California Gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman, the self-styled business Republican who has run on a platform that derides out-of-control government spending, is well on her way to winning the Republican nomination, and it only cost her $81 million so far with $71 million coming straight from her very own bank account. She will then go on to face Jerry Brown which will probably cost her another $80 million.
So let me get this straight, Meg Whitman has shattered spending records in California to prove that California spends too much?
Oh now I get it. Whitman is the Paris Hilton of politics. They’ve both spent a ridiculous amount of money on building their own fame! They’re both famous, connected to global corporate empires and know absolutely nothing about government.
Even worse, she spent $71 million of her own money to have what is probably the worst job in the country. California is ungovernable, thanks to a ridiculous rule in the Constitution that requires a two-thirds super-majority to approve a budget.
So no matter who wins the governorship, it’s a certainty that they will face a brick wall of opposition.
Democrats currently control close to two-thirds, but are just shy, which has allowed the Republicans to basically stonewall any budget if it had something they didn’t like. This clear minority held Sacramento at ransom, refusing to do anything to help balance the budget, while Californian’s lost faith in their government and state workers had to take IOUs.
The GOP has NOT seen a reemergence in California. They are as unpopular as ever. They don’t stand a chance at retaking the majority, let alone the super-majority. Yet Whitman thinks that she can go to Sacramento and be a big tough conservative.
Arnold thought the same thing, he even called the Democrats “girly men”. 7 years later, he is a broken politician who has had to identify with the Democrats instead of the unrealistic Republicans, who were so bitter that he tried to actually get something done by fraternizing with the clear majority, they turned their back on him. Yet somehow Whitman has not put this all together in her mind, that her efforts to push a big radical-conservative agenda will likely go nowhere.
Bottom line: Meg Whitman has spent $71 million of her own money… SO FAR, to be the next Arnold! That’s not just bad politics, that’s bad business and raises big questions on her ability to lead.
It also raises questions about her understanding of history. For the same people she aspires to lead are historically known for being suspicious of millionaire candidates. They usually make them spend their money, then send them home humiliated. This goes right down the line from Micheal Huffington (yes Ariana’s ex who came out of the closet after losing), to T.Boone Pickens’ wind-farm proposition that flew away with the Santa Ana breezes of November.
So if I were Whitman, I’d start thinking about curbing my own spending. Since It seems highly likely that she will only lose her money no matter what the outcome is in November.