New at Reason

Julian Sanchez | October 31, 2005

Matt Welch wonders of the Arnold who talked such a tough game during his gubernatorial campaign: Will he be back?

Comments

|10.31.05 @ 5:22PM|#

The first movie was all action and style over substance, but it had novelty in the story line and special FX. But the sequel just plan sucked.

|10.31.05 @ 5:23PM|#

"Will he be back?"

No way. He has learned the key lessons of consituent politics. You can't take stuff away from people and get elected. There is a big difference between what people say they want and what they actually will vote for when their ox is to be gored.

|10.31.05 @ 5:39PM|#

Californians did not fire the loathsome Gray Davis because of his policies on teacher compensation. They fired him because he grew an already bloated and inefficient government to epic proportions

I wouldn't even go that far. Californians fired Davis because he had the personality of a cardboard box. Arnold would have won even if Davis had magically fixed spending and had $50 billion in surplus.

|10.31.05 @ 6:27PM|#

To paraphrase something Robert Ringer said a long time ago, I think what California was saying by firing Gray Davis was this: "I don't really care about the finer points of government. All I know is that my life is a lot worse than it was before that idiot Davis got in. I want my pie now - with ice cream on top - and if Arnold can't deliver the goods, then bring on the next guy."

The girl in the Weezer song summed it up: "Gimme, gimme..." That's the unofficial state motto of California...

|10.31.05 @ 6:33PM|#

Actually, I've been pretty happy with life under Ahnuld. Davis pretty much put out a "For Sale" sign on the capitol. Under Arnold, we've had no random blackouts, no raised (yet again) taxes, and no "and now we're in Sacramento where the government is on the verge of selling off most of the state to Nevada for $20 to make its bond payments" local newcasts.

But yes, he made the mistake of taking on some of the most entrenched, PR-savvy unions in the state. And now he's pretty much done for.

|10.31.05 @ 7:17PM|#

The girl in the Weezer song summed it up: "Gimme, gimme..." That's the unofficial state motto of California...

Ever since I've lived in California I've thought the state motto was, "It's not my problem," (I've never seen so many people who don't care if they're blocking up the highway by stupidly refusing to get out of the passing lane or who leave their damn shopping carts all over the parking lot for someone else to pick up) but "Gimme, gimme" will do just as well.

Not the governor's venue, but I'd vote for anyone who could overturn the asinine Ventura County Clean Water Act which makes it illegal for me to wash my car where I live for fear that some shit from the parking lot will end up in the ocean.

jimmy|10.31.05 @ 8:20PM|#

the voters fired gray davis cuz their electric bills went up and they had not even a high school-level understanding of economics. they didn't get rid of davis to put the state's financial house in order. jim walsh got it on the nose...gimme gimme...california is the state of the entitlement mentality. ahnuld ain't gonna be able to do a damn thing about it, even if any of his propositions manages to pass.

|10.31.05 @ 8:48PM|#

Arnold's political naivete and inexperience have been his downfall. Look, even if you have good ideas -- and I liked the California Performance Review -- a lot, you have to be able to sell your policies to the public and the lawmakers (you know, those folks elected to represent their constitutents under our republican form of government) and, yes, make deals. And it's hard work, to quote some fellow I saw on TV once.

Oh, and Proposition 76, Arnold's spending cap, is trailing by a 2-to-1 margin in the polls, which should tell you all you need to know about the popularity of libertarian governing principles in California.

Matt Welch|10.31.05 @ 8:57PM|#

trotsky -- I think he hasn't really been selling 76, and in any case how many consecutive "this time we're really balancing the budget!" propositions do we really need to pass?

|10.31.05 @ 9:28PM|#

It makes you wonder what he was seeking to do.

Remember high school?

Remember the kids that ran for Class President, VP, Treasurer, etc?

The kids that basically wanted to win a popularity contest and have something to put on their resum� for college?

Color me cynical, but that's all Arnold was seeking to do, but on a grand scale.

Matt Welch|10.31.05 @ 9:38PM|#

Remember the kids that ran for Class President

*cough*

|10.31.05 @ 9:58PM|#

...illegal for me to wash my car where I live for fear that some shit from the parking lot will end up in the ocean.

Now wait a minute. When you're washing a car, what is it you're washing off? Mainly mud and avian fecal matter, right? Well, isn't there already mud in the ocean? Helllloooooo...organic compounds...Dontcha suppose your average seagull might let one go while flying over the ocean? Jimminy Christmas, who comes up with this crap...

|10.31.05 @ 11:04PM|#

Don't you know that California is a trend setter state? If you want to know what the future holds, look at what's going on in California.

|11.1.05 @ 3:52AM|#

So when's that big earthquake supposed to happen? 20 million years from now seems like such a long time.

M1EK|11.1.05 @ 9:52AM|#

"Now wait a minute. When you're washing a car, what is it you're washing off? Mainly mud and avian fecal matter, right?"

And once again, libertarianism smashes environmentalism.

Think chemicals in the soap, Einstein.

And I wouldn't be so sure their only concern is the ocean - usually when you worry about this stuff it's for local streams / other groundwater sources.

But that doesn't sound as silly, so we can't say it. Never mind.

http://www.wasteless.org/Eye_articles/carwashing.htm

|11.1.05 @ 10:10AM|#

California sucks.

But not for long. I have big plans for that state.