While the usual sort of turnover is taking place at the end of a governor’s first term, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s team is noteworthy for the continuity within its core group. Of course, it’s a relatively new core group, having come together only early this year.
First Lady Maria Shriver, seen in this NWN video, keyed a new core group for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and watched over his return to centrism.
A brand new honor for Schwarzenegger from the British government marks anew how successful this year’s endeavor has been. The former Mr. Universe has just been named by the British Environment Agency as one of the top all-time environmental heroes, coming in number 29 on a list of 100, a few places below John Muir (who Schwarzenegger put on the California quarter). This somewhat stunning honor wouldn’t have happened a year ago.
Quite a few people are leaving the hectic if not leafy confines of Schwarzworld, at least in its official state version, including longtime senior advisor Bonnie Reiss (who told me on Schwarzenegger’s 2003 election night she had no intention of joining the government, but was dragooned into state service), his gubernatorial press secretary Margita Thompson, chief energy advisor Joe Desmond, his legislative secretary Richard Costigan, Cabinet members Sunne McPeak and Alan Bersin, and so on. But his core political group of this year is remaining relatively and remarkably intact.
That prospect seemed somewhat doubtful when the group formed early this year. With a freshly assertive and recruitment-minded First Lady Maria Shriver at its center with her husband, it was a group that on paper could have spelled trouble. Could people who had worked closely with recalled Governor Gray Davis, not to mention Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda, easily coexist and work with up-and-coming Republicans including key acolytes of Karl Rove, President George W. Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney?
And was it a good thing that the only person in the strategy group who knew the governor at all well was his wife? Spouses are frequently very valuable commodities in political operations, but they bring unique and sometimes problematic perspectives on their mates and their positions in the world. And their presence at the center of things can very distracting for others, if not inhibiting. Shriver played the role of chief recruiter of the new group. While Schwarzenegger already knew chief of staff Susan Kennedy, from her days on the state’s Public Utilities Commission, it was Shriver who sought out her own chief of staff, Dan Zingale, and Republicans Steve Schmidt, Adam Mendelsohn, and Matthew Dowd.
Many, including me, had serious doubts about the set-up. But Schwarzenegger’s group of Shriver, gubernatorial chief of staff Susan Kennedy, Shriver chief of staff Dan Zingale, moderate Republican communications director Adam Mendelsohn, political strategist Matthew Dowd, and campaign manager Steve Schmidt worked very well together.
They were all on the same page with Shriver and Schwarzenegger, moving back to the center that the former action superstar had effectively claimed when he ran in this tumultuous recall campaign of 2003 and during his first year as governor, but seemingly eschewed during last year’s disastrous “Year of Reform” when, rhetorically at least and to a large extent substantively, he lurched to the right.
Some had thought the Bushies, Schmidt and Dowd, friends and close colleagues of Karl Rove, would clash with Democrats Kennedy and Zingale, whose roots are in the left. But they actually all got along and worked well together.
In fact, the very first item on the then brand new New West Notes web site, way back in early January, revealed that Schwarzenegger was hiring Schmidt as his campaign manager, but then went on to quite inaccurately describe his bringing on this Bush war room honcho and counselor to Dick Cheney as Schwarzenegger hiring a “hatchet man.”
The group will continue working together in the future. Susan Kennedy, Adam Mendelsohn, and Dan Zingale are all staying in the Governor’s Office. Steve Schmidt has moved permanently to California, just outside Sacramento, and will continue to counsel Schwarzenegger. Matthew Dowd, a longtime Texan, is staying put in Texas and will have a less formal role but will continue to advise his friends Schwarzenegger and Shriver.
This core group, Schwarzenegger’s third to date, has had a great run. They say they have every intention of continuing that run. Events have a way of conspiring against second terms. But this group has just won the largest re-election victory since Jerry Brown’s 20-point triumph in 1978. Schwarzenegger has racked up the biggest back-to-back wins — a pair of 17-point landslides — in the modern era. So you’d have to give them at least a fighting chance of success.
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I guess those Bush people weren’t so right wing after all.
“This group has just won the largest re-election victory since Jerry Brown’s 20-point triumph in 1978.”
Actually… Arnold’s win is smaller both in percentage and raw votes (as of now) than Davis in 1998. Davis beat Lungren by 19.6 points, versus Arnold’s win over Phil by 16.9 poins. Davis beat Lungren by 1.6 million votes; Arnold beat Phil by 1.4 million votes.
Actually, before going into the sad spin cycle, you should read what you are ostensibly commenting on.
RE-election win. Gray’s re-election was by only 5 points, just one-fourth his margin when he was elected four years earlier.
In addition, your numbers are off, but we’ll forgive that and focus on your central error.
No wonder loser Democrats are losers. lol
The Angerlides crowd and the Davis dead-enders are the stupidest and stubbornest yappers in California. Time for them to shut up. Angerlides is the biggest Democratic loser in America, Davis is the only governor ever recalled.
These doofuses distracted me f rom my point. Thank god for Maria Shriver!
Folks, this “The South Will Rise Again” sort of stuff is really a waste of time.
Gov. Schwarzennegger is a smoother and more relaxed customer this year. Perhaps he is growing into the job. Being opposed by Keystone Kops in politics and the media can’t hurt his confidence, however.
So, Gov. Schwarzenegger is a bigger environmental hero than Buddha, David Brower, Henry David Thoreau, and Petra Kelly? What exactly are they smoking in Her Majesty’s environmental ministry?
The big question for Capitol insiders is who will be Arnold’s Legislative Secretary?
If the real challenge is getting Assembly and Senate Republicans to join the Governor and Democrats in the nominally “bipartisan” government, then he will need to choose former Republican legislative staffers Chief Deputy Cynthia Bryant or policy advisor Dan Dunmoyer for the job. Assembly Republican Leader Villines replaced genial Plescia because he rolled over too easily for the Governor on the bonds and the budget. Richard Costigan’s replacement will need to give Republicans confidence they will not be steam rolled again and provide the minority party with the seat at the table on big policy issues they were denied last year. Without Republican cooperation, the Governor’s ambitious agenda is doomed.
“Doomed”? I doubt that…if the Reeps in the legislature fail to get on the bi-partisan bandwagon they are the only ones doomed. Look at the support for the Bonds! The Reeps in the Legislature were way off base even with the Republican electorate. Just keep saying “NO” …and more Republicans will just re-register as DTS voters…
Staffing is everything. A very talented bright politician can’t do it on his own and can make many mistakes…An elected official’s office and/or a government program is ONLY as good as its implementers.
I went into orbit last Nov when Arnold hired Kennedy. I was horrified. First the Wilson group then Davis employees! It appeared to me he was going from bad to worse…then Arnold also said something like “I hired her because there was no Reep out there in California who could do the job as well as her”…and I thought to myself well there is no Reep qualified to run his office, no Reep qualified to take on Di Fi, the Reep legislators are such a sorry lot …what am I doing in this party? and then on Dec 16 when the House passed H.R. 4437 Sensenbrenner’s ugly anti-immigrant bill I re-registered as a DTS…
I remember at a Christmas Party, a group of us discussing Kennedy’s new position and our now retired Exec Dir, who was truly one of the finest managers in government certainly in California, perhaps in the country, said to all us “she (i.e., Susan Kennedy) is great, SHE is the Only one who did any work in that (Davis) office! Well that was enough for me…Again,Staffing is everything. A very talented bright politician can’t do it on his own and can make many mistakes…his or her office is ONLY as good as its implementers.
re: “Costigan’s replacement will need to give Republicans confidence they will not be steam rolled again…”
Republicans = Victims
Having just written what a terrific core group Schwarzenegger has, it’s my observation that the role of advisors, strategists, staff, consultants, etc., is generally overrated.
Team Arnold did well partly (to use a friend’s phrase) picking the low hanging fruit to some extent. The new challenges will be harder, the politics more complicated. After the new budget is released and the state of the economy in the first quarter of 2007 is clearer we’ll see how things play out.
Daniel Weintraub has a good column on an issue we’ve discussed before, implementation of the transportation bond (1B):
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/82570.html
Mr. Bradley :it’s my observation that the role of advisors, strategists, staff, consultants, etc., is generally overrated.”
They may or may not be over-rated in a political campaign but Not in government…especially not California which is very complex, you need a working talented Executive Office…the elected official has to lead inspire etc..
it takes two to tangle but the the elected official needs implementers. Politicians do not do the implementing of any program any policy….and in the end that is what is important to the public…not jusct talk …delivering
Maria Shriver’s role:
I am very happy with the general election outcome. I trust that Arnold will stay with the centrist theme and I think Shriver is a fantastic first lady. My hope is the Ca. ladies of Washington will give us a solid scandle free productive term managing the house. Women in power, I love it!
The LIST:
That’s a very interesting list! Arnold came in ahead of “St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and ecology” and even Ghandi..I hope he remembered to thank Fran and Fabian (and their Staffs!) for providing him with a groundbreaking bill/AB32 to sign in huge San Fran and Malibu media events.. (which I approve of and think the TV cameras should have broke away from daily coverage and covered the SF Event)…
I find Arnold’s ranking faintly psychotic, but, hey, it’s good that he’s on there.
Let’s not forget that Fabian was not, let’s say, into the environmental thing the previous year.
As I expected before the recall, the shock value of having Arnold Schwarzenegger championing anti-global warming moves and other environmental issues has tremendous resonance around the world.
Those are pretty funny names behind Schwarzeneger.
Why isn’t Jerry Brown on the list?
Well The Speaker is very much on board now ….at the National Latino Congreso in Sept the loudest and biggest applause was when The Speaker said “Latinos should make climate change the number one issue in the 2008 presidential election.”
Anyway, how could anyone be on board with Arnold on anything…in 2005 by his own admission Arnold thought he should play the ultra-partisan and he was into name calling…
I think a lot of the GOP’s campaign professionals are no more attached to the ideology they sell than an advertising director is attached to the brand of soap he’s pushing. In many cases, campaign guys are advertising execs, or at least studied the same subjects at the same schools. Rove seems to be an exception — a True Believer. Dowd, from what I’ve read in the post-election hagiographies, seems to be a guy who cares at least as much about winning as about who he’s playing for.
The same is probably true for some people on the left side. It’s possible we’d be more successful if we had more cool-headed professionals, and fewer people invested in getting attention for their own pet policy. On the other hand, if you make everything about politics, you end up with John DiIulio resigning to protest the lack of any sane policy apparatus. Moderation in all things…
Arnold began winning this fight on November 6th, 2005 with his mea culpa. He scored HUGE in December when Susan Kennedy came on board. Then his state of the state in January 2006 shocked everyone across the political spectrum and, I believe, he won the Governor’s that day. He took all the major issues off the table that favored the Democrats and, in effect, triangulated us and pushed the Dems into the arms of Phil Angelides.
At the core of all of this is one person: Maria Shriver. She knew that Mike Murphy was an arrogant SOB who thought he had California “wired” and that it would take on the characteristics of the national trend of growing Republican power. It also showed how “Washington D.C.” Murphy had become as a consultant. He forgot about how truly pragmatic the voters of California have ALWAYS been — indeed, I would argue we have been this way from the very founding of this beautiful state.
Besides, the reality is that California never has, nor do I believe, ever will follow national trends. This state SETS national trends, we don’t follow them.
Maria Shriver also knew that if she could get Murphy, Clarey and Stutzman(side note: jesus, why the hell did Arnold even hire such a set of ideologues I will never know.) out of the Governor’s office, she could bring in reasonable, moderate people of both political stripes to create a better legacy for her husband.
As for Arnold running for Senate. I will wait and see — four years is a really long time to f(*&*& something up royally.
Will that happen? Who knows. If Kennedy, Zingale, et. al. stay around and keep the Governor in the middle, Boxer is squarely in the crosshairs and might be in trouble.
Course, Barbara Boxer ain’t no one to be trifled with lightly. She has three times the energy of Arnold and will be sitting on a hundred million dollar warchest. And she is a veteran campaigner who people connect with instantly — much like Arnold.
Besides, I don’t think the Governor, like many former Governors have found, has the necessary temperment to be one of a hundred as opposed to one of one. The US Senate has its own rhythms and Arnold won’t have the patience for Washington and those peculiar “rhythms”
One other thought: Bonnie Reiss may have left but, like Schmidt, et.al., they never really leave. The Governor will see, speak to and email Reiss on a daily basis. As I said, they never really leave.
The Governor is having fun again with this job — lets hope, for all of us, he keeps having fun, stays in the middle and does whats right.
That wouldn’t be such a horrible legacy to have…now would it?
Arnold has spent his life WINNING…the special election ballot losses were personally devestating…so he’s a reborn “weather vane” politician following the voters’ wishes…that’s why he won…plus Phil personified the poltical Peter principle…US Senate?…way to far off but it will keep him on the Leno show whenever he wants and keep him visible
CADTS!…it is very good to see you here again at NWN! You have been missed!
I agree and/or trust your take on everything here …although, not sure what you exactly mean by “Dems were pushed into the arms of Angelides” …Are you saying that the DEMS did not undertsand that there was a very fine and wonderful alternative to Angelides, i.e. Westly????..
Jason kinney also wrote a very well written and interesting piece at Ca Majority Report on Arnold’s interview Sunday w/TR.
“The interview was so surreal that, at the end, Tim Russert actually asked the Governor whether he would “stay a Republican.” To which the Governor responded “absolutely yes.” Which makes mathematic sense since (unfortunately) poll after poll shows that California voters today are more willing to trust a Republican Governor to do the right thing on health care and education than they are a Democratic Governor to hold the line on taxes. Californians want both. And this Governor seems prepared to do everything in his power to give it to them. Shame on us if we don’t acknowledge that and leverage it to our advantage.”
I think the above is right on target also.
Kinney cont…
“The most overlooked moment? Russert being Russert, he asked the obligatory “Who are you supporting for President in 2008?” Schwarzenegger demurred, then offered this interesting litmus test: whoever he supports must be pro-environment, committed to reducing global warming, supportive of “economic stimulation and creating jobs” and “rebuilding our infrastructure,” and dedicated to “helping our most vulnerable citizens.” Other than Rudy “Can’t Survive the Primaries” Giuliani, can you name a single Republican contender who could possibly fit that bill? Not so fast, McCainiacs.Now picture this: it’s January 2009 and newly-elected President Hillary Clinton, in a sweeping and historic bipartisan gesture, is swearing in her new U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Senator Barbara Boxer, now facing only Dick Mountjoy and Claude Parrish in her 2010 bid for re-election, looks on approvingly. You heard it here first.” Ca Majority Report
I also do not see Arnold in the Senate…he could win…but be a happy camper…I think not. I recently saw a docu on Bobby Kennedy, which asserted that he was miserable in the Senate due to the “glacier pace”…he wanted to “run things” ..I have previously posted here, and like Kinney I see him as a great candidate for Sec of Commerce in either a Dem or Reep admin…or running something…but it looks like all his friends and even advisers are selling him the Senate…
However, Kinney is incorrect that Mc Cain does not fit Arnold’s litmus test…McCain and Lieberman co-authored an important anti- global warming bill in the Senate in 2004 that of course went no where due to the REEPs and when McCain passes CIRA with Arnold’s uncle in- law by marriage, he will have done more for “helping our most vulnerable citizens” then Giuliani ever did….
Schwarzenegger as commerce secretary? lol
I love how people who don’t particularly know Schwarzenegger, and don’t know what can be done with a Senate seat, dismiss the notion of him being a U.S. senator.
I love how people who have witnessed the GUb’s propensity to borrow and spend with the biggest spenders in this state’s history, now see and even cheer him even more as their champion.
I am not one who believes you borrow and spend your way to prosperity. Sadly, too many continue to follow that path all too readily.
Mr. Bradley:I love how people who don’t particularly know Schwarzenegger, and don’t know what can be done with a Senate seat, dismiss the notion of him being a U.S. senator.
Well you know him well and you obviously think it is a perfect fit …I will wait for Maria to weigh in on his Senate run as she appears to know him best and looks out for his best interest…no one is “dismissing” it…and like you, CADTS and many others have worked in the Senate, legitimately question if it is the best place for his talents & personality…
Sec of Commerce under a dynamic smart Dem Prez in plus-2010 is not such a bad place to be in this new century. In a Global economy with the largest markets emerging in India and China this post will no longer just go to a good friend or the biggest business donor of a future Prez…It will become as important as Foreign Affairs in this Century…it is a huge agency with a huge budget and making US trade & econ policy throughout the entire world is at the top of your agenda. Instead of everyone who “knows” him so well pigeon holing him so early on, they should be painting a vast canvass for this big man with big ideas…
I’ve been associated with famous senators, who made a lot out of the Senate, and were far less famous than Schwarzenegger.
There is no way that he would be commerce secretary. That is a second tier Cabinet slot generally given to a lesser governor or business executive.
Mr Bradley”There is no way that he would be commerce secretary. That is a second tier Cabinet slot generally given to a lesser governor or business executive…There is no way that he would be commerce secretary”
On “second tier” : That is going to change…nothing stays the same …it will change only because it has to change in this new world of ours…but that will change …moreover, I could make the case that there is a great Sec of Commerce- anti Global Warming nexus…
“no way that he would be commerce secretary”
well you would know…but I think it is a pity that he has limited his options so early on…
The commerce secretary suggestion at CMR was a veiled putdown.
Maybe..but it doesn’t matter…
Arnold should not let a possible put down limit him from taking on anything that he knows he can make a contribution and difference in and put his stamp on it …that includes a cabinet position in a dynamic President’s circle… I happen to believe that if Ron Brown had not died he may have been a Presidential contender, if not certainly to to bigger posts and he would have changed the entire way that we look at Commerce…If Kinney sees Commerce as a putdown he should talk to people who knew Ron Brown…and he would not see the office in that way.
Bill a great article on the Gov’s staff….I remember all the “hoopla” caused when he hired Susan Kennedy to be his COS…I spoke to a friend of mine in the shoe and asked this question…since when does any political party think they can have a say in who gets hired for any position? I knew nothing about her and was given this person’s opinion and it has held true to what I was told…staff is important especially in certain jobs and does reflect the officeholder but I’m only talking a very few key jobs….to be successful you have to have people around you who believe in what you want to do and will do their level best to help you accomplish that…I think those who were hired did an outstanding job in the campaign both in and out of the shoe…if the yardstick used this time to hire replacements is the same one they’ve used before more great people will be hired
Bill I agree with your take on the senate seat and on the Commerce Secretary’s 2nd tier status…it will another intersting to watch scenario
Schwarzeneger needs a leading, independent role. He won’t work for somebody else.
Thank you……
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