EDITORIAL ANGER MISMANAGEMENT WHEN EVERYONE'S MAD, NOTHING GETS DONE IN SACRAMENTO.LEADERS of unions and the Democratic Party have gone ape over the scheme engineered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Republican pals to foment fo·ment tr.v. fo·ment·ed, fo·ment·ing, fo·ments 1. To promote the growth of; incite. 2. To treat (the skin, for example) by fomentation. public anger in support of their political goals. Shocked, they are. Even outraged. The governor and his team plan to use these anger tactics to convince voters that the unions, particularly public-employee unions, are up to no good, and that the reforms proposed for a special election in November are needed to rein them in and save the state. No wonder the Dems are outraged. After all, those are the tactics they have pioneered in their fight to foil the governor's every move. Now, he is commandeering their strategy. The horror! ``It's the worst kind of politics,'' says Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association The California Teachers Association (CTA), initially established in 1863 as the California Educational Society, is by far the largest teachers' union in the state of California. It is considered by many to be the most powerful union in California. , apparently without a hint of irony. Realizing many months ago that the popular governor could bypass the petulant pet·u·lant adj. 1. Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish. 2. Contemptuous in speech or behavior. [Latin petul Legislature and go directly to the public to get things done, the Democratic leadership decided to take their beef to the people. Teachers, nurses and other union workers turned up to protest at Schwarzenegger's every event, making him out to be someone who hated all working people. Even though the messages were overblown o·ver·blown v. Past participle of overblow. adj. 1. a. Done to excess; overdone: overblown decorations. b. , they seemed to work, and Schwarzenegger's popularity plummeted. Perhaps that's how the governor's team got the idea. At some point in recent years, angry rhetoric replaced civil debate in politics, not just in Sacramento, but across the nation. But does anger get anything done, other than polarize po·lar·ize v. po·lar·ized, po·lar·iz·ing, po·lar·iz·es v.tr. 1. To induce polarization in; impart polarity to. 2. To cause to concentrate about two conflicting or contrasting positions. the nation even more? Even righteous anger disables compromise and cooperation - which is really the heart of politicking - so nothing gets done. The anger politics must end. Schwarzenegger, still the most popular elected leader in California, has an obligation to his constituents to set the example. He doesn't need to stoop to the Democrats' level. He needs to make the case that the reforms he proposes will move California forward after years of stagnation Stagnation A period of little or no growth in the economy. Economic growth of less than 2-3% is considered stagnation. Sometimes used to describe low trading volume or inactive trading in securities. Notes: A good example of stagnation was the U.S. economy in the 1970s. and political gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. . Maybe the governor, other state officials and the 80 Assembly members and 40 senators ought to take some therapy together with anger-management specialists so they can get to work on what they're paid to do - solving the state's problems. |
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