Underlying the governor’s approval ratings are words and deeds that herald a return to hardball politics and partisan gridlock in the state capital. Even a year ago, what started out as a Sacramento love-fest had degenerated into an ugly grudge match between the governor and the Democratic-controlled legislature when state budget talks stalled in the summer. The camaraderie that had become the new face of state politics after the 2003 recall soon gave way to name-calling as accusations flew over an embarrassing failure to reach a budget accord by the July 1 deadline. Schwarzenegger called the legislators “girlie men,” and the Democrats went on the offensive. The legislature’s approval ratings fell from 39 percent to 30 percent among voters in the last year, indicating that the partisan conflict had caused damage on both sides.

National politics also reared its ugly head during the 2004 presidential campaign.  Schwarzenegger’s appearance at the GOP national convention, and later at a Bush campaign rally in Ohio, may have helped his standing with his party, but it cost him needed supporters among the Democratic-leaning voters in his state. After the election, the governor and Democratic leaders each seemed to interpret the California results as their mandate to govern. Schwarzenegger saw voters siding with him on a dozen ballot initiatives in 2004. For Democrats, what mattered was voters’ overwhelming support for the Democratic presidential ticket and incumbent U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, and the loss of not one seat in the state’s congressional, state assembly, or state senate races. Moreover, when the governor’s efforts to elect GOP legislators failed, the Democrats felt safety in their numbers.

Schwarzenegger’s tough talk about his critics also widened the political gulf and alienated some of his early supporters. When nurses at a women’s conference heckled the governor last December, he told the audience, “They are special interests… Special interests don’t like me in Sacramento because I kick their butt.” But Democrats have tarred Schwarzenegger’s relations with business groups and his fundraising activities with the same special interests brush. In our August poll, two in three Californians said their state government was run by big interests and not for the benefit of the people—an opinion shared equally by Democrats and Republicans.

The fragile relationship between the GOP governor and the legislature took a decided turn for the worse in January and has been deteriorating ever since. When Schwarzenegger presented his plans for the state budget early in the year, he met with opposition from Democratic leaders and a storm of public protest over the claim that he was reneging on a school funding promise. In our polls, Californians consistently place a high priority on state funding for K-12 public schools. Most voters believe their local schools need more money than Sacramento is giving them, and any talk of withholding funding has helped to create a perception that the governor’s fiscal priorities are off base.

Moreover, the governor used his January “state of the state” speech to usher in a “year of reform.” He called the legislature into special session to pass his package of four initiatives—independent political redistricting, state spending limits, tighter rules on teacher tenure, and reduced expenditures on public employee pensions—that he committed to taking to the ballot in the fall. Instead of embracing these plans, the Democratic legislators criticized his proposal as out of touch with the issues, and ignored his threat to take these measures to the ballot box without the legislature’s endorsement.

The governor’s critics then took to the airwaves and spent millions of dollars on advertisements presenting the governor, his budget plans, and his reform initiatives in unflattering terms. Schwarzenegger countered with fiery speeches and his own attack ads, prolific fundraising, and comments belittling the legislature and the so-called “special interests” that closely ally themselves with its Democratic leaders. As a result, there were no successful efforts to reach compromise. The governor’s supporters gathered signatures to place three initiatives on the ballot (the fourth on pensions was withdrawn), and Schwarzenegger called a special statewide election for November 8.