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 POLITICS II
The Unlikeliest Girlie Man
Arnold Schwarzenegger gives Californians what they want
CHRIS WEINKOPF
With four months left in his campaign for reelection, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger found himself at odds with the state’s Democratic legislature over the minimum wage — and who could raise it faster.
Although Schwarzenegger had vetoed minimum-wage hikes twice before, his thinking on the subject had evolved. Following the devastating defeat of his government-reform ballot initiatives in the 2005 special election, Schwarzenegger had adopted a make-no-enemies approach to politics. This time, there was no chance he was going to stand in the way of a popular policy, regardless of his professed free-market principles.
But the legislature was stalling, holding out for the minimum wage to be indexed to inflation, guaranteeing increases for years to come. Schwarzenegger didn’t want to go that far, yet hoped to get the hike before November’s election. So he turned to a dormant state panel that could boost the minimum wage without legislative approval. And to improve the odds of the panel’s giving him the result he wanted, he stacked it with four appointees who supported his agenda — all Democrats.
Behold the new Arnold, a man bearing little resemblance to the revolutionary who toppled Gov. Gray Davis just three years ago. He’s politically compliant, eager to please, and anxious to avoid a fight. One might say . . . a girlie man.
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