|
March 20, 2004
Where Have You
Gone, Cruz Bustamante
By Carl J. Luna/HispanicVista.com
California Democrats
have a serious problem- they've
become a party without a
leader. With Davis out,
Bustamante down and a weak bench,
Democrats go into the November general
elections General-less.
Coming out of the 2002 election Democrats
seemed to have a lock on the Governorship
for another dozen years, with Gray
Davis--set to sail through a
less-than-inspiring but secure second
term--passing the political scepter ion
2006 to Cruz Bustamante who would preside
over his own golden age to
2014. But all such dreams
were terminated by a opportunistic recall
campaign, public anger and a smiling face
from Hollywood. Gray
Davis now plays second banana
to Arnold on Leno and Cruz Bustamante's
been pretty much MIA since last
October's bruising loss.
So whom does that leave to hold up the
Democratic banner? State Controller
Steve Westly got some mileage working to
pass props 58 & 59 , but: a) he was
definitely playing backup to the
Big Guy (how many people really voted for
Prop 58 because "Stevo"
said so?); and b) the Big Guy plays for
the other team. One is hard
pressed to see just how helping
Schwarzenegger score a quintessential
political victory is going to help
Westly should he challenge the Terminator
come 2006.
That was precisely the "damned if
they did, damned if they didn't"
problem Democrats confronted dealing with
the Schwarzenegger Props. Oppose
them, as State Treasurer Phil
Angelides did, without really
having a viable alternative (short of
massive tax increases) and you looked
obstructionist and not just a little
petulant (as State Treasurer Phil
Angelides did). Embrace them, like Westly
did and you just helped score a big one
for the other side.
Dianne Feinstein did come out and support
the props and came off looking almost
statesman-like in her bipartisan
appeal. But Feinstein doesn't have
to worry about an election nor is she
planning to run against Schwarzenegger in
the future. (Unless she
reconsiders her interest in the
governorship and tries to run against him
in '06, which is a low probability event
at best. Note to Barbara
Boxer: if you do succeed in beating
back Bill Jones' challenge, be ready to
face Arnold himself in 2010 when he's
termed out as governor. That is, if
Arnold still has the political bug after
6 years in the hot seat and no-one's
changed the Constitution so foreign-born
citizens can run for the White
House.) In any event, Feinstein is
really a creature of Washington; she
won't expend too much precious political
capital to fight battles for state
Democrats.
And then there's the curse of term limits
which have robbed Democrats of a truly
authoritative voice in the
legislature. John Burton is the
last hold out of a now bygone era or
capital Uberpoliticos who strode
Sacramento like
colossusi. But Big John is
termed out this year, which leaves
a "B" team headed by first term
rookie (or, as they would call it in
Sacramento today, seasoned first term
veteran) Fabian Nunez to suit up
and carry the ball for the Democratic
team. Perhaps a new party political star
looms just below the horizon, such as LA
Mayor Jim Hahn or his rival Antonio
Villaraigosa, but that does nothing to
help the party this year
So who leadeth California
Democrats? Maybe it's got to be
Cruz Bustamante, himself.
Sure, the Lt. G took an unexpected
shellacking last fall which effectively
ended his hopes to ever win higher
office. That, in a nutshell, however, is
exactly Cruz's biggest strength.
The Recall loss has turned him from an
ambitious politician into the reigning
statesman of California Democratic
politics-a man no longer looking out for
his own political future, but able to
take the high ground - the right
ground-and begin arguing the case for why
Democratic values and not Republican
values-- even if they're all
special-effected by a
HollywoodGovernor-deserve to triumph come
the fall.
The Lt. Governor retreated into virtual
isolation after the recall election,
nursing his wounds and probably more than
a few small grudges at the nasty foibles
of fate. Over the last few weeks,
however, he's started to come out into
the light - promoting social
tolerance in a visit to a Sikh temple
here, marching with student
protesting Community College cuts
there. The big question now
is, does Cruz still have what it
takes? Is he still willing to
aggressively hit the rubber-chicken
speaking circuit and lay himself on
the line to fight for the values he
championed for two decades?
One can almost hear the Simon and
Garfunkelesque crooning:
"Where have you gone Cruz
Bustamante, your party turns its lonely
eyes to you, woo woo woo..."
_________________________________________________________
Carl J. Luna, Ph.D.,
a HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com)
contributing columnist, is Professor of
Political Science at San Diego Mesa
College. Contact at cluna@sdccd.net
|
