Schwarzenegger Appoints Democrat As New Chief Of Staff
Robert Paul Reyes
December 01, 2005
These are not the best of times for Arnold Schwarzenegger, his ratings are in the dump, and voters said a resounding "No" to the four initiatives that he said were needed to reform California.
But I would never count out the governor of the Golden State, his most famous movie line is "I'll be back", and yesterday he took a giant step in trying to revive his political fortunes.
In a bold move, Schwarzenegger appointed Susan Kennedy as his new chief of staff.
A leader in Schwarzenegger's precarious political situation would have made a safe and bland appointment to such an important position.
Kennedy is not a safe choice, she is a Democrat with impeccable liberal credentials, in appointing her Schwarzenegger risks losing support from his Republican base.
"She's a woman that is known as being a hardworking woman, dedicated, and is willing to work whatever it takes to get the job done," Schwarzenegger said at a news conference."
By the way, Kennedy is also a very high profile lesbian, something that shouldn't make any difference, but that unfortunately is anathema to some of the more conservative of the governor's supporters.
"This makes Schwarzenegger a man without a county," said Dave Gilliard, a well known GOP strategist. Maybe so, but thank goodness, he's not a man without a heart and without a conscience.
As a liberal, I'm not very fond of Schwarzenegger's moderate political ideology, but I commend him for his courage in making such a controversial appointment.
By appointing a lesbian to be his chief of staff, Schwarzenegger may have lost the support of some of his conservative base, but hopefully he will have gained the backing of everyone who values human rights.
But I would never count out the governor of the Golden State, his most famous movie line is "I'll be back", and yesterday he took a giant step in trying to revive his political fortunes.
In a bold move, Schwarzenegger appointed Susan Kennedy as his new chief of staff.
A leader in Schwarzenegger's precarious political situation would have made a safe and bland appointment to such an important position.
Kennedy is not a safe choice, she is a Democrat with impeccable liberal credentials, in appointing her Schwarzenegger risks losing support from his Republican base.
"She's a woman that is known as being a hardworking woman, dedicated, and is willing to work whatever it takes to get the job done," Schwarzenegger said at a news conference."
By the way, Kennedy is also a very high profile lesbian, something that shouldn't make any difference, but that unfortunately is anathema to some of the more conservative of the governor's supporters.
"This makes Schwarzenegger a man without a county," said Dave Gilliard, a well known GOP strategist. Maybe so, but thank goodness, he's not a man without a heart and without a conscience.
As a liberal, I'm not very fond of Schwarzenegger's moderate political ideology, but I commend him for his courage in making such a controversial appointment.
By appointing a lesbian to be his chief of staff, Schwarzenegger may have lost the support of some of his conservative base, but hopefully he will have gained the backing of everyone who values human rights.
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