Schwarzenegger is doing a dazzling job of framing his attack on nurses, firefighters, and police officers as a populist, anti-government uprising. I don’t know how anyone can buy it, but it seems that many are (some apparently without really knowing what they’re buying).
As I’ve written before, I mostly feel shame at having actually gone to journalism school, seeing what’s become of my profession these days. However, this commentary from a journalism student at USC, Robert Iafolla, gives me hope:
Furthermore, people who are actually worth admiring – nurses, firefighters and teachers – object to Schwarzenegger’s agenda and see him as a genuine threat. Given their concern, both his words and deeds should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.
So why do these civil servants have bones to pick with the governor’s agenda? Nurses are angry about the suspension of a law mandating a specific nurse-to-patient ratio. Firefighters are raging against a proposal to radically rework their pension plans. Teachers also object to pension changes, but are fighting budget cuts to education and alterations to their tenure system as well.
Thus far, Schwarzenegger has tried to demonize these critics by calling them “special interests.” This designation hardly seems appropriate. These are the people who earn relatively low wages while they keep us safe, care for us when we’re ill and educate our children.
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