The move is on by opponents of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to peel away many of the Democrats and independent voters who gave the politically slumping movie-star-turned-politician his victory in the recall.
Part of the reason it’s happening is that the novelty of Schwarzenegger’s celebrity seems to have worn off with the Democrats at the same time as Schwarzenegger’s rhetoric began taking on a partisan harder edge.
When he first came to power much of the talk was about Schwarzenegger’s can-do attitude, work-together goals and how he reminded many Californians (and pundits) of another former movie star who was governor and went onto the White House. You hear less of that now and more about how Schwarzenegger is slowly morphing into a more traditional California moderate Republican in the style of former governor and Senator Pete Wilson.
And, now, you can see how his opponents are preparing to hammer the message home that Schwarzenegger is not that much different than any Republican or Democratic governor in the past — a partisan:
California Treasurer Phil Angelides, on the East Coast to raise money for his campaign for governor, portrayed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bush as ideological soul mates Thursday, previewing what Democrats hope will be a potent message in the 2006 campaign.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger, in so many respects, reads off the Republican menu,” Angelides said. “He embraces what I call the Bush-Schwarzenegger low road.”
Speaking with reporters three blocks from the White House, the Democratic treasurer evoked Bush and Schwarzenegger’s names together repeatedly, recalling that the Republican governor campaigned for Bush in Ohio in the final days of the 2004 campaign.
“They come from the same lineage,” Angelides said, calling Schwarzenegger part of the GOP’s “30-year assault on fairness in our economy and opportunity for subsequent generations.”
All of this is likely due to Schwarzenegger’s big drop in the polls:
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating has dropped to 40 percent since he announced plans in January to cut school funding and privatize public pensions, according to an opinion poll. Four in 10 Californians surveyed said they approved of Schwarzenegger’s job performance, according to the poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, down from a 60 percent rating in January. The results mark the first poll by the institute to show an approval rating of less than 50 percent since the 56-year-old Republican took office in 2003.
Schwarzenegger has walked a political tightrope. He has taken strong stands on issues such as the environment and liberal stands on abortion and other social issues. On the other hand, he campaigned for Bush, has had to battle Democrats over his list of state reforms — thus setting himself up as primarily going against one political party — and due to the specificity of his reforms set himself up smack dab against groups such as the state’s teachers. Schools are crying foul because they say money he promised them is not being delivered.He has backed Bush’s economic plan.
If you view all of this taken together, he had to “tilt” in some direction and by default he is increasingly being seen as on the side of the California GOP — a perception with could hurt him with some voters. Democrat foes such as Angelides can be expected to attempt to accentuate these perceptions:
Angelides said the governor nevertheless shares Bush’s fundamentally conservative philosophy, noting that Schwarzenegger said it was President Richard Nixon who inspired him to enter politics, and that conservative economist Milton Friedman is his economic guru.
He likened Schwarzenegger’s “putting kids first” and “excellence in teaching” campaigns to Bush’s “Clear Skies” and “Leave No Child Behind” programs, which Angelides asserted do the opposite of what they claim.
“Schwarzenegger learned an important lesson” from watching Bush’s campaigns, Angelides said. “Talk the language of moderation and conciliation. Brand yourself in a Democratic state as a different kind of Republican.”
Even so, no one with an ounce of comment sense is counting Schwarzenegger out. He still boasts a lot of charisma, natural charm (which his foes do not see since they in heated battle with him over specific policies) and the ability to wow the press with his charisma, celebrity and charm. Plus: he knows how to use the media.
So unless his polls fall even more — and they could — Democrats may be underestimating their task if they run a standard politician against him in 2006. He hasn’t even said whether he’ll run for re-election. Most politicians do, but then Schwarzenegger has insisted all along that he’s not just another politician…..
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.