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Governor muscles need to show some gonads
by H. Millard (c ) 2007 -- December 22, 2007
Back when Arnold Schwarzenegger was running against Gray Davis, I wrote some columns in support of Arnold. Other conservatives and folks on the right were pulling for Tom McClintock.
True, McClintock was the better candidate on the issues and was a true conservative, but I knew he couldn't win. If you still don't understand why, then you're probably now thinking that Ron Paul is going to win the GOP nomination.
Sorry, the world is full of good, intelligent, principled people with great ideas but these things alone don't win elections unless the candidate can present them in the right way. That usually means the candidate needs presence; as we say in the acting trade.
People today elect anchormen and anchorwomen, not back room thinkers. All the world has been a stage at least since Shakespeare. The difference today is that all the world is now also an audience. Appeal to the audience, and do it fast, or you're going to lose them.
McClintock did not have anchorman presence. Neither does Ron Paul. If we all voted just on what these guys write on paper without looking at them or hearing them, they'd probably win. But, that's not the way it is.
Sorry, folks, life isn't fair and the brightest and best don't win unless they also look like the brightest and best. You and I may not like this, but that's reality. That's the way it is. Get used to it, or forever lose.
My reasoning for backing Schwarzenegger in '03 was simple. Even if Arnold seemed a little liberal squishy, I believed that he was a guy who doesn't like losing when he says he's going to do something. He's a doer.
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Ask some other candidate about pounding nails and you'd probably end up with an 800 word document on the subject. My guess is that Arnold would just walk up and pound the damn thing in. The guy's whole life screams that out about him. He sees a problem and he fixes it. End of problem. And, of course, he also has presence.
When he was running against Davis, Arnold said he was going to fix California's fiscal crisis and other problems.
I knew that by saying that, he had painted himself into a corner and that to get out of it he'd have to take on illegal immigration or he'd fail. No matter how you slice or dice it, illegals are bleeding California dry in a thousand different ways.
And, in doing so, they are also creating a malaise among citizens who feel powerless to do anything and who see politician after politician get into office and then suddenly become geldings.
So, here we are near the end of 2007. And, so far, Arnold has failed. But don't count him out yet. He may yet wake up.
Right now, because of his failure, he's declaring a fiscal crisis in California. Why? Because he didn't take on the illegal alien problem. Why not? My guess is that once he got into office he was surrounded by the usual kiss-ass hangers on and suits and he thought he would have to start ignoring his instincts and listen to them. After all, they're the pros. Right? Wrong.
It's an old but sad story. Next to the throne there are always scheming and conniving people who just want to "help" the one sitting on the throne. Far too often, the one on the thrown is taken in.
Arnold should throw the bums out. He was right when he ran against Davis and he knows what he has to do now.
But, I think he's become timid as a result of that debacle where Arnold's advisors had him overreach on some initiatives and get trounced; not because they were bad ideas, but because they should have been piecemealed instead of pushed all at once. That probably left Arnold feeling like he had been knocked out of the saddle and made him a little hesitant about getting back on the horse. As a result, he's playing it safe. Too safe--it's making him fail.
Let me address Governor Schwarzenegger directly:
Come on Governor. Do you want to be Governor forever? To hell with that. You, unlike many politicians, have a full life outside of politics. You don't need the governorship to be somebody. You don't need politics to give you your identity or sense of self-worth. And, you don't need the bucks.
You know you can't be president because of that foreign born thing--hell, if you could, and if you were running right now against the midgets who the Dems and the Republicans are running, voters in both parties would want you as their candidate.
But, since you can't run for president, stop pussyfooting around and fix California. Damn the torpedoes. Get the illegal aliens out of this state and the fiscal problem will go away pronto.
What's holding you back? You have power. Use it or watch it atrophy.
Here's what I would do if I were in your boots. First, I'd call in Tom McClintock and, hat in hand, I'd ask for his honest advice. "Tom, this Millard guy says booting out the illegals will solve our fiscal problems. Is he right?" Then, I'd ask him for the names of some other experts who he thinks might have some insight on fixing California. I'd have them come up with all the numbers proving that this will work.
I'm not talking about bringing in toadies and yes men nor wild eyed radicals. I'm saying bring in some quiet spoken bright people who will give you their honest advice and who will back you if you take that advice.
You know who else I'd bring in? Pat Buchanan. He can help you get things straight, and he can help you with some speeches. Get yourself an honest brain trust, Governor.
A brain trust is like an orchestra. You're the conductor and you get all the glory, but you need the right people in the back to make the thing work. I don't think you've got all the right people in the back, right now. I think having to declare a financial emergency shows that.
Let me be as direct as I was in my columns back in '03.
Boot out the illegal aliens, Governor, or you're going to be a failure and the situation in California will just get worse. Period. Do it right, and maybe there'll be such a clamor to change the Constitution that you will be able to run for president.
