Kudos to Assemblyman Ray Haynes

I enjoyed Assemblyman Haynes' article published today in the California Political Review for a couple of reasons. First, Assemblyman Haynes, an early supporter of Arnold Schwarzenegger, clearly articulates a position that I think responsible Republicans must consider. Second, I love the imagery the Assemblyman uses; I only wish he somehow could have worked it out so the linemen crushed the canary (a little attempt at humor here).

The article, reprinted here, is online here. Enjoy...


The Susan Kennedy appointment

A canary on life support

The governor, having summoned up the specter of Gray Davis’s ghost, has exhausted his right to the benefit of the doubt.

Ray Haynes
Assemblyman Ray Haynes represents California’s 66th Assembly District.

Politics is a lot like football: a team sport for individuals with similar goals. The team advances its agenda, sometimes in small increments, moving the ball toward “victory.” The only real difference between football and politics is that the players can change positions frequently. Sometimes a politician is the quarterback, sometimes he is the lineman. In all cases, everyone wins if they effectively execute the play that is called in the huddle.

I know I’m a lineman in California politics. I’m willing to be stepped on, smashed up, or hurt for my quarterback, as long as I know he is going to advance my team down the field to victory. I have been loyal to our governor because I have always believed he was throwing the ball to our team. I have not always agreed with his strategy, but I have been confident we were on the same team. Last week I lost that confidence.

I endorsed Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor before the recall because at the time I thought the best thing for conservatives was to win the recall. We started it in February of 2003; we had to finish it by defeating Gray Davis. Many Republicans opposed the recall because they believed it was too risky: that it might ultimately strengthen Democrats. I was told that by prominent Republicans leaders that my early support of the recall was foolish. I thought it was the right thing to do.

At the time I endorsed Schwarzenegger, he and Cruz Bustamante were tied in the polls. Had the recall resulted in a Gov. Bustamante, it would have destroyed conservative influence in California. Schwarzenegger won, running on conservative themes of fiscal responsibility and opposing taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens. The conservatives who began the recall were vindicated.

Since then, despite differences, I have consistently supported this governor, getting my fingers bloodied and my nose broken blocking the bad guys to advance the ball. I thought Californians owed this governor the benefit of the doubt; I believed he was trying to do the right thing.
I am no longer certain of that, and last week the “benefit of the doubt” was eliminated. The governor deliberately threw the ball to the other team. It may be too early to draw a final conclusion from the chief of staff appointment of Susan Kennedy, but Kennedy was at the center of the Oracle scandal, the energy crisis, and the budget debacles of the Davis Administration. I don’t trust Kennedy to advance the agenda in which I believe, and I’m reluctant to put my faith in a quarterback who would put her in charge. Time may ultimately prove me wrong. This appointment might prove to be an effective, creative strategy that advances California in a good direction. But that will have to happen before any more faith can justifiably be placed in this administration.


Years ago, in the days of less-sophisticated mining technology, miners would take a canary into the cave with them to detect dangerous gases. If the canary dropped dead while they were working, the miners knew to get out of the mine immediately, because they were being exposed to dangerous gases. The canary is demonstrating serious signs of distress in this administration: Susan Kennedy is a hazardous gas in this dangerous mine of government. She puts the canary on life support. We can no longer take it for granted that the mine is safe, or that the governor is trying to take us anywhere we want to go.