What a difference two months make.
The FlashReport has been around for almost five years now (only recently as a website) — I’ve been publishing consistently since Arnold Schwarzenegger splashed onto the political scene. First with
his ballot measure, Proposition 49, where he promoted after school programs, and right on through to his campaign for Governor, his pledge to review and reform the way state government works, his drive to pass reforms in a special election after they were rejected by the legislature, and into this year. If you are a regular reader of the FlashReport, you would have to notice the distinct change in rhetoric lately. Especially since I would routinely get e-mails until two months ago asking why this site was a ‘propaganda machine’ for the Governor.
The change in my commentaries about the Governor’s proposals started with the announcement that Democrat activist Susan Kennedy would become his Chief of Staff (which took place 50 days ago according to the count-up clock). Right behind that was a series of policy announcements so painful to me that it has been like passing kidney stones — a $222 billion (‘max out the credit card’) infrastructure program, a rise in the mandatory wage regulation on California business, and then the introduction of a budget that worsens, not improves our state’s deficit (after two years of marked progress).
Even worse, all of this done as some sort of ‘apology tour’ for last year’s campaign efforts to reform the system. Why an apology? He was correct on every count. Now he has changed his course far from that which garnered him my vote over my good friend, Tom McClintock.
It is my sincere hope, as a conservative, that I will be able to find some things to be a bit more positive about in the coming weeks and months from a policy perspective from the Governor. But due to all of my pointed editorializing on these policy initiatives, and one lame staff hire, I really feel that it is important for me to circle back to something which I have been saying all along, but want to restate with some emphasis.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a great guy, whom I respect, and who I know has a great heart.
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