EBay ex-CEO Whitman plans run for California governor... Does anybody else find this "funny"? (Los Angeles: sales, how much)

[Mach50]

not funny

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by majoun

We have a governor who fits that description right now, and things are really crappy.

I sense Whitman would be even less able to handle California than Arnold.

IMO California really needs a Constitutional Convention to fix itself. (That way we can get rid of the two-thirds rule for passing budgets AND get rid of Proposition 8!)

first, i dont think anyone can argue that arnold had an easy job ahead of him. hes improved the situation since gray davis left in my opinion and hes constantly fighting the legislature which is too used to having its way in the state, which is good. the worst situation for the state or our nation is when the president and the legislature are from the same party. no balance is achieved, only partisanship.

as far as the constitution. the people voted using a valid way to alter the constitution. that is how our democracy works. and the 2/3 budget is a good thing, because it will always require compromise.

[happ]

If a woman is our next governor it won't be Whitman since she is Republican [the anti-GOP sentiment is California is at an all-time high]. If Diane Feinstein decides to leave the U.S, senate to run for governor no one will run against her. A wealthy San Francisco liberal is unbeatable. I can't stand Feinstein & have been hoping she would retire from the senate since she is so pro-corporate but I guess she'd be a more effective governor than Schwarzenegger.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I don't see California as being ultra liberal. I don't see us as being conservative either. If you look at Proposition 8 it won but not with the kind of victory that I would have prefered. Our two Senators won when they ran, but I don't think that a mandate was tossed out their that Boxer or Feinstein can do what they please. Even with Schwarzenegger I did not see a mandate that the guy took the state of California. Here in my area one of the final races was determined between a liberal and a conservative. The race was so close that it took weeks before anyone knew the outcome. Both candidates spent a ton of money trying to get elected. Both are what I would call career politicos. This is their life. In the end Tony Strickland won the election and Hannah Beth Jackson will probably be back in another race in a few years. Out of about 415,000 votes counted it came down to 800 votes in Stricklands favor.

Maybe some others can chime in on this but I see the state as being a moderate state at best.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Maybe some others can chime in on this but I see the state as being a moderate state at best.

I think California is a moderate state because both sides of the spectrum go every which way. Sometimes California is libertarian, sometimes it's environmentalist, sometimes it's religious, sometimes it's socialist, etc etc. California has a very schizophrenic voting populace.

[EscapeCalifornia]

William J. Le Petomane for Governor!

Can't do any worse than what we've got now.

[j760]

I don't see anything funny about it, she has just as much right to run as anyone else. And it seems like she truly cares about California and the direction it's going, and wants to do something about it.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

first, i dont think anyone can argue that arnold had an easy job ahead of him. hes improved the situation since gray davis left in my opinion and hes constantly fighting the legislature which is too used to having its way in the state, which is good.

I won't deny that I prefer Arnold to Davis but I fail to see any "improvement" in the situation. CA has had many budget crises before but this is the worst one yet, much worse than the one that got Davis recalled.

the worst situation for the state or our nation is when the president and the legislature are from the same party. no balance is achieved, only partisanship.

So why has Arnold had more trouble with Republicans than Democrats?
(I'll agree the Legislature is totally dysfunctional and hopefully the end of gerrymandered districts will help)

as far as the constitution. the people voted using a valid way to alter the constitution. that is how our democracy works. and the 2/3 budget is a good thing, because it will always require compromise.

Every other state in the US manages to get along without the 2/3 rule.

It brings out the worst diva-ish, attention-***** type qualities in politicians, who will be obstructionist merely for the sake of obstructionism to feed their egos and their need to be in the spotlight. It also helps to make the state ungovernable.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by happ

If a woman is our next governor it won't be Whitman since she is Republican [the anti-GOP sentiment is California is at an all-time high]. If Diane Feinstein decides to leave the U.S, senate to run for governor no one will run against her. A wealthy San Francisco liberal is unbeatable. I can't stand Feinstein & have been hoping she would retire from the senate since she is so pro-corporate but I guess she'd be a more effective governor than Schwarzenegger.

Feinstein's threatened to leave the Senate to run for governor before but with the Dems now controlling the Senate she has power and influence greater than she's ever had. Hopefully she will use some of that to help California even if I disagree with many of her positions. She would be more able to help the state in her current job than she could as governor. She's also getting up there in years - she's not only older than Jerry Brown but also older than John McCain.

I don't know about ANY wealthy SF liberal being unbeatable (albeit Feinstein is no more a liberal than Arnold or Mike Bloomberg are conservatives) - I think Newsom COULD be beaten in a statewide race, even by someone as conservative as Whitman (although a Meg v. Gavin race would be a very close one). In the very unlikely event that Pelosi ever stepped down from being Speaker and decided to run for Governor, I'm really not sure if she'd win. Jerry Brown would be unbeatable, but if he doesn't get the nomination I think John Garamendi would do better than the others - as he not only has the (D) next to his name which would help him in the urban counties but could appeal to rural and inland California voters due to his Central Valley roots and "Western" style.

[DezertGirl]

I admire Whitman. If voted in, however, she would still be powerless against the Legislature and the unions. I wish her luck.
We're still leaving....