Category: Old Dish

Some at the Los Angeles Times are not too happy this morning.

The French establishment is rattled by this thing called “democracy.” Le Monde’s editorial today – from the front-page headline, “Danger Californien – continues, highmindedly:

“California is known for its capacity to innovate. Every new trend from Los Angeles or San Francisco generally ends up crossing the American continent from west to east, and then the Atlantic. The trend launched on Tuesday October 7 is worrisome. . . . [Mr. Schwarzenegger’s substance doesn’t worry us.] No, it’s the process that led to “Arnie’s” victory that should worry us. Here’s a state with 35 million people and a GDP about the size of France’s. . . . And yet here’s a state where, at a cost of millions of dollars, voters can dismiss a sitting governor barely eleven months after his election. . . . Laboratory of the United States, California has been no less a testing ground for democracy itself over these past 20 years: more and more, by means of referendums and “citizens’ initiatives,” direct democracy has stolen a march on representative democracy. Thus Mr. Schwarzenegger, like his predecessor, will have his hands tied with respect to something like 70% of the state budget on account of constraints imposed by successively restrictive referendums. This state of affairs results, to be sure, from the electorate’s distrust of the political establishment. Schwarzenegger’s populist victory is but a further illustration of this point.

Some of these points, are, of course, valid. But one of the pleasures of this victory is watching the Europeans squirm, harrumph, and privately marvel.

In the Wall Street Journal this morning, I ask a simple question: in terms of gay rights, what are Republicans for?

Tom Maguire backs me up. With more data.

Ralph Peters lets it rip. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)

Not just a victory but a landslide. Mickey explains far better than I why this is a good thing. Roger Simon gets the basic point: the Eagle revolution. It’s a potentially excellent development for the state of California, for punishing a certain type of interest-group-beholden Democrat, and really, really good news for the future of the Republican party nationally. (Can you imagine how gloomy Alan Keyes is this morning?) Money quote:

Bruce Cain, the overquoted Berkeley professor, was just on television sneering that the recall doesn’t get California any closer to solving its problems. What an idiot. Schwarzenegger as governor will have weapons Davis doesn’t have, the most important of which is the ability to go over the heads of the legislature and rally public support–behind an initiative, if necessary. He might even be able to threaten to go into legislator’s districts and campaign against them (although the state is so heavily gerrymandered there may be no unsafe “swing” districts left). You want to amend the state Constitution to get rid of the paralyzing requirement that two-thirds of the legislature approve any budget? Schwarzenegger is the man who can do it. You want a tax increase if cutting the budget isn’t enough to close the deficit? Schwarzenegger’s the man for that too. As a nominal Republican, he is in a position to attract at least some Republican votes for a budget package that includes both taxes and cuts. And if even an anti-tax candidate like Schwarzenegger tells the voters some increases are needed, they’re more likely to accept it from him than from a Democrat whose first instinct is to pay whatever it takes to avoid public employee layoffs.

But Arnold also shows that Eagle politics can work – fusing low-tax conservatism with social tolerance and a tough foreign policy is the great missing politics in America. We may have just found our first truly charismatic candidate.

Not so heavy dish this morning because I spent one of the most enjoyable evenings in a very long time. Lecture by Steven Pinker at AEI, dinner afterwards, then off to “Lost In Translation,” the sublime Sofia Coppola movie. Then home to news of Arnold’s triumph. You have to savor days like this. Now to walk the beagle …

RAINES AWARD NOMINEE: “Behind a seemingly calm facade, with Damascus toothless to respond militarily to the deepest Israeli air raid in Syria in three decades, the Arab world was reeling Monday from the idea that yet a third major conflict could erupt in the Middle East. Already, the region is traumatized by the open wound that Israeli-Palestinian clashes have become and by an American-occupied Iraq teetering on the brink of bedlam.” – Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times. The “brink of bedlam?” And what evidence is there of that? None given. Gee, do you think MacFarquhar was opposed to the war? More anti-war spin from the NYT. The spirit of Raines is back.

The first casualty of the Clintonista Manchurian candidate is, er, the campaign manager. Not exactly a good sign.

THE TURKS COME THROUGH: Important progress in the military stabilization of Iraq. Safire’s right about the position of the Iraqi neo-government. This is time for conciliation and support.

The minute Sharon started taking the fight back to the terrorists, something strange happened. Terrorist deaths dropped by

WHEN LESBIANS BLINK: Eugene Volokh follows up on the born-gay story.

THE IMMINENT LIE: “David Kay, the head of the US team of 1,200 experts scouring Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, reported to Congress last week that he found none of the nuclear, biological or chemical weapons that President George W. Bush (news – web sites) said Saddam had and were an imminent danger to the world. The threat from these weapons was cited in Washington as the main reason for the US-led war that toppled the Iraqi leader.” – Agence France Presse, October 7.

I’ve just received Jean-Francois Revel’s new book on anti-Americanism. I haven’t had time to read it yet (the blog takes more and more hours out of my day). But here’s an extract worth perusing from the New Criterion.

EMAIL OF THE DAY: “Arnold is no Eagle; he’s a power hungry Vulture. I notice you didn’t mention any of his fight back speech posted on Drudge’s site. He’s all upset because these allegations are so close to the election. Must be a vast left wing conspiracy. He said why didn’t the women come to him, he would have “apologized.” We should be cool with that after all it’s like you said, “once and out.” This is as bad as Gloria Steinem’s “one grope” rule established to defend Clinton. How dare you? As I woman and a conservative, I find that thinking vile. I found Clinton’s behavior vile and I find Arnold’s vile. The only difference between Arnold and Clinton, besides the rape allegation, is Maria: she’s prettier than Hillary. But like Hillary, she stands by her groping husband. But then again, Kennedy women have experience with power hungry, sexually abusive husbands, don’t they. I could go on, but I won’t. I’ll just leave with this. He released part of the book proposal to explain why he admired Hitler so much. He said Hitler and Kennedy could walk into a room and command it. They would speak and the people would follow. He liked them because of their power over people; he finds this exciting. This is just more evidence to me that he’s no Eagle. He’s a power hungry Vulture, preying on the weak minded and women. And shame on you for supporting and defending him.” – more reader feedback on the Letters Page.