Join The Mickey Kaus Club!
Blogger Mickey Kaus tells why he voted for Schwarzenegger (scroll down to October 7 entry). I voted for Schwarzie, too -- despite the efforts of several entrenched lefty friends who tried to perform numerous "interventions" by e-mail and telephone message. Well, I guess I'll have a few fewer dinner parties to go to this fall! Finally, here are a few choice words from Mickey on what's in store:
Bruce Cain, the overquoted Berkeley professor, was just on television sneering that the recall doesn't get California any closer to solving its problems. What an idiot. Schwarzenegger as governor will have weapons Davis doesn't have, the most important of which is the ability to go over the heads of the legislature and rally public support--behind a ballot initiative, if necessary. He might even be able to threaten to go into legislators' districts and campaign against them (although the state is so heavily gerrymandered there may be no unsafe "swing" districts left). You want to amend the state Constitution to get rid of the paralyzing requirement that two-thirds of the legislature approve any budget? Schwarzenegger is the man who can do it. You want a tax increase if cutting the budget isn't enough to close the deficit? Schwarzenegger's the man for that too. As a nominal Republican, he is in a position to attract at least some Republican votes for a budget package that includes both taxes and cuts. And if even an anti-tax candidate like Schwarzenegger tells the voters some increases are needed, they're more likely to accept it from him than from a Democrat whose first instinct is to pay whatever it takes to avoid public employee layoffs.
Mickey also picks up on another important point: That "Schwarzenegger's flaws are the very things that might actually help him perform better in office. Maybe a governor who is manipulative and mean is just the man to subdue the unions, the casino tribes and entrenched, free-spending legislators." We can only hope.
At least there ain't a Jewish barbie! But if there was...
cecile at October 8, 2003 8:23 PM