The Bad Arnold

All the bipartisan good vibes came to a crashing halt at the beginning of this year. In a blustering, swaggering State of the State speech, Arnold unveiled his so-called Year of Reform agenda and issued what sounded like an ultimatum to the legislative Democrats: either rubber-stamp it or face a special election, which he could easily win.

That he had recently called these same legislators "Girlie Men" didn't help. Nor did his new agenda, which demanded approval of measures that would roll back pensions of state employees, extend the probationary period of teachers under the guise of educational reform and give Arnold more budget authority over the legislature. His proposal to transfer redistricting power from lawmakers to a panel of retired judges--a worthy notion that at least edges away from partisan gerrymandering--ticked off Republicans as well as Democrats.

After spending his first year virtually unopposed, the governor ran into immediate political gunfire. His pension reform proposal was so poorly drafted that it denied benefits to police widows; Schwarzenegger was forced to withdraw that measure quickly. Then he bumbled right into an unanticipated war. California nurses were angered by his opposition to lowering patient-to-nurse ratios, and they protested loudly. The governor returned the favor early this year, saying publicly of the nurses that he was "kicking their butts." The California Nurses Association began infiltrating his fundraising events and booing him.

All of a sudden the anti-Arnold movement caught fire. Tens of millions of dollars in labor-funded commercials derided Schwarzenegger's reform agenda as heartless and cast the governor as a man who went back on his promises. The spots, featuring a perplexed fireman, police officer or teacher, ended with the tag line, "Not the governor we thought you'd be."

"He made a lot of rookie mistakes," says Los Angeles Republican consultant Allan Hoffenblum. "You can't attack the public-employee unions in this state without looking like you're attacking nurses, teachers and cops--people that Californians have warm feelings about."

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