Okay, I haven't updated in a very long time but that's because these take forever to write. However, I still want to share and I promise to post more frequently.
Today I'm going to skip the Illinois elections and make this a more national blog by talking about my second favorite state: California. Ah, the land of liberals who hate to pay taxes and want tons of government services without having to pay for them.
So being the governor of California has got to be one of the toughest jobs on the planet. I'm not so sure I would even want the job given the chance (okay, yes I would, but it would be a hard decision!). There are so many different constituencies that pleasing everyone is pretty much impossible. However, if you can govern in California, you've pretty much proven yourself able to govern the entire country - as we have seen with two former presidents and a former Supreme Court Chief Justice (for all you non-history-freaks, that would be Nixon, Reagan, and Earl Warren, respectively).
So this year marks the end of the Governator's term. Yes, good old Arnold cannot run anymore because of California's two term limit, and thanks to the US Constitution, I doubt we will see an Arnold presidency (at least with the prevalence of the Tea Party Movement... but that's another blog post).
The match-up: Attorney General (and Former Governor) Jerry Brown (D) vs. Former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman (R)
Personally, I don't like either candidate too much. I like Gavin Newsom who is running for Lt. Gov. after being mayor of San Francisco, but Jerry Brown seems way too old school. Jerry Brown has plenty of clout to look at: he has served in some public position since 1971, working with then-Governor Reagan as Secretary of State. He went on to be governor, mayor of Oakland, and now Attorney General of California. How can he run for governor if he's already been one? Well, California's term limits didn't go into effect until after Brown was governor, so he is free to do as he pleases. As far as I can tell, Brown is pretty much textbook liberal...which can be good or bad for California. It's good because he will support the public services Californian's love, but bad because he needs to find the money to do so.
On the other hand, I really don't see what Meg Whitman has to offer. After becoming a billionaire CEO with Ebay, Whitman feels like the best way to run a state like California is as a business. How much more wrong could she be? California survives with plenty of bureaucratic agencies and jobs, even if it is unsustainable. In an economy like the current one, people cannot afford to be laid-off because of a governor's desire to balance the budget. People come first, debt comes second - sorry Meg Whitman, but you're completely wrong. Whitman is also running as a classic conservative; for the most part, she agrees with the Republican national base. Uh...yeah, prop 8 may have passed in 2008, that was pretty much a fluke. California is like a liberal's paradise.
My predictions: Brown will win, 54 to 45. Whitman just doesn't have the statewide name recognition, and she is trying to finance her campaign by herself. Brown has spent pennies on the dollar compared to Whitman, and it hasn't been his own money like she has spent. Brown will do a good job readying the governor's position to (future president?) Gavin Newsom to achieve great things.
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