There’s too much coverage of this to summarize, and the issue is compounded by the indecision that pundits have on whether Schwarzenegger’s victory represents a larger, national trend, or is simply a California one-off. Joan Venocchi has a good piece arguing that it is a larger trend, but not the trend some pundits have latched on to (cult of celebrity, moderate Republicanism):
Is it really the triumph of the surreal over the status quo? No. If you take away the Hollywood element — Arnold — the script of the California recall election is a rerun with a familiar theme: no new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes….
A version of what happened in the Golden State happened in the Bay State a year ago. The same dynamic that is propelling Schwarzenegger to Sacramento propelled Republican Mitt Romney to Beacon Hill. The two men share more than a mouthful of shiny white teeth and political consultant Mike Murphy. They both ran as populist outsiders. With prochoice and other moderate social positions, both would have a tough time winning an ordinary issues-driven Republican primary contest.
OK, that explains the brooms. Meanwhile, the Economist has an article claiming that Arnold’s victory represents an acceptance of the counter-culture on the part of the Republican party. However, they really don’t provide much evidence of any trend, and I think the comparison between Schwarzenegger and Romney suggests that “counter-culture” has less to do with the stances than Republicans playing to a liberal electorate. And their claim that Arnold is the new Goldwater seems a bit bizarre: he’s not really a libertarian after all.
Finally, John Carroll at Greater Boston weighs in on recall night in his Campaign Journal. It’s by far the funniest take on the whole event, so take a look.
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