Governor Schwarzenegger’s statement in the Los Angeles Times today could have come from the mouth of Ronald Reagan.  Of those Democrat members of the Legislature who refuse to cut spending that our state can’t afford, he said: "[d]o they want to protect the workers that provide the services, or do they want to protect the people that get those services?   The choice is up to them."

     Indeed it is.   The Governor has put on the chopping block a myriad of proposals to reduce wasteful and unnecessary spending.  All the Legislature has to do is connect-the-dots and begin shaping budget Legislation that truly balances the budget.  What the Governor gets after the Props. 1 election fiasco, is that government works for the people, and not the other way around.   The Democrats in the Legislature still don’t get that yet; as they feel, despite a huge electoral loss, that government is there for them to exercise power over all God’s things, including blueberries, and at the same time cuddle their state union comrades with unreasonably high wages and benefits, and in some cases needless jobs that don’t help anybody except their foul system of tax-and-spend.

    And the Governor is prepared to implement what can be termed "the nuclear option."   Shutting government down when the money runs out.   BRAVO!  As the Governor said to the Times editorial board as reported today, "What we need to do is just basically cut off all the funding and just let them have a taste of what it is like when the state comes to a shutdown – grinding halt."

     This is not defensive football.   The Governor is on the offense, carrying a big stick, and conservatives should be cheering their heads off.  The debate is no longer about tax increases — the Democrats offensive position.   It is about spending cuts!  This and tax cuts are OUR offensive positions.  

     I am reminded of the show-down between Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton over spending when the Republicans controlled the Congress.  Newt held out long enough for Yosemite National Park to close for a few days.   (I even got kicked out of the Ahwahnee Hotel the first day this happened – because of the budget impasse, of course!)  But pundits claim Bill Clinton ultimately won that show-down, and say it lead to the demise of Newt in Congress.

     The situation today in California is no parallel, however.  In this case, Arnold is the executive, like Clinton was.  Clinton did have to give into cuts, but he was skillful in painting Newt as the Grinch.  Here, Arnold is leading the charge.  In this case, if there is any parallel, it is that Sharon Bass is no match for our state executive in the media.   And Bass can’t be said to have any legal mandate other than to follow the state constitution and balance the budget, along with a political mandate to do it without raising taxes, given the results of the recent special election.   Whether she accepts these mandates or not, the Governor has, he understands that the "people rule," and he therefore deserves our recognition and encouragement.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.