Politics Travel Westward

(Weekly Standard)  This column was written by Bill Whalen.

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There was a time when political winds flowed west to east across America. But this summer in California, the breeze blows the opposite way, with politicians here playing by East Coast rules.

In Sacramento, as in the nation's capital, Democrats seek to undermine Republican rule by talking ethics and conspiracies. Only, California Democrats are smarter than their beltway cousins. They're not wasting their time with personal attacks against presidential personnel. Instead, the target is the man at the top, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At present, two controversies envelop Sacramento, neither to be confused with a serious policy debate.

The first is a stink over a disclosure that the Governator was earning a minimum of $1 million a year in outside income -- as much as $13 million over five years -- as an editorial consultant to a pair of bodybuilding magazines, Flex and Muscle & Fitness. The magazines rely on advertising from dietary supplements makers. Last year, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have cracked down on the supplements industry. It didn't take long for Democrats to play connect the dots and suggest that the governor was on the take.

Although Schwarzenegger soon ended the deal (without returning the money he'd already received), it didn't stop the Democrats from filing a complaint with the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, accusing the Governator of accepting illegal gifts and violating conflict-of-interest rules. Also filing a complaint: the parents of a 24-year-old who three years ago committed suicide after taking steroids. They think there's a link between steroids and dietary supplements, and have threatened to sue Schwarzenegger if he doesn't return his magazine proceeds.

The second controversy doesn't pertain to what Schwarzenegger did. Rather, it's what he wants to do: pass Proposition 77. If approved this November, the bill would make California's redistricting process non-legislative -- not a popular idea within the predominately Democratic legislature -- by turning over control to a panel of retired judges.

First, State Attorney General Bill Lockyer went to court to get the initiative removed from the November special ballot. Lockyer's contention: The version of Prop 77 that he reviewed wasn't the same as the one used for public signature-gathering. Technically, Lockyer has a point. He's also splitting hairs, as the 11 discrepancies in question are picayune at best. For example, the petition that voters signed gives lawmakers five days to pick a judicial panel; Lockyer's version said six days. There doesn't appear to be an effort to deliberately mislead voters.

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