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The Recall Recalled
Oct. 8th, 2003 09:04 amWell, it's over and a popular but not particularly talented actor has been elected governor of the most populous state in the Union. I can't help but feel that this whole things bodes poorly. Politics, already discredited in a nation that seems to think the job of governing the people is a job for scoundrels, has been reduced to just another form of entertainment. Yes, it's been 40 years since another mediocre actor entered politics and worked his way up to the White House, but Ronald Reagan always seemed to play the role of a serious leader. Arnold has made no pretense of that. His campaign was simply entertainment, lumped in with a whole lot of exhibitionism and self-promotion.
This may have been an exceptional case, due to the insipid recall laws, but this may be the future. What's more, the Republican Party, which was once dignified to the point of stodginess, has learned how to use the new rules while the Democrats seem to be trying desperately to avoid sinking to such depths. I'll always been proud of the fact that the candidates I support are not showmen, but there comes a point when you have to ask if it's better to win by slieght of hand or lose honestly but let the other side ruin all you hold dear. (This is why I think Howard Dean, a man who really has not impressed me otherwise, may be the Democrats' best choice, as he seems to be willing to use slieght of hand and to turn Bush-baiting into entertainment.)
An odd thought: We always hear about all the "Holloywood liberals." But I cannot name a single Democratic actor or celebrity aside from Bill Bradley who won office, while I can name entertainers Arnold, Reagan, George Murphy, Clint Eastwood, Sonny Bono, and Fred Thompson; and athletes Jack Kemp, Jim Bunning, Steve Largent and JC Watts. There is nothing to fear from those Hollywood liberals, it would seem, aside from bluster. Say this for Arnold: he doesn't make idle threats.
As for the particular election, I wonder if Arnold will regret running. Now he faces reality. He faces manages a state with an uncontrollable legislature and an economy that dwarfs that of most nation-states. He faces being a social moderate in a party increasingly controlled by dictatorial conservatives. I think it's a good thing that he's pro-choice and pro-gay rights and that he can't legitimately oppose all immigration, but will he try to make his voice heard next year? Or will he get in the "one big uni-mind" line behind Dubya?
In any case, I wish him luck. I doubt he'll have any more luck making the California economy work than Davis did, but it's too important to sit here and hope he fails. My adivce to him: read everything he can about Jesse Ventura's term as governor of Minnesota, and then do the opposite. Leave behind the overtly theatrical, leave behind that "I'm a majority one" nonsense that does in "outsiders." (Someone with Warren Buffett and PEte Wilson as advisors is not an outsider.) Treat the leaders of the legislature as partners, not the enemy. If he can do that, if he be a governor and not a character from one of his lesser films, maybe he'll surprise us.
But I'm not optimistic, and suspect that the "Recall Arnold" movement will be resounding by this time next year.
This may have been an exceptional case, due to the insipid recall laws, but this may be the future. What's more, the Republican Party, which was once dignified to the point of stodginess, has learned how to use the new rules while the Democrats seem to be trying desperately to avoid sinking to such depths. I'll always been proud of the fact that the candidates I support are not showmen, but there comes a point when you have to ask if it's better to win by slieght of hand or lose honestly but let the other side ruin all you hold dear. (This is why I think Howard Dean, a man who really has not impressed me otherwise, may be the Democrats' best choice, as he seems to be willing to use slieght of hand and to turn Bush-baiting into entertainment.)
An odd thought: We always hear about all the "Holloywood liberals." But I cannot name a single Democratic actor or celebrity aside from Bill Bradley who won office, while I can name entertainers Arnold, Reagan, George Murphy, Clint Eastwood, Sonny Bono, and Fred Thompson; and athletes Jack Kemp, Jim Bunning, Steve Largent and JC Watts. There is nothing to fear from those Hollywood liberals, it would seem, aside from bluster. Say this for Arnold: he doesn't make idle threats.
As for the particular election, I wonder if Arnold will regret running. Now he faces reality. He faces manages a state with an uncontrollable legislature and an economy that dwarfs that of most nation-states. He faces being a social moderate in a party increasingly controlled by dictatorial conservatives. I think it's a good thing that he's pro-choice and pro-gay rights and that he can't legitimately oppose all immigration, but will he try to make his voice heard next year? Or will he get in the "one big uni-mind" line behind Dubya?
In any case, I wish him luck. I doubt he'll have any more luck making the California economy work than Davis did, but it's too important to sit here and hope he fails. My adivce to him: read everything he can about Jesse Ventura's term as governor of Minnesota, and then do the opposite. Leave behind the overtly theatrical, leave behind that "I'm a majority one" nonsense that does in "outsiders." (Someone with Warren Buffett and PEte Wilson as advisors is not an outsider.) Treat the leaders of the legislature as partners, not the enemy. If he can do that, if he be a governor and not a character from one of his lesser films, maybe he'll surprise us.
But I'm not optimistic, and suspect that the "Recall Arnold" movement will be resounding by this time next year.
