57% say NO to Arnold's re-election

When asked whether they wanted to re-elect the "Governator", Californians answered with an emphatic NO F'ING WAY! Nearly 60% of those polled said they would not vote for Arnold in 2006.

Also, for the first time in the poll, Arnold loses a head to head matchup with both of his declared Democratic rivals, Phil Angelides and Steve Westly.

31% Approval...Single Digits Soon to Come

The hapless "Governator" has hit a new low, 31% approval. In just four months, Arnold has plummeted 23%.

Other notes from the poll:

-Approval among Republicans is down 18%
-Only 17% of those polled have confidence in his ability to solve the annual state budget crisis
-Just 28% favor his special election after learning of the cost
-By a 2:1 margin, non-partisan voters would now back the Democratic state legislature in any confrontation with Schwarzenneger

Tune in next month when Arnold's approval rating may hit the single digits!

8 issues, 80 million

So I'm sure when you aren't worrying about the recent wave of earthquakes, you're probably wondering what was so damned important that Arnold couldn't wait until March to have you vote on it. Here goes:

Waiting period and parental notification for girls under 17 seeking abortions.
The latest back door abortion measure by the pro-lifers would require girls under 17 to wait 48 hours AFTER notifying their parents they are seeking an abortion to undergo the procedure and would require doctors to report all abortions performed on minors. The fact that the very girls that are likely to have unwanted pregnancies in their teens are usually the same ones that don't have decent caring parents to talk to never seems to dawn on the pro-life movement.

Union employee consent for political contributions.
Union busting at its finest. Requires unions to receive the consent of their members before making political contributions. Corporations continue to get a free pass...

Reapportionment.
One of three Arnold-driven initiatives, the proposal would take the power to draw legislative boundaries away from the legislature and give it to an independent commission. Probably not a bad idea in and of itself, but it would require an immediate redistricting like Texas had under DeLay. That makes it an absolute non-starter in our opinion.

Education funding.
Perhaps the slimiest of all the Arnold initiatives. If state revenues fell short of what they were the previous year (a VERY likely scenario), the proposition would give the Governor unilateral power to slash education funding if the legislature couldn't produce a solution in 45 days...and thanks to the 2/3rds majority required to pass any spending/revenue bill in the legislature, its almost certain they will be unable to meet the deadline.

Teacher Tenure.
The proposal would increase the length of time before a teacher can aquire tenure from two to five years. During this period the teacher can be fired at any time. The state has a massive shortage of teachers, so lets make it easier to fire them...thanks Arnold.

Prescription Drugs.
The bill would expand access to low cost prescription drugs to any individual making less than $37k per year and any family of four making less than $75,000 (400% of the federal poverty level). Not surprisingly, the bill was vetoed by Arnold last year as a pay off to his contributors in the pharmaceutical industry.

Prescription Drugs.
The pharmaceutical industry responds...It would allow citizens to buy into a discount program that no pharmaceutical company is required to take part in. In other words, the bill does absolutely nothing. The only thing it can do is sufficiently confuse the electorate so the other initiative fails with it (this has happened more than once in California electoral history). On behalf of California's poor and middle class, we'd like to offer a one finger salute to the big pharmaceutical companies for this one.

Electricity Re-Regulation.
Pete Wilson left a big steaming turd called energy deregulation on California's lawn and poor Governor Davis stepped right in it and wrongly took the blame. This bill begins to correct the damage wrought by Wilson. The bill also requires 20% of California's energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2010, seven years sooner than previously mandated.

Power to the People!

A day after announcing his special election, Arnold was nearly booed off the stage while giving the commencement address at Santa Monica College.

Teachers and students turned their back on him, protest signs were held up ON STAGE (some literally behind his head as he spoke), and as a cascade of boos came down from the crowd, it is said the "Governator" himself began to turn red.

In case you missed it, check out the photos here.

Truly a glorious moment in California.

Special Governor Calls Special Election

And by special I mean "special" like Ralph Wiggum on the Simpsons...

After months of childish threats and divisive Pete Wilson-esque rhetoric, Arnold called his special election. News traveled slowly in the Golden State as the "Governator" was pre-empted by the Michael Jackson verdict in most of the state. Once the people heard though, they weren't pleased. Eighty million dollars for a couple of Arnold's pet projects isn't what they had in mind when they put him in office.

The election will be more of a referendum on Schwarzenegger than anything else and if his measures lose badly, he may not even bother seeking re-election.

We'll give a run down of the eight ballot initiatives and where we stand in a few days.

Another New Enemy for Arnold

Another week, another broken promise from Arnold. The California Prison Guards Union will be voting to decide whether to increase dues by $33 per year (nearly 50%) to wage an ad-war against the "Governator". What's their beef? Well, it seems people don't like when the Governor breaks his word, which he seems to do often. The guards agreed to give back $108 million to the state in exchange for a few concessions on assignments for their members, after previously agreeing Schwarzenegger has now said no. On the surface, this seems to be an exact replay of Arnold's broken promise to the teachers. With any hope, the prison guards will be as successful in their War-on-Arnold as they have been.