Come on, this can't be true, can it? Our governor is going on "Pimp My Ride" to pimp his own environmental policies, by overseeing the conversion of a classic Chevy Impala to biodiesel... but he can't even do something like that unless he gets paid?
It might appear that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to appear on MTV's popular reality show "Pimp My Ride" later this month is just another of his Hollywood crossover moves. But a closer look shows one of Schwarzenegger's big campaign donors is also getting a boost in the April 22 episode -- Galpin Motors.
One of Galpin's Southern California showrooms is where the hit TV show is filmed. Owners of the company, H.F. Boeckmann and Jane Boeckmann, are also among the governor's big supporters.
The Boeckmann's gave $44,600 to the governor's re-election committee last year and in 2005, they also gave another $44,600 to the governor's primary ballot committee, the California Recovery Team.
Also, Alan Skobin, general counsel for Galpin Motors is one of Schwarzenegger's appointees to the state's New Motor Vehicle Board.
Seriously, you have to be kidding me. Is there an political appointee who isn't one of Arnold's personal friends or cronies? Is there a single appearance that doesn't have campaign dollars involved? I know this is how Hollywood works, but does it have to be how Sacramento works?
Democrats are divided over whether appealing to the moderate center or galvanizing their progressive base is the better strategy. Given the public's declining confidence in Republican leadership, either strategy may enable Democrats to win at the polls. But neither approach will give them the electoral mandate required to govern effectively and retain the public's support once they're in office.
Fortunately, choosing between these two strategies is unnecessary. There is an alternative to left-right politics and by adopting it Democrats can remain true to progressive principles while attracting millions of voters from the non-ideological middle.
The step beyond the "New Deal," the "Fair Deal," and the "Great Society" is a "Dignitarian Society." The slogan is Dignity For All.
When it comes to politics, new language and new thinking are different things. Whatever new language progressives used in 2004 failed to change the electoral outcome, and at most it'll help them eke out a few victories in the coming years. New language is like changing the window treatment, not the window, not the view, not the perspective.
What's required for social change, and it could come from either party, is the kind of political realignment we get once every 50 years. Such realignment pulls a sizeable majority from the vast non-ideological, sensible middle of the political spectrum, and creates a real mandate for fundamental social change. Like those that FDR and LBJ presided over. Like the universal health care and campaign finance reform that we need now.
Both political parties know that a unifying core value expressed in a pithy slogan translates into votes. FDR’s Democrats had "The New Deal"; LBJ’s party advanced "The Great Society." Republicans rally to "lower taxes,” “smaller government,” “strong defense,” and “family values."
What core value, what slogan, could move us beyond the toxic standoff that paralyzes American politics today?
