Gov. Directs Staff to Prepare for Special Election Campaign [Arnold's going "nuclear", too!]

LA Times ^ | 5/17/05 | Robert Salladay

[Timeout]

SACRAMENTO -- After five months of failing to sway Democrats to his "year of reform," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has directed his political staff to prepare for a special-election campaign that would denigrate the California Legislature and its union benefactors.

Escalating the governor's fight, chief political consultant Mike Murphy said Monday that Schwarzenegger may endorse an initiative that could hobble the money-raising machine of public employee unions. Murphy said the governor has asked him to conduct polling and voter focus groups on a so-called paycheck protection initiative.

"Arnold has not touched the Legislature with a feather yet compared to what the real campaign will be," said Murphy, one of the governor's closest advisers. "It's a referendum on the governor versus the Legislature, and he will win."

[Bullish]

Heck, a stinking smelly baboon could win vs this legislature.

These rats are wholly owned by the unions and special interest groups that bought and paid for them.

Go Arnold go!!

[calcowgirl]

I notice Murphy is doing all the talking these days.
It looks like Maria did clean house --no more Rob Stutzman? (ref link below)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1397070/posts

[SierraWasp]

The very idea of "Public Servant" unions is Oxymoronic to the MAX!!!

[NormsRevenge]

The Mike and Margita Show. :-)

[SierraWasp]

Wull yeah! Stutzman was too conservative according to the artickle (deliberately mis-spelled) and was out of step on Wilson's successful Prop 187 and is being blamed for the very thing (patting the border watchers on the back) that is bringing him back from over the cliff!!! The artickle din't say Morris frowned on this conservative stuff, it just implied that Morris did. At least that's the way I read it.

[calcowgirl]

ROFL. Gameshow losers from To Tell The Truth?

[NormsRevenge]

LOL.. On that note, G'Nite.

I have exceeded my daily FR ration again. ;-)

[Diplomat]

Then let me help you understand my position in easier terms.

My monthly electric bill with Davis $400.

My monthly electric bill with Arnold $200.

I frankly don't care what Arnold does becuase it is folly to believe he can get a solid majority rat legistlature to do anything constructive for my state. Thus the need for reformendums.

Rome wasn't conquered in a day. He cannot rollback decades of dem excess like a Simpsons cartoon.

Three rabid stray dogs could walk straighter lines than a democrat controlled panel can draw in this state. So yes, I think anything would likely produce Republican gains. I can see redrawn lines easily netting a half dozen seats and I think double digits is very possible. That would be of monumental help to a Republican congress. Besides, the map goes back to the people for a vote for approval.

A slice of pie is better than no pie.

[calcowgirl]

>>My monthly electric bill with Davis $400. My monthly electric bill with Arnold $200.

You're the first person I've heard of that has a decrease in electricity. What action do you attribute to Arnold that caused such a reduction?

>>Besides, the map goes back to the people for a vote for approval.

The new districts will be used in the instant election (the same election asking for approval of the districts).

If the plan gets turned down by the voters, the votes (from disapproved districts) still stand.

It's a bad law, IMO.

Also, other states have tried the same thing (with judges) and the districts turned MORE democrat! There is no indication that this will end up better.

[goldstategop]

Maybe not. But I don't think legislators should draw their own lines. It would be better to hand over the job to an independent redistricting commission but we'll take what we can get. Its true retired judges would draw the new lines but the safeguard is the people will have to approve them before they take effect. That should cut the mischief monkey-making down to a minimum. Only time will tell if it gets us a more accountable State Legislature. Hey, we didn't do so bad when a State Supreme Court Special Master drew the lines back in the 90s. Elections were competitive enough that Republicans won a majority in the State Assembly. My view is legislators should represent the people, not the other way around.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[A CA Guy]

Yep, by far the best of the people up for election that year.
I hope Arnold kicks some legislative buns.

[calcowgirl]

...the safeguard is the people will have to approve them before they take effect.

Not true. They will take effect immediately, in the same election that is requesting approval. If turned down, they will be revised prospectively only. Check the fine print. It's there in black and white.

[goldstategop]

In that case, its hard to see how one can justify any election. The one good thing about taking redistricting out of the hands of politicians is to take it out of smoke-filled backrooms and open it up to public debate. At least the supporters of new lines will have to justify them. It would be a good thing too, to have districts drawn on the basis of rational interests rather than what's good for politicians. The measure is supposed to preclude taking partisan data into account. In the final analysis, we can only evaluate the judges' handiwork by comparison it to the work product legislators did earlier. Whether it makes the good government types happier remains to be seen.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[EagleUSA]

The Gub needs to get a grip as well or all will be for nought.
-----
Agreed -- and I think that California's caring citizens know it. The big jaundiced eye in the sky is on him.

[NormsRevenge]

I frankly don't care what Arnold does.

Interesting statement. lolol

He and his underlings and the dems know that to be all too true of too many in this state.. ;-)

RE redistricting, What we most need in this state is what we least get of late so I wouldn't hold your breath for this one. You know the reputation for the CA GOP for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

PS .. It isn't decades of dem excesses, it started quite recently, actually, under another RINO gub's reign who rolled for the largest tax increasein state history in the early 90s... and guess what, Good Old Squeaky Pete now advises the Gub as well.

Deja Vu.. or just plain old stupidity?

[SierraWasp]

"Deja Vu.. or just plain old stupidity?"

THAT's IT!!! Just plain ol Pete Wilson STUPIDITY!!!

[Diplomat]

Exactly, it hasn't made a bit of difference whether we had a donkey or an elephant, they've all been rats at heart.

Thus, why not try another movie actor. The last one treated us quite nicely.

[NormsRevenge]

LOL.. Is Bonzo still alive and available? ;-)

[Diplomat]

I definately give Arnold credit for the rate reduction in the same way I give Reagan credit for getting the Iranian hostages released.

Davis was the most patently corrupt governor this state has ever seen and that is saying alot. Everything he did, and I mean everything, involved paying back contributors, from the prison guards, the teachers unions on through to electric providers Edison and PG&E. He fiddled while the state burned.

He agreed to rediculous rates, something no other state even remotely approaches. I believe it to be simple graft to his largest corporate sponsers, Edison and PG&E. A high school drop out could have made better business deals for the state with regard to electricity than Davis. Davis had oversight and control over the rate commision and he did nothing to increase capacity for his entire 5 years. Good riddence.

Please understand, if you live in Los Angeles, you were not subject to the rate increases that the rest of California took because you have DWP which is one the few remaining good legacies of Mulholland. It still controls more electric capacity than it consumes.

[TASMANIANRED]

Good on the Governator.

Let the people decide.