"Clapping with the right hand only will not produce a noise."
- Malay proverb
Susan Estrich, law professor at the University of Southern California, believes her new governor has returned bipartisanship to California government and cites evidence that his popularity extends to both sides of the political aisle:
"In a state where both houses of the legislature, both U.S. senators and every office under the governor are held by Democrats, the Republican governor's approval rating, according to a Los Angeles Times poll, was 64%. He has consistently earned favorable ratings from majorities of self-identified Democrats. And that was even before the unveiling of a new budget this month that was both on time and delivered on his pledge to balance it without new taxes."
In an op-ed written for USA Today, Estrich claims that what Schwarzenegger has accomplished in the past eight months is "remarkable." She is a life-long Democrat who was asked to serve on Arnold's transition team, and has witnessed first-hand the positive change in the political atmosphere across the state:
"The arithmetic in California is such that a Republican governor can't pass a bill or win an initiative without Democratic votes. On the other hand, given the need for supermajorities to raise taxes, and the power of well-funded minorities to take issues to the voters through initiatives, a Democratic governor could be blocked on almost anything he tried to do. The result has been that on many issues, you had war, or at least stalemate, leading most voters to see politicians through the most cynical blinders. Changing that perspective has been Schwarzenegger's biggest achievement, to date."
Ms. Estrich is obviously impressed with the governor's leadership style. Based on what she says is happening since he moved to Sacramento, I must say that I am too. I would be interested in getting some perspective from any of you who live in California. How is the "Terminator" doing?
Update: Thomas Lifson has posted an article over at The American Thinker titled "The Governator Rides High." It echoes much of what Susan Estrich has written about Schwarzenegger's political accomplishments in California.
1 comment:
Funny, a friend and I were just talking last night about "Arnold" and his governance of California. From this side of the 48 it seems that he is doing a few things right and we both said it's about time. He might just be the prime example of how to bring together differing views for the common good--something Washington would do well to emmulate. We both said hooray even for the early successes and think it is an early job well done.
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