What’s wrong with the world when you can’t even hate your pro-business, boob-fondling, celebrity Republican governor? Well, technically it means there’s one less thing wrong with the world.
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed this week to a mandatory 25 percent cut in greenhouse emissions by California’s power plants and refineries by 2025, it was hard to know how to react. The measure will be the most progressive action concerning global warming ever passed in the United States. Experts predict that levels of carbon emissions not seen since 1990 will be reached in California within eight years, thanks to the new limits. Some Democratic strategists—especially those behind State Treasurer Phil Angelides’ bid for governor—were far from overjoyed because the compromise between Schwarzenegger and the Democratic state legislature signals one less campaign issue that Angelides can rally behind. Other Democratic officials have found it a refreshing change from the divisive stances Schwarzenegger took before his November ballot initiatives flopped. And now we’re stuck with a moderate Republicrat. Things could be worse, people.
Schwarzenegger deserves a tip o’ the hat for one more in a string of successful compromises with Sacramento lawmakers (the minimum wage increase, a cooperative agreement on greenhouse gases with Tony Blair last month, the outlawing of foie gras) that will make California a national leader in progressive policy, while rebuking oil companies and Bushies alike. With a governor like this, who needs enemies, right?
Not quite. Let’s wait and see if the governor’s move to the left is the real deal, or just election year antics. Until then, let’s not forget about that ‘Republican’ bit before his title.