The Collectinator Has No Clothes

Once again, the Collectinator has failed to deliver for California. Schwarzenegger talks a big game, but his follow-through has been atrocious.

As a reminder, “Schwarzenegger campaigned as a Republican who could work with the White House and pledged to make demands of the federal government. He vowed to recover ‘more than $50 billion’ from the federal government, saying the state pays more money to Washington than it gets back. ‘By the time I'm through with this whole thing, I will not be known as the Terminator — I will be known as the Collectinator,’ Schwarzenegger said while campaigning.” (Fox News, October 16, 2003)

In 2004 “Bush's budget, however, did little to help the state.” (CNN, February 22, 2004)

Now the LA Times reports that while Arnold jaunted off to China with his $10,000-a-head corporate buddies, the Governor did next to NOTHING as congressional Republicans were trying to force through some budget cuts in order to pay for the War in Iraq and their botched response to Hurricane Katrina response. “Republican-backed budget cuts moving through Congress threaten to hit California with billions of dollars in lost aid, putting some state social services in jeopardy and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at risk of yet another political setback.”

The proposed Republican cuts include, “provisions that, in California, would make it tougher to get child support from tens of thousands of deadbeat parents, would strip food stamps from legal immigrants, and would make less money available to doctors who treat low-income patients.” (LA Times, November 25, 2005)

Californians might have hoped that “The Collectinator” would use his Republican ties to put a stop to this – What bold move would the Guv employ to stop these cuts dead in their tracks? ONE LETTER.

Yes, Arnold did write a letter to the California Republican Reps urging them to vote no, and only after significant pressure from Democrats. Not a visit, or a phone call, or a press conference … a letter. Arnold’s letter turned out pretty much like his special election: this guy is zero for life. The same Times article reports that every single one of Schwarzenegger’s buddies in California Republican Delegation voted in favor of the cuts.

This turn of events, while upsetting, is not wholly surprising considering Arnold’s flimsy grasp on how one actually gets the President to send federal dollars our way. Earlier this year, while campaigning for Bush, our Governor said he wouldn’t be upset if his appearances didn’t translate into more money for California: "What I don't want to see is that I stopped at one stop that maybe we get an extra billion dollars -- and (New York Gov. George) Pataki stopped 15 stops for Bush and gets $15 billion more." (CNN, February 17, 2005)

After wasting millions of dollars in the special election, then losing billions more while off in China, how much longer will the people of California buy this guy’s empty promises?