Analysis: Schwarzenegger Increasingly Seen by GOP as Party's Best Bet

Sacramento Bee ^ | September 15, 2003 | Amy Chance

[pogo101]

LOS ANGELES -- It was only last year that many state Republican Party activists were opting to back newcomer Bill Simon over former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

Though Riordan was widely considered the more electable of the two, he had consorted politically with Democrats for years, and Simon sided with the party's conservative activists on social issues. Their pick won the nomination only to lose the general election to Gov. Gray Davis.

[LPM1888]

Thanks. I was gonna post this early this morning, but you know me, I didn't want to upset any of the natives in our happy little forum we all call home ;-)

The Natives have been off the Reservation for quite awhile now!

[pogo101]

It depends on what you mean by "on here." Most on this thread seem to be pro- or resigned-to-Arnold. But a plurality and near-majority of FReepers answering a McClintock-or-Arnold survey picked McClintock.

(I figure just about 90% of FReepers' first choice is McClintock, so that argument is a non-starter. It's whom we plan to vote for that divides, here.)

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Schwarzenegger Increasingly Seen by GOP as Party's Best Bet

Yeah...that's what the Liberal Press keeps telling me. They've anointed Ahnold. I havn't. I want a Conservative in office.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Well, they should.

Hmmmm...who was that Republican choice who ignored their invites in 1998...OH YEAH...some schmuck named Lundgren. Whatever happened to him? ;-)

[68 grunt]

Living in lalaland I see many celebs and treat them as no big deal. I'm personally offended by unctious behaviour toward celebs. But Arnold excites me! His success, his positivity, his joy, his appreciation, his desire to return, all these things have me excited.

[DoctorZIn]

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[pogo101]

I havn't. I want a Conservative in office.

And I want to crap gold nuggets, create 4 Nino Scalia clones and put them all on SCOTUS to replace Stevens, Breyer, Souter and Ginsburg. But those things aren't looking likely to happen.

[68 grunt]

Excuse me? The media can't stop baggin' on Arnie. They are scared. You know about fear, don't you?

[jennyp]

I also think that it's very naive to think that it's naive to think that a win here will make the problems of the CAGOP go away.

I know that you know that I know that you know that I know that that's a very deep thought! :-)

[autoresponder]

INTERACTIVE AUDIO

CLINTON WANTS PUBLICITY AGAIN

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CLICK HERE        HELLO BABY!

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GO BACK AND CLICK ON THE VIDEO!

[b9]

Thanks for the *ping*

Very 'touching'.
(will he EVER just g.o a.w.a.y?)

[LisaAnne]

*ROTFLOL* Oh my gosh,that is one of the funniest posts I have seen in a good long while.

[SteveH]

Excuse me? The media can't stop baggin' on Arnie. They are scared. You know about fear, don't you?

I think you're permitting your enthusiasm to color your perceptions a bit. Read my summary of the afternoon cbs radio newsblurb here

The overall impression that I got was that the media was moderately pro-Arnold. I guess that this is (1) because Arnold is very socially liberal, (2) because he's a familiar public icon and therefore relatively easy to cover in a journalistic sense, and (3) because he is vague enough on the fiscal aspects of his campaign that journalists don't get too concerned that anything significant will change there either under an Arnold administration (after all, Davis and the Democrats traditionally water down their statements, all the while maintaining or planning to increase the spending level to the point that it is simply taken for granted by the media no matter what the (D) crowd professes).

Again the thing that most impressed me about today's news coverage was how often McClintock's name came up. I think fear is the worst when facing the unknown. McClintock's platform is the most detailed of all the major remaining candidates as far as I can tell. Nevertheless, his platform is almost never described or even alluded to in the national media. Such was the case today on radio. Arnold was the guy invariably given the sound bites and the (mild, which equals favorable in this context) platform coverage. After all of Arnold's professed Republicanism of the previous days, I would normally have expected Arnold to have been vilified as an arch-villain in the normal media style, but this did not occur. Altogether and reading between the lines, it seems apparent to me that the media are scared sh*tless of some event interfering with the apparent frontrunner Arnold from taking the brass ring, and instead permitting McClintock to get out front. Should that happen, the media would be unable to avoid giving his platform major league, detailed coverage, and Wall Street reaction to it.

There is where the media weak spot is, being forced to publicize Tom's platform to any significant degree. At that point, a permanent upset would occur and the media would not be able to "gate" Tom's message any more.

I think one of the reasons Tom has been hanging in there so long is because the last "debate" will permit Tom (for a change) to speak directly to the people in a manner that puts a spotlight on any differences between him and Arnold.

Techniques in the media used for covering Tom and Arnold are vastly different in practice. Arnold auto-filters and waters down his spoonfed message and gets a pass by the media. Tom's serious and effective platform always is omitted. Follow the evidence and find out where the real fear is with the media!

[SteveH]

Woops, that pointer was supposed to be here instead, I think, sorry about that...

[kingu]

It seems so superficial to pre-judge McClintock as just another Simon. They're two distinct individuals with different personalities and different levels of experience in government and on the campaign trail.

It is not just superficial, it is both innane and a failing of leadership to do something like that. Tom's record is there for anyone to see, there's been enough comments made by him and about him over the years that an informed decision could easily be made. Bill Simon is not Tom McClintock, never will be.

If these guys are not starstruck then they will have taken the opportunity to draw Arnold aside and make sure he is what he says, and get specifics (which do not necessarily have to be transmitted to the masses or media, at least in some kind of explicit manner). It seems as if a large subset of problems could be resolved by doing that. I wonder if anyone at the convention attempted to do that? If not, it seems as if conservatives are justified in regarding Arnold with suspicion. Just imho.

So far as I understand, the heads of the various county GOP organizations had a private question and answer session with Arnold Schwarzenegger away from the press, and 53 of the 55 decided to support him. I was away for the weekend and I'm still catching up, I don't know if that was something that KFI 640 made up or not, but it 'feels' true.

[kingu]

Dana Rohrabacher told Sean Hannity Tom is a "wonk" and a "nerd".

He was wrong to say such things on the Hannity show, which Sean took issue with and Dana acknowledged. Aside from the fact we should avoid Republican on Republican attacks as much as possible, why offend the nerd vote?

Rich Galen told Fox three of four delegates he encountered said, "Tom's a nice guy but he can't win."

Can't and won't are two very different words. Tom is in the election, which means he can win. Rich Galen is not in the election, which means he can't win. Tom won't win the election unless things change very dramatically.

California's future is at stake--but so is America's. Hitlery das Butch von Buchenvald will be watching the recall surrounded by winged monkeys in a storm-struck castle.

I hope that every politician is watching this recall election. No matter who started it, or for whatever reasons, the outrage of the voters at how politics has been handled, what policies have been made, what decisions have been made - that is what the voters are taking Joe Davis to task for, rightfully so. Joe's bleeding in the water and this time it is the voting public who smell the blood and hopefully will feast on him in huge numbers - that's the real nightmare of a lot of politicians right now, that the public will start round after round of recalls to throw them all out of office and put in something different, and I'm sure many of them, Republican and Democrat, are waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares that they might be next.

[Captain Shady]

Billy Jack seems to not like Arnold.

[b9]

Isn't it rich?
Are we unfair?
Recall's at last gaining ground,
then tossed in midair...

Send in the

C ourt's
L egal
O rders
W ith
N ew/Old
S pin

There's got to be

C lever
L everage
O perating
W ithin the
N ation's
S COTUS

Well, maybe next year.

[AmericaUnited]

"Tom is a friend of mine, but Tom is not a consensus-builder," he said.

Which means he can't lead. He'll make a damn good bean counter in a LEADER'S administration.

Gore: Policy Wonk - Bush: LEADER. Carter: Detail Man - Reagan: LEADER

[b9]

( to the tune of "Both Sides Now")

Dreams and schemes
and feelin' proud
to say "GO ARNIE" right out loud!

He's got a solid chance to WIN...
It's clearer every day.

I've looked at crowds from both sides now,
from Tom and Arnold...
still somehow,
It's Tom's delusions of Recall...
He really can't woo crowds a . t ....a . l . l