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Schwarzenegger Prepares to Take Office

Aired November 17, 2003 - 10:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, another political interesting story, we are just three hours away from a transformation in California, a historic transfer of power, a new role for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The inauguration gets under way.
Political analyst Ron Brownstein of "The L.A. Times" joins us live from Washington D.C. to discuss the Schwarzenegger era, which I guess has arrived -- Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

Yes, talk about rolling the dice, huh, California electing, the largest state in the country, electing a governor who has never before held political office, who really had not articulated his views on many of the issues facing the state before this election, and yet was swept in by an irresistible tide of discontent with the incumbent governor, Gray Davis, unhappiness over the economy, unhappiness over Davis's performance.

Now, here he is, facing a legislature, dominated by Democrats in both the statehouse and the state Senate, and a real test of the political skills of a neophyte governor.

KAGAN: I want to get to the legislature in just a moment. If you thought the campaign was odd and strange, how about the staff that he's pulled together. The most liberal of liberals and the most conservative of conservatives, and I think something that shows very well. There are some of the people going to be on the team. But for the California EPA, he has picked a staunch environmentalist to head up the agency, but then that person's immediate deputy is a Republican from a timber company.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, absolutely, and you've got probably the emblematic points here are that Terry Tomminen (ph), who you mentioned there, for the environmental secretary, and then Donna Argen (ph), who is the finance director, the main point person on the budget, who has worked for conservative governors Jeb Bush and John Engler, and developed a reputation as someone who's very tough on spending.

Look, Schwarzenegger ran as an ideological hybrid, or a centrist, someone who's very tough on spending. They have pledged not to raise taxes to deal with the budget deficit, but also proposed quite liberal positions on the environment, energy and social issues. In fact, if you look at the environmental agenda, it's something that is going to bring him in conflict with George Bush on a regular basis, and he needs to pursue it. The appointments reflects the kind of campaign that he ran, the kind of agenda that he offered. And it's what he needs probably to stay on top in the state, that frankly, is more Democratic than Republican leaning in his modern politics. He is someone that wants to hold the center. He has a lot of diverse opinions. The question is, can they work together, or will this be kind of a Tower of Babel inside this administration.

KAGAN: You mentioned the state legislature, incredibly liberal. It tended to be pull Gray Davis farther to the left than even he wanted to be. Is Arnold Schwarzenegger going to go in there and be combative like Ronald Reagan and Jesse Ventura were when they were governors, or do you think he'll go and try to get along?

BROWNSTEIN: I don't think we know, Daryn. And I really think this is a big unanswered question. Certainly, I think his first instinct is going to be to try to work with the legislature, but he's also said repeatedly that he's willing to go over his head and go to the ballot. His main strength as governor may be his ability to attract enormous amounts of attention. Here we are talking about him. Today there is an enormous media contingent out there. And the ability to mobilize the public. He can do that in two ways. He can try to pressure legislators by saying he'll campaign against them. That's hard, because the redistricting in California makes the seats so safe, it's hard for the Republicans to win Democratic-held seats and vice versa. The other route is to take his ideas directly to the ballot, the same way he got himself into the governor's mansion, and pursue referendums and initiatives, to pursue his agenda. We may see some of that as soon as next March.

KAGAN: How about this? I bet it won't be boring, if nothing else, to cover. Ron Brownstein, thank you for that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 17, 2003 - 10:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, another political interesting story, we are just three hours away from a transformation in California, a historic transfer of power, a new role for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The inauguration gets under way.
Political analyst Ron Brownstein of "The L.A. Times" joins us live from Washington D.C. to discuss the Schwarzenegger era, which I guess has arrived -- Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

Yes, talk about rolling the dice, huh, California electing, the largest state in the country, electing a governor who has never before held political office, who really had not articulated his views on many of the issues facing the state before this election, and yet was swept in by an irresistible tide of discontent with the incumbent governor, Gray Davis, unhappiness over the economy, unhappiness over Davis's performance.

Now, here he is, facing a legislature, dominated by Democrats in both the statehouse and the state Senate, and a real test of the political skills of a neophyte governor.

KAGAN: I want to get to the legislature in just a moment. If you thought the campaign was odd and strange, how about the staff that he's pulled together. The most liberal of liberals and the most conservative of conservatives, and I think something that shows very well. There are some of the people going to be on the team. But for the California EPA, he has picked a staunch environmentalist to head up the agency, but then that person's immediate deputy is a Republican from a timber company.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, absolutely, and you've got probably the emblematic points here are that Terry Tomminen (ph), who you mentioned there, for the environmental secretary, and then Donna Argen (ph), who is the finance director, the main point person on the budget, who has worked for conservative governors Jeb Bush and John Engler, and developed a reputation as someone who's very tough on spending.

Look, Schwarzenegger ran as an ideological hybrid, or a centrist, someone who's very tough on spending. They have pledged not to raise taxes to deal with the budget deficit, but also proposed quite liberal positions on the environment, energy and social issues. In fact, if you look at the environmental agenda, it's something that is going to bring him in conflict with George Bush on a regular basis, and he needs to pursue it. The appointments reflects the kind of campaign that he ran, the kind of agenda that he offered. And it's what he needs probably to stay on top in the state, that frankly, is more Democratic than Republican leaning in his modern politics. He is someone that wants to hold the center. He has a lot of diverse opinions. The question is, can they work together, or will this be kind of a Tower of Babel inside this administration.

KAGAN: You mentioned the state legislature, incredibly liberal. It tended to be pull Gray Davis farther to the left than even he wanted to be. Is Arnold Schwarzenegger going to go in there and be combative like Ronald Reagan and Jesse Ventura were when they were governors, or do you think he'll go and try to get along?

BROWNSTEIN: I don't think we know, Daryn. And I really think this is a big unanswered question. Certainly, I think his first instinct is going to be to try to work with the legislature, but he's also said repeatedly that he's willing to go over his head and go to the ballot. His main strength as governor may be his ability to attract enormous amounts of attention. Here we are talking about him. Today there is an enormous media contingent out there. And the ability to mobilize the public. He can do that in two ways. He can try to pressure legislators by saying he'll campaign against them. That's hard, because the redistricting in California makes the seats so safe, it's hard for the Republicans to win Democratic-held seats and vice versa. The other route is to take his ideas directly to the ballot, the same way he got himself into the governor's mansion, and pursue referendums and initiatives, to pursue his agenda. We may see some of that as soon as next March.

KAGAN: How about this? I bet it won't be boring, if nothing else, to cover. Ron Brownstein, thank you for that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com