Arnoldo No Es Amigo De Mexico

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In a missive entitled “Nunez Goes Good Will Hunting in Mexico,” the California Republican Party is arguing that the best way to determine whether you are having a positive impact on public policy is by counting the number of times your name pops up in the LA Times archive.

When you use that kind of metric, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Team Schwarzenegger has been oblivious to their leader’s 40 point drop in the polls and his sliding support among Hispanics in California. (Governor Losing Hispanic Support, Orange County Register, July 25, 2005)

Here’s the bottom line, in addition to being California’s largest trading partner, Mexico shares a border with California. Gov. Schwarzenegger has failed to foster relations with Mexico for the last year and a half and now California-Mexico Border issues are coming to a boil.

While virtually ignoring Mexico, (his only visit has come in the form of a two-hour dinner) Schwarzenegger did find loads of extra time to visit Japan (which, last I checked, does not share a border with California).

Now, Governors Napolitano of Arizona and Richardson of New Mexico have “declared emergencies in their states to free up federal money and help combat smuggling and violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.” (Sacramento Bee, August 20, 2005)

Arnold applauded their move on KFMB radio in San Diego, but then his advisor on Mexico policy (and press secretary) Margita Thompson later said there was no need for an emergency.

I guess they weren’t getting that many hits on the LA Times archive. Here’s one I found:

“Positive and negative, Mexico matters to California….None of this seems to matter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the almost two years since he became governor, he has not traveled to Mexico and appears uninterested in establishing a relationship. He angered already cross Mexicans with his recent praise for the concept of Arizona's "Minuteman" border vigilantes. He suggested, in a later-modified statement, that California should "close the borders" with Mexico.” (LA Times Editorial July 14, 2005)

Here’s a better measure of Governor Schwarzenegger’s commitment to improving and fostering relations with Mexico. Type “Mexico” in the search bar of the Governor’s official website.

The result? : “No Search Result Returned: Total number of documents found: 0 in 0 seconds.”

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