Looking back at the lengthy summer impasse on passing a state budget, you have to wonder if anyone has thought about the importance of including the ideas of legislative Republicans in the policy discussions taking place on health care. For a moment, after the budget finally passed, I felt like I caught a wind of changing tactical consideration by the Governor’s office — an olive branch of diplomacy, centered around the idea of being more inclusive of Republican legislators in order to avoid this kind of stalemate.
Yet, we look at the issue of this health care, and because Republicans have made it clear that they do not support increasing taxes (or taxes called "fees"), all of the other common-sense ideas that they are putting forward to increase consumer choice and market-driven cost reductions for health care, are just being shelved. It would appear that the Governor is not willing to work with those who feel that individual responsibility, not "shared responsibility", should be an important consideration when guiding discussions on health care policy. Never mind that this is a bed-rock principle of the party of Reagan.
Well, I can only say that if the Governor wants to take his "bi-partisan, party of one" tour back on the road, like he did when he saddled California with AB32, that this kind of activity does not illustrate a Governor who wants to "bring everyone together" — rather it demonstrates a calculating politician who sees that it is easier to pass and sign legislation by going to the liberals, forging agreement with them, and then signing, in essence, their policies into law. It would seem that in a great deal of very important areas of public policy, Arnold has developed a pattern — stake out a spot in the very middle of the battlefield, then turn towards the Democrats’ position, and run there as quickly as possible.
Not only does this lead to extremely poor public policy being adopted that is bad for California, and its people, but it will lead to even more acrimony in pursuing necessary Republican votes on those (few) matters that require a 2/3 vote.
There was a lesson to be learned from the budget stand off. The lesson was that in working together with the members of his own party in the legislature, the Governor establishes and maintains relationships that will serve him will regardless of the specific policy area. But as long as the Governor’s game plan is to bolt for the enemy lines, leaving his party and its principles far behind him as he runs, it is only going to make it that much tougher to work with the GOP on important issues.
It is also becoming harder for anyone to take the Governor’s talk of being a "moderate" seriously anymore, as he embraces extreme ideologically liberal positions on major public policy issues.
Instead of making public appearances with Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s husband, the Governor should be considering how to really integrate Republican principles of individual responsibility and less government intervention into the issue of health care.
Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?
Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.