What do Californians think of their governer? (Arnold: home, unemployment rate)

[eureka1]

That steroid-crazed lunkhead hasn't made good on ONE of the improvements he campaigned on, has provided zero leadership for "breaking up the the boxes". The state government is in shambles and you guys are giving him a pass.
Villaragosa and Newsom are empty suits,too.

[Morwyn_7]

Originally Posted by sav858;7718262[B

]I don't agree with everything he does and am sometimes disappointed in him but I still think he is way better than Gray Davis. At least he has the balls to go after that corrupt as hell Prison Guard Union unlike Davis[/b]. It's easy to blame the governor for all of CA ills but I think the legislature is to blame the most. They've done far more damage with their far left and far right BS than anything Arnie has done. The legislature is full of partisan blowhards who just appeal to their whack job party bases. Gerrymandering has screwed up this state and hopefully that will change with Prop 11, which Arnie was a big supporter of.

It could be worse IMO. If you think Arnold is bad now try to imagine this state being run by someone like Gavin Newsom, who would probably be even worse than Davis.

I agree with you.

[mmouwse]

I don't think he has fulfilled his promises to Californians, but he certainly has achieved most of his personal goals.

[MapleLeaf]

What I always liked about Terminator that he is in politics not because of money (imho). He could've make millions as an actor or simply on comercials.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I think he's the bottom of the barrel of the Kennedy clan. He's no JFK, that's for sure. At this point, I am starting to think he's not even on par with younger generation drunken and drugged out Kennedy's, and AFAIK, he's sober.

[Huckleberry3911948]

only one so far other than ronald reagan that did not take office bought and paid for.
that and i probably really like conan the barbarian alot. californians dont like people that tell them to stop over spending and stop invading our country.

[NorCal Dude]

I love Aarnold and I think he is one of the greatest things California has seen in along time. If we had less do nothing politicians and more people who took the initiative like him this state would be a lot better off.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

Yet he hasn't accomplished what he got voted in to do the first time. Hopefully he got reelected because he had weak opposition, not because of his accomplishments. That must be the story for the rest of the state government too... they were all voted in, and some have been reelected. So why are people complaining about the CA state government again? Seems to me they are happy with the way things are going since the same people keep getting reelected

Angelides had the SAME exact positions as Arnold on every issue but no charisma, so he didn't have a chance in hell.

As for the Governator: I think he's a good person and he did have the best intentions of the state in mind but I don't think he has the negotiating skills or the political skills to deal with an out of control legislature filled with attention ***** divas on BOTH sides of the aisle and entrenched special interests, not to mention being unable to anticipate how bad the economy would get. Ultimately he's just a slick pitchman/empty suit - a "celebrity politician" of the sort CA seems to breed too many of these days (also see: Newsom and Villaraigosa - although Arnold unlike those mayors actually was a celebrity rather than a politician living a celebrity lifestyle ; Gavin and Tony would've been better off going into acting). If times were good he'd probably be an OK governor but he's not the guy you want in charge in times of crisis like right now. Real life is not the screen and his governorship can now officially be pronounced a failure as the state is going through the bleakest time in its history. Perhaps a noble failure (given that he sought to restore the old centrist consensus that once was dominant in CA, and more pro-gay and pro-choice Republicans are always welcome) but a failure nevertheless.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

The big hope for Arnold was that he would be able to control the legislature. Arnold is a moderate and the goal was that he could play man-in-the-middle against the left/right wingers. However once the financial crisis hit it proved that the legislature was much more extreme and out-of-touch than anyone thought. I think in the next election a lot of state legislators are going to find their careers coming to an end.

I hope you're right, but I'm not so optimistic. Part of the problem is that Californians think the legislature is bad, but their legislator is ok. I don't see that mentality changing, unfortunatley.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I agree. I'm letting Arnold "off the hook" because I don't believe anyone can solve the problem without changing the legislature. As long as you have extremes of left and right no centrist can bring them together. It's combat-style politics - there is no middle ground.

Californians keep re-electing these crazies and approving crazy propositions that we can't afford to pay for. The government is for the people, by the people. The looney lefties and bible thumpers and well-armed rancher survivalists have taken over the state legislature.

I agree wholeheartedly on all counts.