Last week, Arnold threatened to veto every bill. Just like every other statement he has ever uttered, you have no idea whether it is just a line he is delivering, or if it actually means something. As Robert pointed out, he "released some of the hostages" yesterday morning, however, he has since decided that the whole vetoing everything was a waste of $@#^ing time.
Although he failed to win bipartisan accord on a sweeping, multibillion-dollar plan to address the state's water problems, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday night backed down on his threat to veto hundreds of bills as punishment for legislative leaders' inability to reach a deal.
As the midnight deadline for signing or rejecting 704 bills approached, Schwarzenegger said sufficient progress had been made in the water talks, and he planned to act on all of the bills. As negotiations concluded late Sunday, the governor had signed into law 230 bills and vetoed 221.(LAT 10/12/09)
But Torey Van Oot at CapAlert has the best catch. Last year, Arnold made fun of bills in the Legislature, including one that would ban the practice of tail docking of dairy cows. Yeah, you guessed it: he signed the bill.
"Well, it's obviously very sad that we are in the biggest financial crisis and we are way overdue to get the budget done and we face a $26 billion deficit and I ask over and over and over the legislators upstairs to just focus on the budget and here they are, they're debating over the definition of honey. And a week ago they debated over cow tails and, a few weeks before that, they debated over should we have a Blueberry Commission in the state of California and all those kinds of things," he said at the time.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear pointed out that the criticisms came in the midst of the budget negotiations -- when the "the Legislature should focus on the budget above all else."
"At the time he wanted them to focus on the budget, he thought that the budget was the most important issue," he said. "Obviously, the budget is done, and he believes these bills are worth signing." (CapAlert 10/12/09)
Yeah, he signed the bill to regulate honey labeling too. These are both good bills, but the real point is these ridiculous games of brinksmanship. It is like he simply can't resist pushing deadlines to the last possible minute, can't resist using them for every possible tactical advantage. He is using them to the detriment of the state and of all Californians, no matter the political stripes.
The words that emerge from his mouth might as well be totally ignored. You can't trust his words and you can't trust him. |
