Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

The New York Times declares Schwarzenegger Is Dealt a Stinging Rebuke by Voters:

Mr. Schwarzenegger staked his time, his prestige and several million dollars of his personal fortune on the ballot campaign that he said was needed to fix a dysfunctional political system. The governor must now return to Sacramento and try to re-establish ties with Democratic leaders in the Legislature with whom he has been engaged in a bitter election campaign lasting for months.

Time is even more direct:

When a Hollywood studio invests heavily in a movie that turns out to be a box-office flop, the polite euphemism is: "The film didn't find an audience". California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had a similar problem finding his audience in the state's special election yesterday. The former Hollywood star had backed four government reform propositions; by Wednesday morning it was clear that all four were voted down in a crushing rejection of the governor's program for change.

Sensing defeat, the Republican governor made the tactical decision to give his election night speech to supporters in a Beverly Hills hotel long before the final results were tallied. "In a couple of days victories or losses will be behind us," he said, and then got off the stage fast before the real bad news became official. Unlike in Hollywood, there was no chance to make up for the flop with DVD sales.

What about the local press?

The San Jose Mercury News writes that "Schwarzenegger Faces 'Resounding Defeat'"

In a stunning rebuke to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Californians on Tuesday were voting down all four ballot initiatives on which the Republican governor had staked his clout and popularity.

By 11:30 p.m., all of the governor's initiatives were down in the polls.

Two had been left for dead: his signature measure, which would constrain state spending and rewrite the state's school funding formula, and a redistricting proposal. Measures on teacher tenure and public-employee union politicking were behind by smaller margins.

If the results hold, the special election would mark the biggest political setback for Schwarzenegger, who had enjoyed enviable popularity and success since his victory in the historic 2003 recall election that ejected Gov. Gray Davis. And it would be a huge victory for Democrats and, especially, public-employee unions that have fought Schwarzenegger relentlessly this year.

The LA Times hints ominously at what this means for the future:

The problem, however, was that Schwarzenegger never seemed to make the transition from celebrity to chief executive. The obvious comparison is to another actor-turned-California governor, Ronald Reagan.

Ken Khachigian, a longtime Republican strategist who was a speechwriter in the Reagan White House, said of Schwarzenegger's rhetorical habits: "It was like, 'OK, we've heard that stuff.' This is different now. This is policy and substance, and the speeches should have used a little different rhetoric."

While Schwarzenegger's approach "worked well in the recall," Khachigian said, "The problem is that it didn't wear very well over a period of time. After a while he was a governor, not an actor, and it's quite a different role."

A Republican strategist and occasional Schwarzenegger advisor put it more bluntly Tuesday, saying privately: "The act is getting stale."

We should also not forget that this is an enormous victory for the Gropenator's opponents, particularly the unions that banded together and proved that they are not the political anachronism that some on the right like to think they are.

And, while celebrating our victory/Arnie's defeat, we should also recognize that today is the first day of the campaign to get rid of this B actor and D minus governor once and for all next November.

-- Stu