In response to his trip to Israel over the weekend, the
Arab-American community criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for
ignoring the Palestinian side of the conflict. In response to the
criticism, the governor added an additional stop on his trip to
visit with King Abdullah II in Jordan. After Jordan, the governor
moved on to Germany to visit wounded soldiers from the Iraq
war.
While it may be true that Schwarzenegger’s original plans
snubbed the Palestinians, Arab-Americans’ complaints really
miss the heart of the matter: Why in the world is the governor of
California going on a trip halfway around the globe from his home
state in the first place?
California is mired in a massive fiscal crisis. There is a
debate being waged in Sacramento over how and where cuts are to be
administered. Student fees are increasing, the economy is still
reeling from the recession, and gas prices remain high. With such a
plethora of domestic problems confronting our state, our governor
should not be leaving at a time that he is needed most.
In Schwarzenegger’s defense, his trip was done for a good
cause. In Israel he gave a speech at the site of a future Museum of
Tolerance and visited a Holocaust memorial site. He also announced
five new and expanded business partnerships that will generate
hundreds of new jobs in California.
While his visits to Israel, Jordan and Germany are all for good
causes, they are the kind of humanitarian and diplomatic
expeditions that Bono from U2 or former President Jimmy Carter
embark on, not the governor of a state.
Additionally, the benefits of his trip are very limited. His
visits to the Museum of Tolerance site and the Holocaust Memorial
are almost entirely symbolic.
The business partnerships he promoted are also restrictive
because they will only create a few hundred jobs in a state with a
population of 36 million people. To get an idea of how limited the
impact of these new jobs will be, consider that California’s
unemployment rate rose from 6.3 percent in February to 6.5 percent
in March, despite the fact that payroll employment increased by
5,200 jobs over the month.
I’m not saying that governors should be forbidden from
setting foot on foreign soil. Foreign trips can actually be very
beneficial for our state. Many governors in states that border
Mexico and Canada often make trips to these neighboring countries
to improve economic and political relations. However,
Schwarzenegger’s trips to Jordan, Israel and Germany have
little to do with California issues and will not help much in this
regard.
The nature of a governorship is inherently focused on domestic
issues. Remember your high school government classes ““ the
United States is a tightly knit federation, not a loose
confederation. The federal government alone is supposed to handle
issues of foreign policy, not the states. Obviously Schwarzenegger
is not trying to shape U.S. foreign policy or overstep his legal
bounds. But, he is straying somewhat from the traditional focus of
his position. Usually officials from the State Department make
these kind of diplomatic missions to far-off countries, not
governors.
During his speech in Israel, Schwarzenegger said, “I come
from a country where we have seen a history of prejudice that
resulted in terrible atrocities, so I always made it my commitment
that I wanted to go around the world to promote tolerance,
inclusion and to fight prejudice.” These are worthy values
that deserve to be fought for. Indeed, the governor’s
worldwide popularity would be well-suited for such humanitarian
endeavors, but for now he should focus on his commitments here as
governor.
His presence is needed in California and not in Israel, Jordan
or Germany.
Bitondo is a third-year political science and history
student. E-mail him at mbitondo@media.ucla.edu. Send general
comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.