After California's previous Lieutenant Governor, essentially the "vice president" of the state, John Garamendi was elected to the United States House of Representatives last November, Governor Schwarzenegger picked state Senator Abel Maldonado to be the new Lieutenant Governor. However, Maldonado can only take office after he is confirmed by the state Assembly and the state Senate. While the Senate approved the nomination, the Assembly voted 37-35, just 4 votes shy of the simple majority needed to confirm Maldonado's nomination.
However, the Governor's office then released a statement saying that they believe that 41 people would have to vote against Maldonado's nomination to prevent him from taking office. The Assembly's speaker, however, issued a statement saying that Maldonado cannot take office because he needs 40 votes to be confirmed. The Governor's office still insists that Senator Maldonado will be sworn in as Lieutenant Governor and is planning a confirmation ceremony.
Many people insist that choosing Maldonado is a political move intended to position him as an incumbent in the coming November election when the voters will choose the Lieutenant Governor.
As Assemblyman Jim Nielsen said, "So much for bipartisanship. Today it died in the state Assembly." Is it just me, or is it kind of ridiculous that the state Constitution doesn't make it perfectly clear how many votes are needed for a confirmation? Is Schwarzenegger abusing this lack of clarity to get what he wants? Does he truly believe that Maldonado was lawfully confirmed? Are legislatures allowing their votes to be decided be politics and upcoming elections, rather than actual policy/competency issues?
1 comment:
"Is Schwarzenegger abusing this lack of clarity to get what he wants? Does he truly believe that Maldonado was lawfully confirmed? Are legislatures allowing their votes to be decided be politics and upcoming elections, rather than actual policy/competency issues?"
Schwarzenegger doesn't care about how clear it is. Of course he knows Maldonado wasn't lawfully confirmed. I mean, he may be Austrian but that doesn't make him stupid. Regarding the last question, history already gives us the answer. Simply put, the more things change the more they stay the same. Boundaries shift, new players step in, but power always finds a place to rest its head.
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