Gubernator Elect - A California Moment

[akirlu]

It's hard not to be a little disappointed in the voters of California. The state has real problems created by complex, nearly intractable circumstances. The claim that this is somehow the fault of Gray Davis was always partisan propaganda of the worst sort, and particularly hypocritical partisan propaganda, given the Republican fingerprints all over the California energy crisis and the FERCs decision not to interfere with it, the defunding of federal monies for state governments, the hobbling of the collection of California property tax, and the miscellaneous hokum about California being bad for business. And the chances that a posing playboy Austrian weightlifter can do diddly to make it better are pretty well nil.

But in the long run, the fact that the Gropenator has no chance at all of being an effective governor of California may be a good thing. Look at the redistricting of Texas. The Republicans got their shot, and they're making a hopeless hash of it. Look at the Presidency and the war in Iraq: the Republicans got their shot, and they're making a hopeless hash of it. PR sells, and it sells big. Fame and propaganda work, up to a point. But sooner or later the plan makes contact with the enemy, and at that point, the laws of physics take over. PR doesn't create jobs and it doesn't balance budgets and it doesn't stop bullets and it doesn't produce WMDs. So long as Republicans are dumb enough to believe their own lies, they will always run into trouble when they hit the part of the narrative where only facts will serve. Believing its own lies may have ultimately been the biggest factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union, and it has at least as much potential to precipitate the demolition of Schwarzenegger's governorship.

All it really takes is holding the press accountable for holding the governor accountable. Let us watch the watchers, and keep those cards and letter coming.

Comments

[numbat.livejournal.com]

Really there is only two things you can say to the Californian electorate. The first being, do you recall what happened the last time an Austrian immigrant was elected to high office? The other, hasta la vista, baby!

Actually I don't suppose that other Austrian was an immigrant as such but it does make for a good line.

[redbird]

The fall of the Soviet Union had a lot to do with American willingness and ability to outspend them on military matters. Who's going to do that to the Republicans, and how long are we going to have to wait?

[numbat.livejournal.com]

I assume they will do it to themselves. Of course they will bankrupt the USA in the process so I wouldn't consider it something for you to look forward to.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

The spending war was a way to apply pressure to a system that had lost contact with reality. There are other ways to apply pressure to systems that have lost contact with reality. Reality comes to mind. Scrutiny is important, but the heavy lifting will be done by false theory running smack into cold fact.

[marykaykare.livejournal.com]

An article on the CNN site says it was women and white folks who elected Arnie. (Women!) And their main complaint with Davis seemed to be the economy. I don't know what those folks are smoking to make them think Davis is responsible for that, but they oughta quit it.

MKK

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

But if true, I take that to be a very good sign for ousting Bush in 2004.

[marykaykare.livejournal.com]

That is, of course, a very good point. Let us hope their attention span stretches that far. (This thing has made me feel really cynical and disgusted.)

MKK

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Alas for the country, I don't really think the state of the economy in fall 2004 is going to be sufficiently better for voting domestic issues is going to be a matter of attention span. Unless it's measured in miliseconds.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

I was just reading about some of the things which seem to be being done in the interest of tweaking the economy enough to make it seem to be improving, and that just in time to be soothing for the '04 election.

The drive to devalue the dollar is one of those, amusingly we have caused a number of countries, outside the U.S. to want the dollar to remain high as they have (with a bit of urging from us) pegged the local currency to it.

So driving the dollar down is proving more difficult than it might have seemed.

Here's hoping.

Terry

the consolations of philosophy

[maryread.livejournal.com]

You have cheered me up.