[Originally Posted by LSchwark on Norcal Politics, October 21, 2005]
California’s First Lady, Maria Shriver, will be hosting a women’s conference next week, the "Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women". This was the conference where, last year, Governor Arnold made his famous remark calling nurses "special interests" and boasting "I kick their butts every day". A women’s conference was an especially unfortunate venue for issuing a smackdown of a profession that is heavily populated by women. It was also the point at which people began resisting his agenda with a passion and his poll numbers started to sag.
So you might think he would make an effort not to ruin his wife’s conference this year. Well, you’d be wrong.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at a Monday press conference, may have fueled the political fire when he said his wife might use the conference to talk about her view of the election ballot issues.
"You will hear from her," said Schwarzenegger after being asked a question about his wife’s positions on the special election measures.
Schwarzenegger, giving a plug for her women’s conference, then promised, "I think she’s going to talk about that there … and you will see what she thinks about my work and the initiatives and what we are trying to accomplish here."
But that has prompted a curt — and definite — denial from Shriver’s office.
Shriver won’t "use this inspirational day to discuss the upcoming special election — or her views on the various reform measures," said Terri Carbaugh, her spokeswoman. "It’s a day free from politicking, free from partisanship, free from electioneering. And the women who attend can feel safe from the political warfare that is naturally pervasive in the days prior to an election."
I can only imagine that this has Arnold in the doghouse, big time. I mean, it’s one thing to issue a statement that overshadows the conference once, but two years in a row? Even better, we may never learn her position on the issues. Her spokesperson has this to say:
As to the governor’s comments suggesting that Shriver would take a political stand at next week’s event, Carbaugh said she could not explain them. Indeed, she said he could not predict when or if Shriver would ever go public on her views on the special election.
"It’s important to remember that Maria comes from a journalist point of view, and as such, how she votes and the position she may or may not have, she tends to keep private, like most California journalists," she said. "She’ll cast her votes at the ballot box and leave it at that. "
Before I leave this issue, let me just note the actual measures he wants his wife to endorse:
- Prop 74: Blaming teachers for the problems in out schools by extending the probation period for tenure from two to five years. That means teachers could be fired without cause for three years longer. How does this put kids first? It doesn’t. It just means more teachers will leave the profession after a few years. Teacher turnover is already a problem. Making it worse seems like a bad idea, to put it mildly. Moreover, as this AP article points out, the proposition is so poorly written it actually makes it harder to fire teachers after they have tenure.
- Prop 75: Targets public employee organizations (such as teachers, nurses, firefighters, police — some of Arnold’s biggest critics) by adding additional requirements meant to restrict their participation in political campaigns. Once partially muzzled, it would be much easier to target schools, medical services, fire and police and other services for cuts if the proposal passes. It’s fairly plain — if the people who most understand what effect the cuts will have are partially silenced, the public will have a harder time learning of the true effects of further proposals.
- Prop 76: Setting school funding limits that even the state legislative analysis admits will likely result in a "ratchet effect" (see page 3, second column of the PDF) that lowers future school funding levels following years where money is short, as growth would be limited by previous years’ funding levels. Again, like nursing, teaching is a profession populated largely by women.
Now, there are lots of ways to characterize these things. You could call them anti-worker and anti-education. But teachers are affected by all three and nurses by the "stifle yourself" Prop 75. I don’t think it’s unfair to add anti-women to the list.
No wonder Maria wants none of this at her conference.
