...it may not happen in the near future but if we keep the pressure on we can turn this state around!
Recalling the Dimwit Davis was a very big step for us in CA!
Looks like we all agree. Glad that's done.
Now lets try spending our time, inventing, encouaging, promoting and electing conservatives to California's government.
Baloney. She's slowed down a lot. And even if her age isn't a big negative for her personally -- she'd be 73 1/2 at the time her next term would begin in Jan. 2007 -- most voters view it as a slight, but appreciable, "Negative" that a would-be Senator will be nearly 80 when finishing the term. If Feinstein really wants to help her party, she should find someone she considers a worthy successor, IMO.
I'd pay real money to see those debates. LOL!
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