Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: Public Works Bonds are DEAD and so is Schwarzenegger’s Re-election?

BLOW TO CAMPAIGN: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to his office after his news conference Thursday. His inability to strike a deal on the public works plan underscores the continuing trouble he faces in trying to recover from the political damage left by his failed pursuit last year of an agenda that enraged organized labor.

Los Angeles Times: Loss on Public Works Is a Crack in Reelection Plan

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s failure to persuade lawmakers to put a vast public works plan on the June ballot denies him a concrete achievement that he counted on using as a centerpiece of his reelection campaign.

The setback is especially sharp for Schwarzenegger because both of the Democrats vying to replace him argue that he has accomplished little as governor and, more broadly, is unqualified for the job.

NEVER has Flap seen a politician with such promise self-destruct in so short of time. Arnold has been a disaster as California Governor. He, like Jesse Ventura, the former Governor of Minnesota has morphed from a popular entertainment celebrity to an unpopular “empty suit” politician who can and will accomplish nothing.

Dan Weintraub also has a good analysis of the Governor’s Infrastructure Bond failure, What went wrong?

Flap handicaps Schwarzenegger’s re-election at less than a 50-50 chance. His poll numbers are low, he has NO major accomplishments to his credit since he replaced Demcorat Gray Davis and he has alienated his Republican Party base. This is a recipe for electoral disaster.

Arnold’s only hope for re-election (slim that it is) is that California Controller Steve Westly and California Treasuer Phil Angelides beat each other to a pulp prior to the June primary election. In Flap’s estimation, Westly is winning the media war with Angelides.

A Westly vs. Schwarzenegger contest will NOT be pretty for the California GOP. Westly will slaughter the governor and all of the down ticket Republican candidates. In fact, Flap does not foresee one Republican winning a state constitutional office this year.

Did the California Republican Party err in recalling Gray Davis and installing the Governator?

You betcha…..