(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Whaddya mean "we"? I voted for McClintock.
Like I've said for years: Never send a RINO to do a man's job.
During the California recall election, when my then-WND colleague Hugh Hewitt was in the forefront of leading a merry band of Republican optimists to reject Tom McClintock – a genuine conservative – in favor of a man much esteemed by the Kennedy family, I wrote a column titled "Satanic Schwarzeneggerians," in which I encouraged eschewing the sacrifice of principle in favor of the "pragmatic" pursuit of power.
Now, I quite like Arnold as an action hero, and would consider it an honor to lift weights with the legendary body builder. But there are decent and even delightful individuals in every party across the political spectrum and personality is no sign of worthiness to hold political office. I have known and liked a number of individuals who would nevertheless be of more benefit to humanity dead than in power.
The idea behind the Schwarzenegger gubernatorial candidacy was that his popularity and sheer manly presence would cause the Democrat-controlled legislature to genuflect in humble awe before him, thus allowing the state Republicans to return California to some semblance of fiscal and operational sanity. The subsequent prosperity would naturally lead to a revival of Republican fortunes in the state, repeating in miniature what the Reagan revolution wrought on a national scale beginning in 1980.
The backup plan, in the event that the state Democratic leadership proved more recalcitrant than expected, was that the Great Man would simply bypass the Assembly and Senate and go over their heads in an appeal to the people of California. This was a reasonable idea, as California's system allows for a limited form of direct democracy through referendums, and indeed, this backup plan was put into effect earlier this year.
Unfortunately for California's Republicans, Gov. Schwarzenegger went zero for four in the November elections. And even more ominously, the governor is showing that he has no interest in sacrificing his political career at the behest of the conservative movement or the Republican Party, two things toward which the strength of the strong man's loyalty has always been dubious. His recent appointment of Democrat Susan Kennedy, a liberal lesbian enforcer and former executive director of the California Democratic Party, as his new chief of staff, is a strong indication of his intention to tack left for the remainder of his term – look for a major compromise initiative supported by the government unions and state Democrats designed to jump-start his popularity in the run-up to the next election.
Even more disquieting are rumors that Schwarzenegger may opt to wash the political detritus of the last two years from his record with a shrewdly tactical announcement of a newfound political independence. Doing so would allow him to free himself of any blame for his recent failures, tossing it aside along with the Republican Party.
This would be a masterstroke, as the Los Angeles Times and other Democrat-leaning media would spare no effort in selling Schwarzenegger's version of events to saddle California Republicans with the political liabilities successfully sloughed off by the governor, while they are still reeling in disarray from the loss of their so-called leader.
In Schwarzenegger's action movies, he often left his opponents bloodied and burned. It is not difficult to imagine that California Republicans will soon be wondering if Arnold is handling them the same way.
As I am neither Californian nor Republican, this scenario troubles me not. And since Republicans have been chasing the myth of the electable moderate for most of my adult life, it wouldn't surprise me either, although I do marvel at those who managed to forget the Machiavellian history of elected Austrian imports. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts and Austrians running for office. In conclusion, I offer the following words, written in September 2003 – I see no need to revise them now:
"Schwarzenegger, far from representing the salvation of California's Republican Party, stands for its complete immolation ... Pragmatism in politics is self-defeating in the long run. It is a euphemism for the slow sacrifice of one's principles. The constant substitution of "electable" moderates for principled conservatives is what repeatedly kills the Republican Party and prevents it from ever realizing even a small part of its platform when it is in power."
Touche!
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Look where staying home during last month's election got the die-hard conservatives.
I was pulling for McClintock from Day One.
Frankly, I was floored by the amount of support Schwarzenegger got here at Free Republic.
Recall Arnold....
The GOP couldn't even go and vote last month to stop spending and she's blaming the terminator?
What really gets my blood boiling is when I read right wing articles blaming Bush or someone else of not doing this or that when they aren't a King even if I agree with their argument as far as the end result goes.
The Gov't at the federal or state level isn't run by anyone who can waive their magic hand and make things happen !
That only happens in La-La land !
What is Arnold thinking? It can't work. He's invited the opposition into the inner circle of Calif. Republican politics. He will continually be forced to attempt to persuade skeptical Republicans about her trustworthiness, a time consuming distraction, and even then no one will believe him. It's the most asinine appointment I've ever heard of. She is a diehard liberal/left activist and Arnold has put her in charge of his office.
Arnold's political career will be a short one, count on it.
One thing I disagree with is that the recall election was a decidedly unconservative act. Many conservatives were questioning the wisdom of recalling a governor who had just won a democratic election fair and square just a year before. Sure, Davis was an idiot and scum, but there is nothing unconstitutional or illegal about electing idiots. Just take a look at the US Senate.
California reaps what they sow. I feel the same about the all these stupid propositions we keep finding on the ballot. If we want something to get done, thats what we elect representatives for. Propositions merely give our representatives political cover. "Don't blame me, the people of California wanted to spend 2 billion dollars on the [place your touchy feely sounding spending bill here].
We should put the onus of making these changes on those we elect to represent us. If they don't want to do it, then we should vote them out. If we don't vote them out, then we should live with the consequences of our actions.
Going to the ballot box for these special elections where only 20% of the people even know enough to go vote is no way to make these kinds of important decisions.
I hate to say this, but what we need is less, not more, democracy in California.
<< McClintock emerged as the frontrunner, with high favorability ratings from two statewide campaigns.
The only problem was that McClintock wasn't acceptable to the Republican elite in this state, because he was a conservative. >>
What absolute crap.
McLintock wasn't acceptable to the vast majority of grassroots Repubican VOTERS in this state.
Because, politics being a game in which only the achieveable makes any sense, we recognized and adapted to the political reality:
That, except in his conspiratorially-gerrymandered local district, whose shape and size and area is the consequence of his collusion with other power-crazed career crooks [AKA: "politicians"] of every political stripe and color, McLintock was and is unelectable in this state.
What did anyone expect, he calls Swimmer, Uncle Teddy!
Well,it wouldn't be the first time in history an Austrian fooled the locals.
Melanie Morgan is outside my reception area. Did she publicly support Schwarzenegger during the recall, and did she support the special election propositions?
