The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger And the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy

by Joe Mathews

California voters passed Proposition 13 in 1978. At the same time, a champion bodybuilder named Arnold Schwarzenegger was becoming a movie star. Over the past quarter century, the twin arts of direct democracy (through ballot initiatives designed to push the public to the polls on election day) and blockbuster moviemaking (through movies designed to push the public to the theaters on opening weekend) grew up together, at home in California. With the state's recall election in 2003, direct democracy and blockbuster movies officially merged. The Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In The People's Machine , political reporter Joe Mathews, who covered Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial campaign for the Los Angeles Times and who has subsequently broken many front page stories about him, traces the roots of both movie and political populism, how Schwarzenegger used these twin forces to win election and, especially, how he has used them to govern. "Let the people decide," said Governor Schwarzenegger after his inauguration. The People's Machine, through remarkable access and whip-smart analysis—there is news in this book—reports on whether this system of governing proves blessing, curse, or mess, and on the remarkable Austrian bodybuilder, movie star, and political man with the nerve to carry it out.

480 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2006

About the author

Mark Paul, senior scholar at the New America Foundation and a visiting scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, is a leading expert on California policy and politics, with three decades of varied experience as a journalist, policy thinker, and state official. He is the co-author, with Joe Mathews, of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How It Can Be Fixed.

Mark is formerly deputy editorial page editor of the Sacramento Bee and deputy treasurer of the state of California. His recent work on California issues has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, and The American Interest, and in leading California blogs, including Calbuzz, California Progress Report, and Blockbuster Democracy. He is co-author, with Micah Weinberg, of Remapping the California Electorate, in R. Jeffrey Lustig, ed., Remaking California: Reclaiming the Public Good (Heyday Books: 2010)."

Reviews

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"'I've never known Arnold to be a conservative. I've known Arnold to be a chameleon.'" (quoting bodybuilder Rick Wayne, 38)

"This was blockbuster democracy. California's system turned the making of laws into a contest that the people could follow. But a contest wasn't the same as real action. Schwarznegger, his special election, and his governorship had shined the brightest of lights on the state and its government. In doing so, he had changed -- perhaps forever -- the look and feel and scale of politics. But blockbuster democracy would not produce the reforms he sought." (393)

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very intriguing story of CA politics between 2002 and 2006. I came out of it with more respect for Arnold, but it also reinforced what I hated about him: namely that he always said he was giving the people the choice but then spoke in hyperbole rather than explaining his initiatives. It also helped me realize how much credit I give liberal groups that may not deserve it. Damn politics.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn fascinating.