Articles, Opinion Pieces Examine Schwarzenegger’s First Year as Governor
Recent newspaper articles examined Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) first year in office and his legislative accomplishments to date, including those on health care.
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San Francisco Chronicle: According to the Chronicle, Schwarzenegger has taken "traditional, pro-business Republican stands" in his first year, for instance by rejecting the reimportation of lower-cost U.S.-made prescription drugs from Canada, among other issues. The Chronicle also notes that Schwarzenegger signed a bill supported by Planned Parenthood that protects the privacy of reproductive health workers and a bill requiring health insurers to provide the same benefits to domestic partners as they do for married couples. However, he rejected several other health measures, including one that would have required insurers to provide maternity benefits and one that would have mandated that hospitals report infection rates (Gledhill/Martin, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/2).
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San Jose Mercury News: Schwarzenegger "is no longer an abstract collection of ideas and rhetoric," and on many issues, the "self-described moderate Republican" came down "solidly on the side of business," the Mercury News reports. Although Schwarzenegger did sign legislation to limit drug companies from giving gifts and incentives to doctors, "it was not enough to shake criticism that he is anti-consumer and beholden to campaign-contributing special interests," the Mercury News reports. Pharmaceutical companies have contributed $337,000 to Schwarzenegger, according to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Schwarzenegger demonstrated that he is moderate on social issues by allowing pharmacies to sell hypodermic needles without a prescription to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS among injection drug users, according to the Mercury News (Marimow, San Jose Mercury News, 10/3).
Editorials, Opinion PiecesThe following editorial and opinion pieces also respond to Schwarzenegger's first year in office.
- Daniel Weintraub, Fresno Bee: The "fragile union" between Schwarzenegger and the state's social conservatives "appears to be on the rocks," Weintraub, a political columnist, writes in an opinion piece. He notes that Schwarzenegger so far appears to be "leaning left" in many of his legislative decisions, including his signing of a requirement requiring health insurers to offer equal benefits to same-sex domestic partners and support of a "controversial" measure allowing pharmacies to sell syringes without a prescription. Weintraub says that critics "are right to say that the governor is unafraid to offend his party's base." He adds that Schwarzenegger "has the good fortune to be naturally inclined toward positions that place him in the sweet spot of California politics: fiscally moderate and socially liberal" (Weintraub, Fresno Bee, 10/4).
- Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee: Walters, a Sacramento Bee columnist, examines Schwarzenegger's first year in office and compares his accomplishments so far to those of former California Gov. Pete Wilson (R). Walters notes that by the end of California's legislative session on Thursday, Schwarzenegger had vetoed 25% of the bills sent to him this year, axing "almost all of the major bills opposed by business groups" (Walters, Sacramento Bee, 10/3).
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San Francisco Chronicle: In his first year in office, Schwarzenegger has shown that he is "the best friend business interests could hope to have in the governor's office," a Chronicle editorial states. Although Schwarzenegger criticized former Gov. Gray Davis (D) for accepting special-interest money, he has "not turned off the spigot," accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies before vetoing reimportation legislation, the Chronicle says. The editorial concludes that although Schwarzenegger's actions so far show "he is neither an ideologue nor rigidly partisan," if the governor "wants to call himself a populist, he must stop accepting contributions from special interests with a direct stake in his actions" (San Francisco Chronicle, 10/4).
- Daniel Weintraub, Fresno Bee: The "fragile union" between Schwarzenegger and the state's social conservatives "appears to be on the rocks," Weintraub, a political columnist, writes in an opinion piece. He notes that Schwarzenegger so far appears to be "leaning left" in many of his legislative decisions, including his signing of a requirement requiring health insurers to offer equal benefits to same-sex domestic partners and support of a "controversial" measure allowing pharmacies to sell syringes without a prescription. Weintraub says that critics "are right to say that the governor is unafraid to offend his party's base." He adds that Schwarzenegger "has the good fortune to be naturally inclined toward positions that place him in the sweet spot of California politics: fiscally moderate and socially liberal" (Weintraub, Fresno Bee, 10/4).