Is Schwarzenegger losing it?

Referring to legislators who refuse to rubber stamp his budget, our governor said yesterday,

"I call them girlie men."

As I understand it, the Democrats, who control the legislature, and the Governor have agreed on all the financial issues in the budget. (But see Dan Weintraub for recent complications) The only unsettled issues are Schwarzenegger's insistence on two additional provisions: (a) that the legislature repeal a law passed during the last days of the Davis administration that made it easier for employees to sue their employers and (b) that the legislature approve a provision that makes it easier for government agencies to outsource service such as driving school buses.

The Democrats have threatened to bring the budget to a vote without these two provisions, saying that they can and should be settled separately. Even though the Democrats control far more than 50% of the seats in both houses of the legislature, California's budget rules require that a budget be passed by a 2/3 majority. The Democrats can't do that on their own. But they can show that they aren't the ones holding up the budget.

I hope they do bring the budget to a vote and make it clear to everyone what's really going on.

About Schwarzenegger himself, I wonder what's gotten into him. So far he has relied on his overwhelming popularity to get whatever he wants. No politician can count on that sort of honeymoon forever. His apparently has ended. Is he that much of a bully that if he fails to get what he wants he resorts to this sort of name-calling? It's not even smart name-calling. Who does he think he is embarrassing other than himself?