Deukmejian Decries Divided Government

Former California Gov. George Deukmejian said last night in a speech at the Arco Forum that an ideologically divided government is a weak government.

Deukmejian, speaking to a crowd of approximately 125 people, suggested that greater party loyalty on the part of voters would end legislative gridlock in the American political system.

As a Republican governor working with a Democratic-based legislature for eight years--from 1983 to 1991--Deukmejian said that passing bills, including budget resolutions, was difficult because each branch of government approached matters differently.

While Republicans in the state government resisted tax increases and big government programs, Deukmejian said, Democrats in the legislature tried to increase expenditures and to provide more services to the people.

"These are two very different approaches and philosophies to the passage of [the budget,] the most important piece of legislation," he said.

"When the legislature is controlled by one party and the governor or the president or the other, I think you can see why you have the kind of clashes that you will generally read about."

Consider Party Affiliation

Deukmejian said voters who elect public officials without regard to their party affiliation should be held accountable for the existence of such divided governments.

"Many voters who vote for the person rather than the party don't really recognize that they are a part of the problem," the former governor said.

"They are sending people to the government that are without any question going to find themselves battling each other and making it very difficult to come up with proper solutions," he said.

Deukmejian urged students to think about the problems of having a divided government and to consider the importance of party loyalty.

"If we really expect to be able to resolve a lot of these difficult issues, we've got to have people in the legislative branch as well as the executive branch who are on the same wavelength and who are approaching these issues in the same manner," he said.