Governor's 'Coalitions of the Willing' are Artificial, Contrived
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By Roger Salazar
(published in the Capitol Weekly - September 29th, 2005)
The Bush Administration used the term "Coalition of the Willing" to describe multinational forces backing U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Bush description of the "Coalition" as evidence of widespread international consensus for the war in Iraq was criticized during the 2004 election because only 2 of the 49 countries identified in the "Coalition" contributed significant numbers of troops. (And no, I didn’t forget Poland.) Critics described the term "Coalition of the Willing" as nothing more than propaganda designed to mask the lack of worldwide support for U.S. policy. Gov. Schwarzenegger has adopted this same strategy in California – manufacturing artificial coalitions to create an illusion of support where none exists.
The first example followed the governor’s announcement in January that he planned to renege on his promise to fully fund education and shortchange schools by $2 billion. Not surprisingly, by March his support in the education community had evaporated and his poll numbers on education had plummeted.
The loss of support from the education community prompted Team Schwarzenegger to create Schwarzenegger’s Coalition for Education Reform, a phony group run out of one of his campaign consulting firms. While we know the governor has it out for teachers’ unions, his so-called "coalition" did not even include any of the management groups, like the school boards or administrators.
In fact, aside from members of his administration, this "coalition" merely included Republican party activists and beneficiaries of Schwarzenegger’s vocational education largesse.
The latest such "coalition" emerged last week with Schwarzenegger’s launch of the "Statewide Latino Coalition." This so-called coalition was conveniently conceived only after a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California revealed that the governor’s job-approval numbers had dropped to 17 percent–a record low among California Latino voters.
The "coalition" is chaired by Sen. Abel Maldonado (who needs Schwarzenegger’s fundraising support for his own run for state controller), and Rosario Marin, who is currently being paid more than $117,000 as a Schwarzenegger appointee on the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
There is no evidence that either of these so-called "coalitions" has any real grassroots support, a fact lending even further credence to the growing notion that Schwarzenegger’s official and political efforts lack substance and must rely on sleight of hand.
Californians are growing weary of his show. Actor Warren Beatty recently summed it up in a speech, saying, "Government’s not show business. Governing by show, by spin, by cosmetics and photo ops, fake events, fake issues and fake crowds and backdrops is a mistake."
Liberal Hollywood actors are not alone in this opinion. Even in the conservative central valley, the theatrics are wearing thin. Jim Boren, editorial page editor of the Fresno Bee, wrote: "Many, including Republican supporters, have been criticizing the governor’s ‘town hall’ meetings, which are actually tightly scripted meetings with people who will tell Schwarzenegger what he wants to hear. These events have become tiresome and counterproductive at a time when the governor should be confronting his critics with facts, not gimmicks."
When Schwarzenegger became governor, the voters knew that as a Hollywood megastar he wasn’t ever really going to be one of them. But they presumed, at least he would listen to what they had to say. After a year of phony events and phony coalitions, they now realize the unfortunate error in this presumption. Gov. Schwarzenegger may have the ability to manufacture his own "willing" coalitions, but he’s going to have a tough time manufacturing
"willing" voters.
Roger Salazar is a principal with the Sacramento political consulting firm, AcostaSalazar LLC. He was a spokesman for former Vice President Al Gore, and served in former Gov. Gray Davis’ press office.
By Roger Salazar
(published in the Capitol Weekly - September 29th, 2005)
The Bush Administration used the term "Coalition of the Willing" to describe multinational forces backing U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Bush description of the "Coalition" as evidence of widespread international consensus for the war in Iraq was criticized during the 2004 election because only 2 of the 49 countries identified in the "Coalition" contributed significant numbers of troops. (And no, I didn’t forget Poland.) Critics described the term "Coalition of the Willing" as nothing more than propaganda designed to mask the lack of worldwide support for U.S. policy. Gov. Schwarzenegger has adopted this same strategy in California – manufacturing artificial coalitions to create an illusion of support where none exists.
The first example followed the governor’s announcement in January that he planned to renege on his promise to fully fund education and shortchange schools by $2 billion. Not surprisingly, by March his support in the education community had evaporated and his poll numbers on education had plummeted.
The loss of support from the education community prompted Team Schwarzenegger to create Schwarzenegger’s Coalition for Education Reform, a phony group run out of one of his campaign consulting firms. While we know the governor has it out for teachers’ unions, his so-called "coalition" did not even include any of the management groups, like the school boards or administrators.
In fact, aside from members of his administration, this "coalition" merely included Republican party activists and beneficiaries of Schwarzenegger’s vocational education largesse.
The latest such "coalition" emerged last week with Schwarzenegger’s launch of the "Statewide Latino Coalition." This so-called coalition was conveniently conceived only after a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California revealed that the governor’s job-approval numbers had dropped to 17 percent–a record low among California Latino voters.
The "coalition" is chaired by Sen. Abel Maldonado (who needs Schwarzenegger’s fundraising support for his own run for state controller), and Rosario Marin, who is currently being paid more than $117,000 as a Schwarzenegger appointee on the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
There is no evidence that either of these so-called "coalitions" has any real grassroots support, a fact lending even further credence to the growing notion that Schwarzenegger’s official and political efforts lack substance and must rely on sleight of hand.
Californians are growing weary of his show. Actor Warren Beatty recently summed it up in a speech, saying, "Government’s not show business. Governing by show, by spin, by cosmetics and photo ops, fake events, fake issues and fake crowds and backdrops is a mistake."
Liberal Hollywood actors are not alone in this opinion. Even in the conservative central valley, the theatrics are wearing thin. Jim Boren, editorial page editor of the Fresno Bee, wrote: "Many, including Republican supporters, have been criticizing the governor’s ‘town hall’ meetings, which are actually tightly scripted meetings with people who will tell Schwarzenegger what he wants to hear. These events have become tiresome and counterproductive at a time when the governor should be confronting his critics with facts, not gimmicks."
When Schwarzenegger became governor, the voters knew that as a Hollywood megastar he wasn’t ever really going to be one of them. But they presumed, at least he would listen to what they had to say. After a year of phony events and phony coalitions, they now realize the unfortunate error in this presumption. Gov. Schwarzenegger may have the ability to manufacture his own "willing" coalitions, but he’s going to have a tough time manufacturing
"willing" voters.
Roger Salazar is a principal with the Sacramento political consulting firm, AcostaSalazar LLC. He was a spokesman for former Vice President Al Gore, and served in former Gov. Gray Davis’ press office.
posted by Roger Salazar & Andrew Acosta at 10:23 AM
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