Saturday, July 30, 2005
Tough Times For the Terminator
Tough Times For the Terminator: "Arrayed against him is a coalition led by public employee unions and their private-sector allies. They have mounted an expensive ad campaign that has contributed to a severe slump in Schwarzenegger's poll ratings. The Public Policy Institute's July poll put his job approval at 41 percent among likely voters, down 22 points from January.
Polling on the budget proposal indicates it, too, faces an uphill battle, because it would trim education spending. Defeat on that issue would send Schwarzenegger into the last year of his term on a downward slide.
That explains why one of those directly involved in managing his initiative campaign said, 'We're preparing for war, but we're praying for peace,' a last-minute compromise with the legislature that would make it possible to cancel the special election. But the odds are against any such deal; a senior Schwarzenegger strategist gives it only one chance in five. The special election ballot also includes two issues of particular importance to conservatives. One would require notification of parents before a minor could receive an abortion. The other would force public-sector unions to get annual approval from each of their members to use their dues for political purposes. The GOP hard core wants to vote this year on those issues."
I just got an email from the local Republican party to attend a "Support Arnold" rally. The request made me realize that I had no reason to support him. I haven't a clue as to what he is doing. His press people have taken on the low-profile strategy, and so even those who would be most likely to support him don't know what he is up to. I do know that he was working diligently to make nurse to patient ratios lower, a healthcare decision that is just plain dangerous. Anyone who has visited a hospital recently knows that they actually tell you to keep family with you at all times, because nurses are so overloaded. That is a nationwide problem, so that is one clear strike against the Governator. I could care less about his magazine/supplements scandal. It just sounded like an easy strike for his opponents, not anything of real value of danger to the state. Because I am unsure of how I feel about parental notification and those types of issues, I wouldn't don an Arnie shirt and make up a sign for that. As far as the union dues issue, I don't really know enough about that either. It sounds like the conservative union members nationwide are being heard with the break-aways from the AFL-CIO. The memberships main objection, from what I understand, is the amount of due money being used for politics, but not used to increase membership. With MBA students learning how to become better employers so that unions are less necessary, it is no surprise that unions are losing numbers. There is still a place for them. Don't get me wrong. It is just not surprising that there are fewer places where they are as desperately needed as they once were. So I say to the local Republican party, rally away! I'm staying home.
Polling on the budget proposal indicates it, too, faces an uphill battle, because it would trim education spending. Defeat on that issue would send Schwarzenegger into the last year of his term on a downward slide.
That explains why one of those directly involved in managing his initiative campaign said, 'We're preparing for war, but we're praying for peace,' a last-minute compromise with the legislature that would make it possible to cancel the special election. But the odds are against any such deal; a senior Schwarzenegger strategist gives it only one chance in five. The special election ballot also includes two issues of particular importance to conservatives. One would require notification of parents before a minor could receive an abortion. The other would force public-sector unions to get annual approval from each of their members to use their dues for political purposes. The GOP hard core wants to vote this year on those issues."
I just got an email from the local Republican party to attend a "Support Arnold" rally. The request made me realize that I had no reason to support him. I haven't a clue as to what he is doing. His press people have taken on the low-profile strategy, and so even those who would be most likely to support him don't know what he is up to. I do know that he was working diligently to make nurse to patient ratios lower, a healthcare decision that is just plain dangerous. Anyone who has visited a hospital recently knows that they actually tell you to keep family with you at all times, because nurses are so overloaded. That is a nationwide problem, so that is one clear strike against the Governator. I could care less about his magazine/supplements scandal. It just sounded like an easy strike for his opponents, not anything of real value of danger to the state. Because I am unsure of how I feel about parental notification and those types of issues, I wouldn't don an Arnie shirt and make up a sign for that. As far as the union dues issue, I don't really know enough about that either. It sounds like the conservative union members nationwide are being heard with the break-aways from the AFL-CIO. The memberships main objection, from what I understand, is the amount of due money being used for politics, but not used to increase membership. With MBA students learning how to become better employers so that unions are less necessary, it is no surprise that unions are losing numbers. There is still a place for them. Don't get me wrong. It is just not surprising that there are fewer places where they are as desperately needed as they once were. So I say to the local Republican party, rally away! I'm staying home.
