Why Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
is Bad for California

• He's a shill for the big insurance companies (yes, that's part of any politico's job description: dance with the one that brung ya, but it's unprincipled and opportunistic) which makes his policies bad for the people of California. He ought instead to support SB 840, Sen. Sheila Kuehl's single-payer healthcare proposal.

• He ought not veto smaller proposals such as the requirement that HMOs and PPOs pay for smoking cessation programs. His regressive positions on these issues are pure pandering to insurance company campaign donors.

• His Republican-party-line anti-taxation stance defies reality. Nobody likes paying taxes but it must be done. Smoke-and-mirrors budgets just postpone (and worsen) the unavoidable. Sooner or later the infrastructure and services we expect and demand must be paid for. His motivation is appeasement of the conservative, wealthy campaign-donating portion of his constituency but ultimately it does us all a gross disservice.

• His macho strong-man Terminator/Predator persona is childish, undignified and inappropriate for the thoughtful, reasoning approach that is required for any job of great power and responsibility. Macho men like "The Decider" go to war and make "Bring 'em on" pronouncements. But if you're not a statesman, a diplomat, a listener, a visionary, a consensus-builder, you're not qualified for the job. Schwarzenegger is an embarrassment.

-- Dan Keller, April 2010