Full disclosure: I voted for Steve Westly in the California Democratic Primary this past June. Following Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's radical special election debacle last year I thought Mr. Westly's centrist approach to government would provide the best opportunity to unseat the over-reaching Republican incumbent. As such I was quite disappointed when Phil Angelides beat Westly for the Democratic nomination. Angelides didn't stand a chance against Arnold. Even in June he was perceived as hapless and weak against the "governator," and that perception has only increased in the months since.
In contrast, Gov. Schwarzenegger has re-grouped, found his groove, and spent 2006 working with Assembly Democrats on such long-term goals as upgrading our transportation systems & schools, helping stop global warming, and quadrupling the amount of money available to begin research on stem cells (despite a veto by his party's president of similar federal legislation). Other issues were tackled as well: the state minimum wage was raised, foster care reformed, and drug discounts for the uninsured secured. The overall result was one of the most productive legislative sessions in a long time.
In this mid-term election year the Republican president and his rubber-stamp Congress would do well to learn some hard lessons from the Republican governor of the largest state in the land. Bipartisanship isn't just a talking point for Mr. Schwarzenegger, it's how you get things done.
But what bothers me about Schwarzenegger is that he had to re-learn the lesson of bipartisanship after suffering an embarrasing loss at the polls last year. When the Democratic legislature wouldn't pass the bills the Governor wanted he went over their heads and called a special election in which $300 million was spent to take the issues to the voters. The voters were in no mood and soundly rejected every one of the ballot questions.
After the unnecessary 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis, the 2005 special election was another example of Republicans whining and moaning about elections and legislation not going their way and taking extraordinary measures to get what they want. Schwarzenegger's call for a special election (not to mention the manner in which he was able to become governor in the first place) left a bad taste in my mouth that hasn't completely gone away. Now he is cruising to what is expected to be a landslide victory on Tuesday and I am afraid that such a result will cause the Governor to slide back into "partisan mode" and over-reach again.
Or he won't. There is no way to tell. And therein lays my quandary.
Phil Angelides clearly lacks the leadership skills to build the coalitions needed to counter the egos and partisanship that stand in the way of progress in Sacramento. He has not articulated a compelling case for his election and as such I long ago decided that I could not cast my vote for him.
On the other side, Schwarzenegger, while proving he can build a climate of cooperation to get things done, has also demonstrated that when he is overconfident he can become too partisan and over-reach.
This is a tough call. Do I give Arnold the benefit of the doubt, cast a Republican vote in his favor, and hope he continues the bipartisan cooperation of the past year? My mind may change between now and Tuesday, but as of this writing I come down ever so slightly on the side of "no."
And so, as of today I will cast a protest write-in vote for Steve Westly on Tuesday.
