Guest Post by Morbo
I’ve always viewed the political rise of muscle-bound actor Arnold Schwarzenegger with alarm. The man based his campaign on vapid slogans from his bad action films, and California residents were unable to shake the stars out of their eyes and see that their hero was simply not qualified for the job.
It was not so long ago that some Republicans were actually talking about changing the Constitution so Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria, could run for president. This is the man who made “Hercules in New York.” Had the whole world gone mad?
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for reality to set in. Schwarzenegger’s act got thin really fast. He soon learned that overseeing the sixth-largest economy in the world is not like running a movie set. For a while Schwarzenegger tried to run the state through the sheer force of his personality. It worked for a time, but now Golden State residents seem weary of it. Schwarzenegger’s approval ratings are worse than President George W. Bush’s. Things have gotten so bad that the action-figure-turned-governor recently had to bring John McCain in for a photo op. The big Hollywood star needed some outside star power.
Now a Berkeley physician named Kenneth Matsumura wants to recall Schwarzenegger. Matsumura has set up a website and says he plans to collect the one million signatures necessary to force a recall.
I want to see California under adult supervision as much as anyone, but I don’t think this is the way to go. The state can’t keep holding recall elections every two years. It’s starting to look like a banana republic.
Truth be told, I’m not a fan of recall elections generally. Once the voters put someone in office, he or she should stay there until the next election — unless that person is convicted of a crime or there is overwhelming evidence of law-breaking. I don’t accept buyer’s remorse when it comes to elections. This isn’t like purchasing a pair of pants and taking them back the next day because they make your butt look big.
Besides, Gov. Groping-Bundle-of-Steroids will be up for reelection next year. At the rate he’s going, it should be an easy matter to send him packing back to Tinseltown where he can immediately begin work on his next explosion-laden piece of celluloid effluvia.
Matsumura doesn’t want to wait.
“We need a mature leader who can work with our legislature to fix what is broken so that our public hospitals won’t vanish, our libraries can be open on weekends again, and our schools and fire stations won’t have to close.
“With Schwarzenegger in office, we are facing a disaster. We don’t have a whole year to fix this,” the disgruntled medical researcher said.
I understand the frustration. But recall elections are expensive and time-consuming. Arnold’s day of reckoning will come soon enough. Californians simply must be patient and in the meantime let their legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, know that they consider Gov. Terminator a lame duck.
And just for the record: No, I don’t think Warren Beatty is a suitable replacement.