Schwarzenegger Calls Dems 'Girlie Men'

Yahoo/Associated Press ^ | 7/18/2004 | TIM MOLLOY

[John Lenin]

By TIM MOLLOY, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites) said Sunday that the governor would not apologize for calling lawmakers "girlie men," despite criticisms from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic.

Schwarzenegger dished out the insult at a rally Saturday as he claimed Democrats were delaying the budget by catering to special interests.

"If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men," Schwarzenegger said to the cheering crowd at a mall food court in Ontario.

The governor lifted the term from a long-running "Saturday Night Live" skit in which two pompous, Schwarzenegger-worshipping weightlifters repeatedly use it to mock those who don't meet their standards of physical perfection.

Democrats said Schwarzenegger's remarks were insulting to women and gays and distracted from budget negotiations. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl said the governor had resorted to "blatant homophobia."

"It uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult. That's very troubling that he would use such a homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership," said Kuehl, one of five members of the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

"It's ironic that the governor would try to find a metaphor for weakness when his real problem is that we're being too strong," she added.

Schwarzenegger's criticism of Democrats stems in part from their support of one bill prohibiting schools from contracting services with private companies, and another giving workers authority to sue their employers to enforce labor laws. Each side accuses the other of caving in to special interests.

At a rally Sunday in Stockton, the governor gave a speech almost identical to the one he delivered in Ontario but without the "girlie men" remark. Spokesman Rob Stutzman said the line was dropped because Schwarzenegger had already sent the message he wanted to send, not because he regretted his remarks.

"It's a forceful way of making the point to regular Californians that legislators are wimps when they let special interests push them around," Stutzman said. "If they complain too much about this, I guess they're making the governor's point."

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, said that while he wasn't upset by the remark, his 13-year-old daughter was.

"She's a young girl who knows the governor and really likes him a lot and didn't find the term to be a positive term, and finds it to be derogatory," Nunez said. "It was no question a very, very insensitive comment to make. I personally am not intimidated or threatened by it, but I think it really is beneath Gov. Schwarzenegger."

[badgerlandjim]

Well... if the panties fit...

[Serb5150]

This is the best news I've had all day. Freaking hilarious!

[martin gibson]

And didn't Coulter call someone a "girlie boy"?

dittos for Gary Aldrich's observation of the Clinton White House staff in Unlimited Access. (sorry I don't know the HTML to underscore...)

[votelife]

Arnold just guaranteed a ratings boost for the RNC Convention!

[suzyq5558]

I love it he is basically calling them a bunch of pussies,pansys and cowards.HEHE

[votelife]

girly-man is the same things as metrosexual...which perectly describes Kerry and Edwards.

[Marysecretary]

Heh, heh. I like Arnie more and more...

[Marysecretary]

Caucus should be spelled CIRCUS! I get a little bored with these folks who can't figure out what God intended them to be. We have an LGBT office here at college and I can't help but feel sorry for them but, ho hum.

[Condor51]

You Might Be A "Girlie Man" If.....

• You ever did someone else's Algebra homework.
  
• You lived three blocks from school, but walked seven blocks to get home.
  
• You don't need eye glasses, but wear them anyway - 'for protection'.
  
• You were never picked to play baseball, but it was your bat & ball.
  
• 'Jane' was jealous of your doll collection.
  
• When playing 'Cops & Robbers', you wanted to be the lawyer.
  
• You consider Chess an 'action' sport.
  
• You were bullied by the neighborhood sissy.
  
• You've waited three hours in line for Bette Midler tickets
  
• You actually know what color 'fuchsia' is.

[HungarianGypsy]

Homosexuals just find anything to be insulted about. I see "girlie men" as wussy men (read: metrosexuals) who are scared to take charge.

[Dead Dog]

They aren't offended, they're just using PC as the weapon it was designed...to squelch the oppositions freedom of speech and the electorates discretion of though.

It only works if we all play along.

[IamConservative]

Probably just first hand observation. All squatters and no standers in the Capital bathrooms.. :)

[Matchett-PI]

"Has he hired Ann Coulter as his press adviser?? ;-)"

I was calling them "feminized males" long before Ann Coulter started calling them "girly men" and Schwarzenegger copied her.

As far as I'm concerned, the term "girly men" is an oxymoron. It is not possible for an honest-to-goodness "man" to be "girly".

An effete of the masculine gender is more properly described as a "girly MALE", or the term I use, "feminized MALE".

And when I say "feminized", I am not talking about their physical characteristics. I'm talking about THE WAY THEY THINK as a result of the way they've been raised --the airhead female influence.

[rwfromkansas]

I did not realize that girly men was a gay reference.

Notice how the libs immediately cry "homophobe" with a reference that just refers to weak-kneed men, regardless of sexual preference.

[rwfromkansas]

Ah....the days when SNL was actually funny.

[rwfromkansas]

10 days? Wow.

When is the recess and when they get back?

[Rakkasan1]

I would go represent my constituents, but I have a botox
appointment...

[Nick Danger]

Now if the Johns Squared and the metrosexual Demos don't fit that, who could?

Excuse me. I'm looking for some quiche.

Kiishiting wuusu desu ka? Kore wa, Samurai Sushi House desu. Kiishi ga nai. Wuusu ga nai. Otoko no bijin ga arimasen.

Does that mean you don't have any quiche?

[kaktuskid]

Girlie Man #1 - Sheila Kuehl

More like "Manlie Girl"!!!

[Syncro]

Gary Aldrich is one of my favorites, along with Laura Ingraham.

Heck, I don't even know what " the HTML to underscore" means...LOL