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Dan Walters: Schwarzenegger's legacy is written in red ink
Sacramento Bee ^ | 1/26/10 | Dan Walters

Posted on 01/26/2010 7:54:42 AM PST by SmithL

Arnold Schwarzenegger, with 11 months remaining in his star-crossed governorship, says it's "a little bit too early to reflect" on his legacy – but California voters appear to be rendering their verdict already, and it's not a positive one.

Schwarzenegger once enjoyed some of the highest approval ratings ever recorded for a California governor – 65 percent during his first months – but the latest Field Research poll, released on Sunday, found that just 27 percent of registered voters approve of his performance, and 59 percent say he'll leave state government in worse condition than he found it.

Schwarzenegger professed to be unconcerned about his popular standing Monday during an appearance before the Sacramento Press Club and, instead, said he would devote his final months in office to closing the state's whopping budget deficit – without new taxes – and pressing the Legislature on budgetary, taxation and public pension reform.

"This is the year we have to do these," Schwarzenegger said.

Fat chance.

Schwarzenegger is a lame duck Republican who's distrusted by GOP legislators and whose prescriptions for reform and balancing the budget are anathema to the Democrats who control the Legislature. Those conditions, plus his own lack of popularity, give him no leverage to create the legacy he, of course, wants even as he professes disdain for such petty motives.

Truth is, his last year as governor will almost certainly be dominated by the issue on which he was elected and which continues to bedevil him six-plus years later – the perpetually imbalanced state budget.

Schwarzenegger contended during Monday's appearance that had the budget reforms he proposed to voters in 2005 been adopted, rather than overwhelmingly rejected, the state's multibillion-dollar deficits would have been much smaller.

(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: goldenstate; schwarzenegger; smokeandmirrors; yourtaxdollarsatwork

1 posted on 01/26/2010 7:54:44 AM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL

...Arnold gets a bad rap...that state is ungovernable...50% of the households there are non English speaking...there’s no coming back from that.


2 posted on 01/26/2010 8:01:28 AM PST by STONEWALLS
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To: STONEWALLS

Let’s not forget to mention the mandated spending from the people or the pensions and government employee costs.


3 posted on 01/26/2010 8:14:36 AM PST by misterrob (Have you tea bagged a liberal today?)
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To: STONEWALLS
[California] is ungovernable...

This gets closer to correct each year.

From the Walters' peice, Schwarzenegger contended during Monday's appearance that had the budget reforms he proposed to voters in 2005 been adopted, rather than overwhelmingly rejected, the state's multibillion-dollar deficits would have been much smaller.

I'll give this much to Arnie. It's true.

Then, however, he flipped into an instant Keynesian and "governed" in clear fear of the legislature and the leftie press.

What makes this especially bad is that he (allegedly) KNEW better.

Arnie is an horrific failure. (Angelides would have been much, much worse, however.)

.

4 posted on 01/26/2010 8:16:44 AM PST by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. W. Churchill)
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To: Seaplaner

Voops!
“peice” should be spelled as “piece”
Peace, out.


5 posted on 01/26/2010 8:19:09 AM PST by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. W. Churchill)
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To: SmithL
Dan Walters is a whiney leftist and Union loving tool.
6 posted on 01/26/2010 8:19:55 AM PST by ncalburt (San Fran Nan , Your Harvey Milk was gunned down by a fellow Dem-RAT)
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To: Seaplaner; misterrob

...the thing that’s really scary about California is that it often predicts what’s in store for the rest of us.


7 posted on 01/26/2010 8:29:28 AM PST by STONEWALLS
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To: SmithL

Arnold is getting a bad rap. I don’t think he fully understood that spending, in California, are from 95% voter approved initiatives.

He would have to unravel hundreds of voter approved initiatives of which he is powerless to do. It would suicide, politically, in any case.

The only thing he can do is waive his hand once in while to make it look like he is doing something.

He has furloughed workers, who have sued in opposition. Wish I could have sued when the companies I worked for decided to layoff. Could have saved some heartache but, oh well.

The Prison Guard unions aren’t willing to suck it up either. Don’t blame them really. They have bills based on their current income and the mortgage companies don’t much care about your employer reducing your take home pay by whatever means.

The good news is, the house is going to burn down and we can design a new one.

The ultimate remodel.


8 posted on 01/26/2010 9:20:49 AM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously... You'll never live through it.)
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To: SmithL
Schwarzenegger once enjoyed some of the highest approval ratings ever recorded for a California governor – 65 percent during his first months – but the latest Field Research poll, released on Sunday, found that just 27 percent of registered voters approve of his performance, and 59 percent say he'll leave state government in worse condition than he found it.

This is the kind of performance that propelled Mitt Romney to Presidential candidate.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

9 posted on 01/26/2010 9:31:04 AM PST by ansel12 (anti SoCon. Earl Warren's court 1953-1969, libertarian hero, anti social conservative loser.)
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To: SmithL

Maybe if he had blown up some boxes and imposed a 3 year freeze in spending, supported Prop 209 and 187 and enforced it and actually fought for it in DC instead of groveled for dollars .. maybe this state&nation wouldn’t be in the fix it is in.

Instead, he borrowed 15 billion to bail out the dems, chased businesses out of California by chasing vapour and pushing AB32, no matter, his cred is zip and anyone who lets him off the hook ought to rethink their logic.


10 posted on 01/26/2010 9:48:07 AM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Chuck DeVore - CA Senator. Believe.)
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To: SmithL
After Arnold's Ballot Propositions Measures failed, he gave up. That was during his first year in office.

The State Employee Unions spent Millions of Dollars in advertising against those reforms.

I live in CA. With the Libtards running Sacramento, a Republican Governor, even a RINO like Arnold, can't get anything done. All he can do is slow the Marxist takeover.

When Jerry Brown gets elected Governor, which he will, the State is finished.

11 posted on 01/26/2010 9:51:06 AM PST by Kickass Conservative (There is nothing Democratic about the Democrat Party...)
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To: Vendome
Arnold is getting a bad rap. I don’t think he fully understood that spending, in California, are from 95% voter approved initiatives.

He made his bed by passing two initiatives, props 56 and 57, the former of which blew out the last of the Gann spending limits.

He knew very well what he was doing because it was what his handlers wanted:

  1. Borrow too much money,
  2. Institute favorable regulations to kill their competitors,
  3. Create a bankruptcy,
  4. Buy the worthwhile pieces for chump change,
  5. Outsource everything you can.
Wahla!
12 posted on 01/26/2010 9:58:15 AM PST by Carry_Okie (They were the Slave Party then; they are the Slave Party now.)
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To: STONEWALLS
the thing that's really scary about California is that it often predicts what's in store for the rest of us.

Oui.

The leftists take full advantage of this. Our legislature is continually and continuously introducing new confiscations of our property and freedoms, openly hoping that they catch on nationwide.

The number of taxpaying citizens leaving the Golden State would astound anyone but the legislators, who (sadly) do not know where money comes from.

.

13 posted on 01/26/2010 10:39:27 AM PST by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. W. Churchill)
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