Democrats gain on slumping Schwarzenegger, poll says

[UpInArms]

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/14663367.htm

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remains mired in low job approval ratings, despite the streak of good news he had hoped would give him a boost.

Even with $5 billion in surplus revenue, a popular $37 billion public works bond deal, and glowing photos ops at every turn as he signs bills around the state, Schwarzenegger's job approval ratings dropped to 36 percent among 2,000 adults questioned in a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The poll, released today, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points and showed a two-point decline for Schwarzenegger since last month. Among 986 likely voters, his approval rating was at 42 percent, down from 46 percent a month ago.

Experts say the public's enduring low view of the governor -- whose PPIC approval ratings have been 40 percent or lower since April 2005 -- makes him vulnerable to the two Democrats trying to supplant him, state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly, who are in a virtual tie as they head toward the June 6 primary.

"He's not turned a corner in terms of his re-election prospects," said Bruce Cain, director of the UC Center in Washington. "The fact that he didn't gain from these recent actions suggests the governor has a long way to go before he rehabilitates himself. But the Democrats would make a mistake if they think he's going to be easy to defeat."

...more...

[Tempest]

1. I thought the bond deal won't be on the ballot

Doesn't matter how popular it is if it won't be voted on.

[xchrom]

2. i was hoping for a vigorous recall effort.

i'm STILL hoping mad over that -- and felt the favor should have been returned.

[Cha]

3. Okay..there's $5 Billion

in surplus revenue in California?!

I was thinking this article was repuke slanted..am I wrong?

[underpants]

7. That the writer only now thinks Arnold is slumping is very biased

his numbers have been below Gray Davis's for longer than W has been sliding down. If Arnold had an organized well financed campaign against him he would be recalled just like Davis was.

[Zorra]

4. Enron Arnie should really slump in polls after the Ken Lay conviction.

Arnold's Enron Secret
By Greg Palast, AlterNet. Posted October 5, 2003.

If Arnold wins, it's hasta la vista baby, to the $9 billion owed to the state of California by Enron and the other electricity barons.
snip---
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.

Now, 34 pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine that tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.

Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. The biggest single threat to Ken Lay and the electricity lords is a private lawsuit filed last year under California's unique Civil Code provision 17200, the "Unfair Business Practices Act." This litigation, heading to trial now in Los Angeles, would make the power companies return the $9 billion they filched from California electricity and gas customers.
(more)

http://www.alternet.org/story/16902/

And Greg Palast, as usual, was "right on the money" in the article posted above:

Enron, California Reach $1.52 Bln Energy Settlement (Update5)

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Enron Corp., the energy trader that filed the second-largest U.S. bankruptcy, agreed to a $1.52 billion settlement to resolve California claims the company drove up prices during the state's energy crisis of 2000 and 2001.

The agreement includes a $47.5 million cash payment and $1.475 billion in claims in Enron's bankruptcy case. The actual cash value of the settlement will be about $260 million, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said. The funds will go to three Western states and utilities owned by PG&E Corp. and other companies.
snip---
The agreement includes a $47.5 million cash payment and $1.475 billion in claims in Enron's bankruptcy case. The actual cash value of the settlement will be about $260 million, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said. The funds will go to three Western states and utilities owned by PG&E Corp. and other companies.
snip---
``We must also work to make sure that California never finds itself in a position to be taken advantage of again,'' Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said in a statement.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aaJMU1LZpxjM&refer=us

[stanwyck]

5. Oh, yeah! Wait till this one sinks in

how the Enron mafia called their boy in early....really early...before the brownouts and blackouts and made their dirty little deal.
This is a very ugly story. Democracy was squashed by a very unethical, greedy corporate group of thieves who stole from their employees, customers, and the American people.
This is the essence of the Bush Family Evil Empire. A fable for our times.
And Arnuld is right in the middle.

[lyonn]

8. Excellent point, Californians probably won't forget

the Swartzy/Enron connection.

[Guaranteed]

6. YEEeeeeEEEssss....Taking California BACK.

For the rightful owners. NO MORE BULLSHIT.