California Über Alles!

Think I'll start focusing on a few topics near and dear to our hearts... and Schwarzenegger is first on that list:

Gov. Schwarzenegger is not the moderate he plays on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno;" rather, he is a pretty front man for a radical agenda at odds with the interests and priorities of most Californians. As the dog and pony show in front of the Brinks trucks in San Diego illustrates, he is perfectly willing to demonize teachers and other state employees and call on Californians to terminate the "special interests." Arnold could care less if his "reform" agenda does nothing to address the budget deficit or that spending tens of millions on his special election is not favored by most Californians (61 percent oppose it).

The governor is not a populist, but rather a political thug with rich friends. When his party can't win the seats necessary to support his agenda and the polls show his popularity tanking with his job approval at an all time low 40 percent, his gut tells him to impose his will.

None of this should come as a surprise. As Arnold's hagiographer, Lawrence Leamer, informs us in "Fantastic! The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger," the Terminator "believed that America needed a strong authoritative leader who could bring order and discipline to the near anarchy of democracy." Banking on the fact that governing by ballot initiative will allow his corporate allies to dramatically outspend and vilify his enemies so he doesn't have to negotiate with them, Arnold is hoping to conquer the inconvenient chaos of democracy.

Wanker.