The nomination by Governor Schwarzenegger of State Senator Abel Maldonado really comes as no surprise, I suppose. Oh, there were plenty of theories about potential picks of people outside of the State Legislature, but if the Governor was going to pick a sitting legislator, Maldonado is a natural. The reason for this is that this Governor is so erratic and inconsistent that it is safe to say that he has no over-arching political ideology that is guiding him through his time as the state’s Chief Executive. Instead, everyone – even those closest to him – have stopped trying to predict his behavior, knowing that to try is folly. The only areas in which the Governor has maintained some consistency is his vetoing of those few bills each year that the CalChamber identifies as “job killers” (while signing vastly more bills that cost jobs but didn’t make the list) – and he has been “channeling” Al Gore on global warming for quite a few years now. Abel Maldonado is similarly erratic and unpredictable. Both Schwarzenegger and Maldonado seem to relish in the attention that they garner – “Oh, what will they do?”
This dynamic duo of inconsistency causes me much anguish because they are not Democrats – but rather make their home in my party, the Republican Party. Yet, in doing so, both of these politicians spend a tremendous amount of time and energy attacking not only the Republican Party, but actually decrying the influence of political parties in general – seeing ideologues of the left and the right not as people committed to ideas and ideals, but as some sort of robotic slaves to partisan dogma. It is very unfortunate because, as Republicans, both of these gentlemen are causing great damage to the GOP, by creating confusion and muddying the perception of Californians about the principles and policies for which the Republican Party stands.
At a time when President Barack Obama is taking America in the wrong direction, Schwarzenegger has publicly praised him for all of his terrible, expensive and government-expanding initiatives including the so-called “stimulus” bill, cap and trade (or as we call it, cap and tax), and now he has expressed support for Obama-care, government health care for America. Understand these are all policies that Republicans in Washington, D.C., have shown remarkable unity in opposing.
Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger does some good things – just look at judges like Jim Rogan and Chuck Poochigian. But it should be that that the bad things – the things that increase government regulation – are rare, and the good things should be the order of the day. Unfortunately it doesn’t work this way.
I’ve become fond of saying that getting through the rest of this Governor’s administration is going to be like passing kidney stones – a long and periodically very painful process. The nomination of Abel Maldonado as Lieutenant Governor would be a great example of that saying being prophetic. Maldonado is a “mini me” of the Governor, and will continue to promote the idea that the “problem” in the Capitol is lack of consensus in the mushy middle – that everyone is too partisan. Guess what? Partisanship is not a problem, it is the way that representative government works in a two-party system. The goal of the Republican Party is not to co-govern California with Democrat Party that is hopelessly in the clutches of both uber-liberal whackos, or those owned lock, stock and barrel by the public employee unions. The goal of the Republican Party is to draw a constrast with the behavior and politics of these liberal factions, and attain our own conservative majority. A Republican majority that will scale back the vast, and over-reaching tentacles of state government, and return freedom, freedom and responsibility to Californians.
If one steps back and looks a the advances of progressives across America since the 1800’s, you realize that those of us that are advocates of a limited government in America and in the states, as envisioned and articulated by our Founding Fathers, are locked in an epic battle against a left that is quite comfortable with incremental growth in the size and power of the administrative state.
My reason for waxing on philosophically is to add some context to the idea that while most Republicans in the State Capitol are wired to think about their time in Sacramento as their opportunity to be warriors in the cause of staving off big government, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abel Maldonado are quite content with the idea that big government is okay, as long as it is governed in a “post-partisan” manner.
All of this to say that I am extraordinarily dispassionate about whether Maldonado is confirmed or rejected by the legislature. If not in registration, than certainly in deed and work, the Senator is an independent. I see opportunity in the 15th State Senate District, if vacated, for the GOP to pick up that seat (as I said, I don’t feel like we have it now – the recently released CRA scorecard has Maldonado voting with the Democrats over three-quarters of the time on major bills this last session).
This confirmation fight will be between the Democrats at the “Post-Partisans” – and will make for fun spectator sport. I will tell you this, neither the Governor nor Maldonado should take the votes of legislative Republicans for granted in confirming Maldonado. In talking to many GOP legislators, it is clear that Maldonado is not going to be winning any popularity contests.
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