The
Governor's Re-election Campaign
June 13th, 2005
Today marks the beginning of the fight for
the future of California, and the question to be decided when Governor
Schwarzenegger calls the special election for November can be distilled to
this: can we survive as a State if he loses this fight? I don't think we
can.
Make no mistake about it, the Governor's
re-election is this November, not November 2006. This special election is
going to be a referendum on his government, and if he loses the reform
battles this fall he will never get re- elected as Governor next year. If
he wins the special election, he will be re-elected. And the fortunes of
every other Republican candidate for statewide office hinge completely on
Governor Arnold's success this fall. (Note to donors: don't waste your
money on any GOP statewide candidates until the special election is decided
in Arnold's favor).
Lest you disagree with my analysis, just look
at what the California Teachers Association did over the weekend. They
voted to raise dues $50 million to fight the Governor's agenda (shouldn't
that money be going to the classroom?), despite the most bloated education
budget in the history of the State being proposed this year. They
understand the stakes, as evidenced by what they have already spent just
this year blasting Arnold with negative messages. This election is a
bonafide showdown and the stakes are enormous.
It is instructive to look at how we arrived
at this point. In 1998, largely on the back of teacher and public employee
union support, the Democrats swept seven of nine statewide offices and
captured massive majorities in the State Assembly and State Senate. It was
a liberal dream come true! Now they could run the State with Gray Davis at
the helm, without worrying about Pete Wilson's veto pen, and they went hog
wild, raising the State budget over 50% in four years despite warnings from
many quarters against doing so. California's economy began to teeter, the
budget deficit became the largest in nation's history, power shortages
abounded, the Workers' Compensation system (after huge benefit increases
signed into law by Gray Davis) drove jobs from California by the thousands
and California's credit rating plummeted to junk status, the same as many
third world countries. The State Legislature, by now full of leftist
wackos, responded to these problems by granting driver licenses to illegal
immigrants, passing legislation for universal health insurance and adopting
an idiotic paid family leave system. By 2002 the State was in a full scale
meltdown - with the union backed Democrats ruining the finances of the State
for generations to come. So answer this, union member: what the
hell are you protesting? You created this mess! You got the government you
wanted and your people bankrupted California!
A recall became necessary, and history was
made in October 2003. With Arnold's historic recall victory a real
opportunity was laid on the table to undo some of the damage done by
Democrats, and the Governator went right to work, refinancing a chunk of the
State's debt, winning a game of political chicken on the ILLEGAL immigrant
driver licenses, beating back leftist initiatives to expand government even
further, and reforming the Workers Compensation system with the guidance of
Senator Chuck Poochigian. Although the Governor has yet to propose anything
close to a conservative budget (spending has increased $15 billion on his
watch - still not enough for the unions), his reform agenda has been
successful in restoring the economy and the business climate. The result
has been booming revenues to the State Treasury, up over $7 billion the past
two years from the additional economic activity.
Now we come to Armageddon, the special
election in November. Prominent issues abound, but the most important one
may be the "Paycheck Protection" initiative, which will require union
members to given written permission for their dues to be used on political
matters. The State of Washington passed this initiative a few years ago and
the political participation of union members went from 77% to 6% in two
years. This is a critical piece of reform. Unions can protest "fat cat"
donors all they want, but in California they outspend the "fat cats" 3-5 to
1 on political campaigns.
There will also be measures regarding
parental consent for a minor child to have an abortion (leveling the playing
field with such other medical procedures as ear piercing) and spending caps
for the State Budget. The liberals will counter with a prescription drug
price regulation and electricity re-regulation. Teacher tenure is also sure
to be an issue for this election, which is why the teacher unions are in
such a tizzy.
Clearly, the Democrats have learned nothing
for their mismanagement of State government and they oppose all efforts to
get State finances under control. They continue to call for more taxes on
small business owners and have proposed over forty other "job killer" pieces
of legislation just this year. They call for more regulation, oppose
reform, and want higher taxes. So now, its time to sit back, listen, and
choose our course. If Governor Schwarzenegger doesn't prevail, you can kiss
California goodbye. Restoring liberals to power is not an option. We tried
that once, and we are still trying to recover from the disasters they
created.
Michael Der Manouel, Jr. |