Free Republic

Moderate Republicans in California, having watched their party become increasingly dominated by conservatives as it sunk deeper and deeper into minority status, had big hopes after Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor in 2003. A new leader had arrived, one who because of a lightning strike of political good luck did not have to subject himself to the ideological litmus test of a statewide Republican primary. Just maybe, they thought, he could lead them out of the political wilderness. Schwarzenegger, as they saw it, was their kind of Republican: supportive of abortion rights, receptive to gay-rights issues, tough-minded on taxes, sensitive...

GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Year of Reform" came and went without any discernible change to the status quo in 2005. The state Legislature remains unduly polarized, captive to special interests and unwilling to take on many of the most complex and daunting problems facing California. Schwarzenegger's "reform" effort morphed into a piecemeal package of worthy (independent redistricting), seriously flawed (a rigid budget formula) and transparently politically motivated (restrictions on union fundraising) measures that were all shot down by voters in November. There were two overriding messages from the electorate. One was disenchantment with Schwarzenegger and his "I-am-king'' bravado of the moment....

An Assembly committee approved a bill Tuesday that would mandate Californians buy health insurance coverage much like drivers are required to purchase auto insurance. Although California voters and politicians repeatedly have rejected forcing individuals and employers to pay for a universal insurance program, lawmakers are seeking to capitalize on the momentum from a new Massachusetts law that will make that state the first in the country to establish mandatory health insurance. "We have a choice about whether we're going to stay stuck in the mud," said Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael. "We have a situation where we have 20 percent...