Good news in California. Both budget bills (the $15 billion bond and the balanced budget bill) passed easily.
Schwarzenegger used his celebrity and political capital to build support for the bond measure, the centerpiece of his plan to solve the state's financial woes without what he warned would be "Armageddon" budget cuts or higher taxes.
Barely a third of likely voters supported Schwarzenegger's borrowing plan a month ago, but the former actor and bodybuilder used his enormous clout with voters to get the measure passed. He barnstormed the state in support of the measure and helped raise $10 million for an advertising blitz that flooded the airwaves.
Last week, Schwarzenegger held a rally at Universal Studios with actor Rob Lowe and threw T-shirts to supporters. On Monday, he went to Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show" to tout the bond measure alongside the man he ousted - former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
It is only the second time in modern California political history that voters eventually approved a ballot measure which trailed in early polls. "We are talking political steroids," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. "He can claim credit for turning around public opinion."
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
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