The Politics of Rejection
By Thomas D. Herzfeld
California governator Arnold Schwarzenegger got his political head handed to him in Tuesday's election. Not one state initiative passed, including the four that he staked his political ego on. To his credit, he did not revert to his action hero past, with an "I'll be back" but is beginning to reach out to the unions and Democrats that he has been reviling almost since he gained office. He certainly has a very long, run-down fence to mend. Time will tell whether he succeeds.
The saddest part of this whole expensive mess is that his attempt at a political WMD caused state and local governments to spend over $40 million of money that California doesn't have. He has squandered California's funds the way he squandered the good will he had when the took office. Maybe he could start making amends for both with a contribution from his personal fortune to help defray the cost of his debacle.
Gov. Shwarzenegger's political disaster is emblematic of what happened to the Republicans this election. He, at least, is attempting to turn things around. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of his party is able to follow his lead and reach out to the rest of the country. Don't count on it - the Republicans are so used to riding roughshod over anyone who gets in their way that changes will be slow, painful, and perhaps learned as a minority political party.
California governator Arnold Schwarzenegger got his political head handed to him in Tuesday's election. Not one state initiative passed, including the four that he staked his political ego on. To his credit, he did not revert to his action hero past, with an "I'll be back" but is beginning to reach out to the unions and Democrats that he has been reviling almost since he gained office. He certainly has a very long, run-down fence to mend. Time will tell whether he succeeds.
The saddest part of this whole expensive mess is that his attempt at a political WMD caused state and local governments to spend over $40 million of money that California doesn't have. He has squandered California's funds the way he squandered the good will he had when the took office. Maybe he could start making amends for both with a contribution from his personal fortune to help defray the cost of his debacle.
Gov. Shwarzenegger's political disaster is emblematic of what happened to the Republicans this election. He, at least, is attempting to turn things around. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of his party is able to follow his lead and reach out to the rest of the country. Don't count on it - the Republicans are so used to riding roughshod over anyone who gets in their way that changes will be slow, painful, and perhaps learned as a minority political party.
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