Anyone making these allegations has obviously not seen the movie Predator. In one of his finest big-screen performances, Swarzenegger leads a group of special forces soldiers in a South American jungle in battle against a virtually invisible and seemingly unstoppable enemy. The group soon finds out that they're being hunted by the Predator, a creature from a different world. The interesting angle here is that all of man's war technology fails and Arnold is forced to resort back to his basic hunting instincts to defeat his alien foe. Only after Swarzenegger starts sticking his wits to the Predator does the balance of power shift back to the humans. Arnold ends up winning the battle by using the Predator's own hunting techniques--making himself invisible, setting traps, etc.--and beating the adversary at his own game.
It appears that Swarzenegger's struggle in the tropical jungle of South America resembles his battle in the political jungle of California. He presently faces a formidable task in "crushing" the partisan leeches sucking the livelihood out of their state's taxpayers. By using the same "back to basics" approach he used in Predator, however, the Governator has experienced substantial doses of success. He's thwarted California's corrupt political machine and held legislators more accountable to their constituents. He's punctured the cushions of bureaucracy by threatening to put his ideas on government directly to the voters in special elections. Swarzenegger has brought democracy back to the people.
And now it appears that the balance of power has begun to shift. The governor hopes to cap state spending so that it cannot grow faster than revenues, introduce pension schemes for new state employees not based on defined benefits but on defined contributions, tie teachers' pay to merit not tenure, and have an independent panel of retired judges--not the lawmakers themselves--draw the state's constituency boundaries in future elections. On top of all this, Swarzenegger intends to either abolish or reform over 100 state boards and commissions, thereby eliminating some 1,000 political appointments.
Swarzenegger still has a long way to go to restructure California's poltical landscape. He faces strong opposition from across Democratic and Repulican party lines. Indeed, the Governor has made many enemies with his complaints that, "We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem." But, this unlikely legislator has thus far been effective in overhauling the state legislature by donning his blue suit, kissing babies, and winning the approval of voters. He's resorted to using the techniques of his political peers to defeat them in their own game. Swarzenegger deserves some credit for working among the turkeys in California and pushing his state to vote for Thanksgiving. Maybe Arnold can succeed in turning the tables and defeat the predators in Sacramento by preying on them himself.
And now it appears that the balance of power has begun to shift. The governor hopes to cap state spending so that it cannot grow faster than revenues, introduce pension schemes for new state employees not based on defined benefits but on defined contributions, tie teachers' pay to merit not tenure, and have an independent panel of retired judges--not the lawmakers themselves--draw the state's constituency boundaries in future elections. On top of all this, Swarzenegger intends to either abolish or reform over 100 state boards and commissions, thereby eliminating some 1,000 political appointments.
Swarzenegger still has a long way to go to restructure California's poltical landscape. He faces strong opposition from across Democratic and Repulican party lines. Indeed, the Governor has made many enemies with his complaints that, "We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem." But, this unlikely legislator has thus far been effective in overhauling the state legislature by donning his blue suit, kissing babies, and winning the approval of voters. He's resorted to using the techniques of his political peers to defeat them in their own game. Swarzenegger deserves some credit for working among the turkeys in California and pushing his state to vote for Thanksgiving. Maybe Arnold can succeed in turning the tables and defeat the predators in Sacramento by preying on them himself.
