Pete Wilson: Political Maverick

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Pete Wilson: Political Maverick, Californian Saint Courage comes in all forms. Some men show their valor on the battlefield. Others champion a cause they believe in. Still others are forced to make a decision that will earn them condemnation, even when they are in the right. Such was the case with Pete Wilson, the governor of California who made an enemy out of his own party over his unpopular solution to an economic crisis. When Wilson came into office in 1991, he was welcomed not by a cheering crowd but by a state in crisis. California had been hit hard by numerous calamities at the beginning of the decade. Numerous natural disasters struck, including some of the worst fires in the state’s history (Western Regional Climate Center). Riots …show more content…

The new governor was branded as a traitor early in his time in office, and had to fight tooth and nail to get the policy into effect. At one conference in Green Valley he boldly declared that rejecting the increases would make everyone there "f**cking irrelevant"; soon delegates began to show up on the Assembly floor wearing buttons with the letters "FI" as a badge of honor. When asked if he would twist arms in order to get votes, Wilson stated that he would "break arms" if need be; soon after politicians began to show up with their arms in slings …show more content…

At a party convention in Anaheim, conservatives arrived bearing tea bags, an explicit callback to the Boston Tea Party, framing Wilson as a thieving Great Britain. There was even talk among the more extreme members of the right-wing of bringing in a doll representing Wilson to be hung or tarred and feathered-punishments typically enacted on tax collectors- to further paint Wilson's image in a negative light (Stall and Decker). Though nowhere near as fervent in their opposition as his fellow politicians, Wilson found little support for his spending cuts and tax increases among the citizens of California themselves. Most people were unconcerned with the looming budget deficit, and opposed the raise of income taxes by four to one and sales taxes by three to one. In the end, only two of his proposed changes were approved by the public, and of those only an increase on alcohol taxes received widespread support. Objections to spending cuts were just as high, especially in the realms of social welfare

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