24 Hours and 80 Million Dollars Later...

And California is exactly as it was.

One of the most amusing political ads was someone saying "You aren't the governor I thought you'd be", directed at Gov. Arnold.

Funny. He's exactly the Governor I thought he'd be. An egomaniac who has no clue as to how politics and California politics specifically actually work. He had no clue that as much as Californians say "Things need to be different" we vote to keep the status quo and to make it more difficult for the Executive Officer and Legislature to do what we hire them to do.

Gov. Arnold did it himself. It's how he thought he could be Governor. His proposition has created set asides. His proposition makes balancing the budget more difficult. He forgets to tell people that the money that his proposition set aside is there... waiting for the matching funds from school districts to create after school programs. The sticky wicket is that school districts don't have the matching funds. But there is money, just sitting in the bank, that can't be touched.

Because Gov. Arnold put up a proposition that we voted to pass. To set aside money to be spent at some point. Maybe.

I've heard that something like 60% of the state budget is set-asides. Non-negotiable money. That money must be 'spent' in the budget. It can't be cut. It can't be redirected.

Candidate Arnold thought he'd be able to change that. He also thought he could fire the legislature.

Gov. Arnold is exactly the Governor I thought he'd be.

An egomaniac in love with the pomp and circumstance of politics.

But the questions I still haven't had answered:

Why was it BAD for Gov. Davis to raise millions of dollars but ok for Gov. Arnold to raise more?

Why did Gov. Arnold go to Ohio and raise millions of dollars to fund his Proposition fight in this election? Why did Ohio care that much about California politics?

Sometimes California voters are actually paying attention.

Yesterday was one of those days.