Does anyone ever make the wrong decision for principled reasons?
Reading the defenders of Tookie Williams in today’s news coverage, I couldn’t help but to be struck that every single critic of the governor dismissed his conclusion to reject clemency as a decision made for political purposes. Some talked about Schwarzenegger’s need to placate conservative voters, while others admitted that the majority of Californians support the death penalty and that Arnold didn’t want to offend them heading into re-election. But every single proponent for clemency automatically dismissed the idea that the governor genuinely believes that Williams deserved to die for his crimes, and that refusing to admit guilt for those crimes precludes the possibility of redemption.
Of course, this works both ways. Last week, the governor’s conservative critics assailed his hiring of Susan Kennedy, also arguing that the appointment was made because of political motivations. Arnold is moving to the left because of his defeat in the special election, he’s looking to reach out to disaffected moderates, Maria has cast a magic spell upon him, etc, etc. Few took him at his word that he believed that Kennedy could run his office effectively.
Schwarzenegger is not unique in this regard. President Bush has been assailed since the day he took office for catering to his conservative supporters. Opponents of the Bush agenda can’t fathom that he might actually believe that lower taxes create economic growth, that fighting a war in Iraq could make the world safer, or allowing faith-based resources to be used to help the poor and the disadvantaged might help improve their lives better than failed government bureaucracies.
Is it at all possible, though, that Schwarzenegger or Bush (or any politician, Republican or Democrat) can occasionally make a decision with which we disagree for reasons other than political expediency? Is it possible that they may actually be acting on their instincts and their beliefs, and that all of us might not always agree with those beliefs? Just wondering….
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go beat up on Fabian Nunez for caving in to pressure from the union bosses.