Sen. Dean Florez, who took offense to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's comments earlier this week about small-town lawmakers, today announced he was introducing a resolution calling on the governor to take the high school exit exam.
"Given the governor’s distasteful comments, what’s unanswered is whether he can make the grade," said Florez in a long and chiding statement.
"For the leader of our great state to suggest that rural Californians have no vision -- of an airport or of a highway -- is demeaning in a very personal way for the people who live in rural California," he continued.
Florez's office proudly noted the senator is from Shafter, population 14,000, in the Central Valley.
Aaron McLear, a Schwarzenegger spokesman, responded that “Sen. Florez is purposely misrepresenting the governor's statements.”
“I would suggest that Sen. Florez’s constituents would be better served if their senator was more focused on providing solutions to the budget than on grabbing headlines with frivolous resolutions,” McLear said.
On Wednesday, Schwarzenegger encouraged lawmakers "from those little towns" to travel the world on other people's dime to see things like "an airport," "a highway that maybe has 10 lanes" or even "a highway on top of a highway."
Schwarzenegger was speaking at a conference with billionaire Michael Milken on infrastructure and answering a question about innovations he had seen in his worldwide travels and what he had tried to bring back to California.
“And that’s why I always encourage the legislators in Sacramento, because some of them come from those little towns," Schwarzenegger said. "You know what I’m saying? They come from those little towns, and they don’t have that vision yet of an airport or of a highway that maybe has 10 lanes. Or of putting a highway on top of a highway. They look at you and say, ‘Well we don’t have that in my town, what are you talking about?’ So they are kind of shocked when you say certain things."
Schwarzenegger's off-the-cuff comments about small-town lawmakers drew laughs from the audience at the Beverly Hilton, though they received a cool reception from rural legislators in Sacramento.
Florez, a media-hungry Democrat who plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2010, continued, "I hope that he accepts this challenge and that he doesn’t cower behind some excuse."
Florez claimed his resolution, SR 28, "is a serious effort."
"And after he takes the exam, maybe he’ll think twice about the massive cuts to education funding he's proposing -- he just may have to return to school to brush up for the test,” he concluded.
Florez's statement:
“The Governor’s recent narrow-minded remarks disparaging Californians ‘from those little towns’ feeds into a destructive stereotype of rural California. For the leader of our great state to suggest that rural Californians have no vision -- of an airport or of a highway -- is demeaning in a very personal way for the people who live in rural California.
The Governor’s comments were unwelcome and at worst hurtful, especially to our children. I’d like to remind him that there are many kids in rural towns who work and study hard day in and day out and yet, according to the Governor, are considered closed-minded simply because of where they live.
Like every other kid around the state, small town students take the same graduation tests as big city kids to show competency. Rural kids can make the grade. Given the Governor’s distasteful comments, what’s unanswered is whether he can make the grade.
That’s why, today, I’m introducing a senate resolution asking the Governor to take the high school exit exam. If the Governor fails the test, then we certainly have a capable Lt. Governor who can assume his duties until the Governor successfully passes the exam.
I hope that he accepts this challenge and that he doesn’t cower behind some excuse. This is a serious effort to bring attention to the divisiveness of placing labels on people based on who they are, how they live or where they come from -- or even how well they do on a test.
If it is a good enough test for our twelfth graders, then certainly it is a good enough test for the Governor to demonstrate his competency.
And after he takes the exam, maybe he’ll think twice about the massive cuts to education funding he's proposing -- he just may have to return to school to brush up for the test.”
What Schwarzenegger said:
So I think traveling around has a great impact, because I have learned -- you know, everything that I've ever done, it was always global. You know, the bodybuilding sport was global. I traveled around the world and trained and had seminars all over the world. In entertainment it was global. You know, we went around and made movies around the world and then promoted them in all the countries, and you see all the things.
Now in politics you meet the political leaders around the world and you see -- your interests are different. You look at the infrastructure and all the things that they are doing, their political system and how they get things done, their efficiency level and all those things.
So I think it's exciting and it's motivating, so it has a terrific impact. And that's why I always encourage the legislators in Sacramento, because some of them come from those little towns. (Laughter) You know what I'm saying? They come from those little towns and they don’t have that vision yet of an airport. (Applause) Or of a highway that maybe has 10 lanes or of putting a highway on top of a highway. They look at you and they say, "Well, we don’t have that in my town. What are you talking about?" So they are kind of shocked when you say certain things.
So I like them to travel around. And I think I'm always against when the media beats up on them for traveling around because someone else is paying for their trips and all of those things. I mean, so what? If they would take the money from the taxpayers, then they will be complaining about they're using tax dollars to travel around the world and live in luxury and all this. So I think it's great when they go to Russia and they go to China and they go to Africa, they go to the Middle East and they go to Canada and they go to all different places around the world to get education and to learn what those places do.
Because we don't have to redesign the wheel all the time; we can go and copy other people. There are so many wonderful ideas and so many bright people out there and think tanks that come up with great ways of moving things forward. I think we should copy a lot of this stuff, you know?
So I love traveling and I love learning from the world, because I always said that the world is my classroom. This is where I get the best education, by traveling around the world.
@Nyx.CommentBody@