the rix mix

Keep in mind that Arnold screwed up a coup d'tat attempt by an obscure right wing congressman, who was the first hapless victim of his own initial success. California got a guy who isn't tied to the Orange County radical right & won't put much, if anything, they want on his agenda. In this sense he's a bit like Reagan. The electorate didn't make Arnold Governor, they replaced the office of Governor with Schwarzenegger. He doesn't really have to do anything except be Arnold. It's an example of Culture slowly replacing the State, an ongoing process identified long ago by Charles Olson, Walter Benjamin, Marshall McLuhan & others. The Kennedy family, Teddy excepted, is also a cultural rather than a political energy - nobody cares what they think - all that counts is that they are. In effect, California said: We know it can't be fixed in reality, so at least make it entertainment.