Arnold Schwarzenegger is back -- today as California's new governor. Campaigning as a poor Austrian immigrant given everything by America, Schwarzenegger wishes to give back to the California people, and "rebuild [the] state."
In ousting the antiquated Democrat Gray Davis, Schwarzenegger promises that "for the people to win, politics as usual must lose."
It seems however, that politics as usual has already lost.
It's not just the fact that the eighth largest economy in the world and the most populous state elected an actor, but that California voters effectively declared that recall elections are a legitimate democratic remedy to political failures.
California is a trendy state; fads, movies and most novel things "American' come out of the state. It has been said a lot recently that only in California could an actor run for office, and only in California could a recall election take place.
Only California could pull such a thing off, and only California could reckon with as shaky a concept as a recall election.
Such a healthy exercise of sovereignty can show fellow states, and the world, that American democracy is indeed alive and well.
California is correct in their decision to have a recall election. After all Gray Davis led the state down the $8 billion fiscal tube (though the fault equally lies with the federal government) barely one year into his second term. Voters showed their concern for the state, and showed that a seemingly irresponsible governor can and will be held accountable. Voters proved that given the opportunity, people will elect a "better" governor.
But will Arnold act any better? He attacked the Democrats on mostly fiscal issues, bringing forth his own propositions.
Yet these propositions appear weak. Schwarzenegger wishes to repeal the car tax, essentially plunging California's deficit down another two and half billion. Arnold also inherited an unemployment rate a bit higher than the national average. In the same way he reinvigorated California politics, he must reinvigorate its economy.
Arnold's private actions came into question as well. Accusations of sexual harassment and pro-Hitler praises failed to stop Arnold's momentum. Voters have come to understand smear campaigns and sexual misconduct as an innate element of political life. It is of course sad that America's leaders are morally inept, but voters swallowed these facts whole and continued to vote in confidence.
And what of the criticism that the recall election was motivated by partisan politics in attempts to turn California, a historically Democratic state, Republican? Though most certainly true, this notion does not undermine the election. If voters wished to keep a Democrat in office, they could have voted "no recall" on the ballot. Power politics will always remain a reality, but California chose to exercise their ability to recall governors the moment they submitted that ballot.
Ironically, Europeans, especially Austrians, don't find this fact troubling at all. Though normally quick to express their distaste for what they see as an unsophisticated American political society, they view the election of Schwarzenegger as a decision flush with the populist finesse of American democratic principles. Arnold's Austrian hometown rejoiced on Tuesday as they learned of his victory. European politicians once again speak of that enduring climate of American political openness -- though they only view it through the lens of Arnold the Austrian-American.
A recall should also not become a habit -- it must remain the exception. But the exceptional atmosphere of the recall election makes it that much more manageable for voters. Described as a "circus," the election seemed almost a surreal combination of Hollywood and Washington. Voters needed this kind of relief, and their reaction was to say "Hey, this governor is doing us no good, so why not Arnold?"
Those finding Arnold's electoral victory absurd, rest assured that at least he cannot become president, since it is required that they be native-born. An immigrant who already fulfilled the American dream can receive no higher political tribute. No one doubts that Schwarzenegger, if he could, would work his way up to the Presidency. But that is all the more reason why to give Arnold the state of California. Exercising their political perversions and celebrity fetishes, voters take comfort in the fact that Arnold can be stopped, but that didn't prevent them from wanting to see one more spectacle.
Michael Huerta is a sophomore International Studies major from Sanford, N.C.
