Why does it feel like the Ghost of Governors Past is haunting the Governor’s Office? It is painful to think of how much time, energy and money was spent replacing the failed Gray Davis with the hope of a freedom-loving, pro-free market Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it is even more painful to experience the current governor’s complete sell out for the sake of good press and popularity with the opposition party.
Ooops…there I go again, sounding all partisan again. Isn’t this the era of post-partisanship? I guess post partisanship is when the Republicans have more hope of Senator Don Perata of doing the right thing (insisting that the state budget crisis be dealt with before any health reform plan is passed) than their “Republican” governor.
Back to the Davis-Schwarzenegger contrast—I’m certainly not t
he fir
st one to point out the similarities between the two administrations. But there isn’t much talk about the common thread—Susan Kennedy. Gov. Schwarzenegger has the right to employ whomever he chooses, but isn’t there a point where the people get to say, “enough already?” Didn’t we already suffer through an energy and budget crisis brought about by this same management team? Now we’re going to have to endure a budget and health care system crisis produced by the same people! And believe me, the problems brought about by this “health care reform” will have much larger impacts on peoples’ lives.
(Capitol and Administration insiders are betting that Kennedy leaves the Governor’s Office in 2008. But things likely won’t improve on the policy front as the smart money seems to be on Daniel Zingale to take her place. Zingale, a Gray Davis staffer who worked for him both in the Controller’s Office and the Governor’s Office, was brought in the Governor’s Office to be Maria Schriver’s top staffer. He’s been one of the leads for the Administration’s health care reform plan.)
Health Care Security and Cost Reduction Act
During the campaign for Prop. 209, the California Civil Rights Initiative, we spent a good deal arguing with reporters and editors about the press’ insistence on dubbing the anti-racial preferences measure, “the so-called California Civil Rights Initiative.” How much do you want to bet that no newspaper will label the social health care plan passed by the Democrats yesterday the "so-called Health Care Security and Cost Reduction Act?” But Republicans should.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Concerning the Governor’s office, in real life you see retreads discarded along the freeway. In politics the retreads are just rehired. It is too bad politics is not more like real life.