Posted on 03/20/2007 4:44:39 PM PDT by kellynla
Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and other critics who say Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer is a Republican are "irrelevant," the California governor asserted in an interview this morning with the "Today" show.
Reporter Campbell Brown noted Schwarzenegger recently has been promoting universal health care, initiatives to combat "global warming" and embryo stem-cell research.
Brown then asked: "Rush Limbaugh is just one of many Republicans out there saying you're not a Republican. You're a Democrat pretending to be a Republican. Why?"
"All irrelevant," Schwarzenegger replied. "Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant. I am not his servant; I am the people's servant of California. Whether they call me a Democrat or a Republican, or in the center, or I changed, or this or that, that's not my bottom line. This is for them to talk about."
(Story continues below)
Limbaugh, on his top-rated radio show today, responded, saying he chooses to accept the "charitable" interpretation of Schwarzenegger's remarks.
"He's just calling me irrelevant because he doesn't care what I say or anybody else says," Limbaugh said. "I'm irrelevant in terms of determining the future course of the state of California, because that's his job."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Limbaugh said he didn't think Schwarzenegger was "referring to me as 'irrelevant,' as a has-been, as a passer-by, as a human being or what have you."
The talk host clarified that when he said Schwarzenegger was not a Republican, his point was that the California governor is not a conservative, noting the mainstream media often equate the two.
"I have said he's not a conservative – and, by the way, I want to remind all of you people in California, from the get-go I have told you he was not a conservative. He's a good guy, but he's not a conservative. He's a Republican."
Contending Schwarzenegger ran for governor as a conservative after the recall of the unpopular Democrat Gov. Gray Davis, Limbaugh charged Schwarzenegger has engaged in a "sellout."
"Now, here's the truth of the matter," Limbaugh said. "Arnold Schwarzenegger has done the typical sellout move. He has sold out, and there are too many conservatives selling out these days. You can find 'em all over Washington, D.C."
During the 2003 campaign for governor, however, Limbaugh initially said Schwarzenegger's "own words prove he's not a conservative." Later, Limbaugh revised his assessment, saying the candidate's advisers had him running a centrist campaign while he was a conservative at heart.
"I think Schwarzenegger's natural inclinations, when he arrived in this country and who he is (I know there's the Kennedy thing there), I think that's who he is," Limbaugh said in 2003. "He's afraid to be it, doesn't want to be it anymore, whatever, or has been advised he can't be it if he's going to win. If Schwarzenegger would simply run on a conservative fiscal agenda, he would win. He doesn't need to do all of this stuff to go to 'the middle.'"
Schwarzenegger won a landslide re-election victory in heavily Democratic California last year after making significant policy shifts in the wake of major legislative defeats and a drastic slide in popularity.
In his monologue on Schwarzenegger today, Limbaugh said he has not chosen a Republican presidential candidate, partly because "there's not one Reagan conservative in the bunch."
While acknowledging "there can be only one Reagan, Limbaugh asserted "conservatism is not subject to redefinition on the basis of presidential candidates who are 30 percent conservative, 40 percent, 50 percent, whatever percent conservative they are. That's not the new conservatism, at least it won't be for me – and that is my point."
Conservatism won't triumph, he said, "if we water it down and dilute it and say that people are 60 percent conservative or whatever, happen to be the definition of new conservative."
Democrats and the mainstream media would love for conservatives to water down their principles on the basis of there not being another Reagan or believing "we can't win as conservatives."
"That has been disproven (sic) over and over again by actual experience from Ronald Reagan forward," Limbaugh said. "It is when Republicans do not campaign as conservatives that they lose."
Republicans failing to govern as conservatives paid a price in the November mid-term elections, Limbaugh contended.
Limbaugh said Schwarzenegger "obviously didn't have the leadership skills to articulate conservative principles and win over the public as Reagan did."
If the California governor had those skills, Limbaugh continued, "he would have stayed conservative, but he felt like he was unable to do that and so in order to get reelected and become popular and be liked and so forth, he broomed conservatism and became a liberal while calling himself a Republican."
"No longer?" Wake up, GOP. Arnold is and always was a RINO!
ping
Arnold doesn't want Rush as an enemy.
Interesting that Arnold would even reply. In a verbal battle, Arnold would get creamed.
BTW, his wife is a flaming liberal.
Tempest in a teapot...neither one would refuse a cigar from the other.
He's only irrelevant if you're a liberal.
Poor Arnold. He doesn't like anyone pointing out that Maria keeps his balls in a nightstand next to her bed.
Badabing, badaboom.
In defense of Arnold, he's responsible to the voters, not Rush or any other commentator.
The moral of story: Conservatives should never, ever help elect a RINO to office.
Arnold must be legitimate political heavyweight to have KO'd a couple of brutes like Gray Davis and Phil-Mr.Peepers- Angelides.
I voted for Arnold in the recall because he said the right things. Nothing about hydrogen highways, diversity (racial preferences), huge spending INcreases. Instead, he talked about overtaxation. (Remember the radio ad? "Tax, tax, tax, tax, tax!") He talked like McClintock!
What happened to THAT guy?
Thanks a lot, Arnold. If I wanted higher taxes and record spending, I could have had that with Davis -- only then (with Davis still in), folks properly would associate "huge spending increases" with "Democratic party governor."
Still "lesser of two evils" comes to mind. I never had very high hopes for Arnie
In defense of Rush, hes right on the money on Arnold.
Conservatism won't triumph, he said, "if we water it down and dilute it and say that people are 60 percent conservative or whatever, happen to be the definition of new conservative."
As much as I love and miss Reagan, we have REALLY got to get over this idea that he was some unalloyed conservative who was in perfect unity with the philosophy of conservatism. Maybe in his heart he felt a total devotion to conservatism, but in practice he did go along with a big tax increase in 1986, excessive spending and large deficits and even an eggregious illegal alien amnesty. He also was once pro-choice on abortion as governor of California.
Rush and other conservatives have a bit of a starry-eyed memory of Reagan that he was the gold standard of conservatism whose every step was in perfect fealty with conservatism. Certainly there has been no better spokesman for conservatism and none who could ennuciate its principles better. But at times he failed at in practice, that cannot be denied.
But none of this is to Reagan's condemnation. I still honor the man greatly and say one can still be a good conservative without being a perfect conservative, if there even is such a thing, just like some of our current Republican candidates who are being dismissed by some as being "sell outs" also have strong if less than perfect conservative creddentials. I am never one to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, whether in life or in politics.
Frankly I'm left to wonder if in the dogma of today's supercharged internal GOP philosophical fissures, if with a record like Reagan there aren't some in the GOP who would be calling Reagan a "RINO" if he were running for office today.
He wears his far left hippie immorality proudly as he loses his steroid alterred spine concerning issues like homosexuality, abortion and even the catastrophic illegal invasion from south of the border.
Rush is right. He is not taking it personally and he has defined their jobs which I agree with. I also agree that Arnold is not a conservative. His wife is the leader of that pack.
Arnold's wife being the leader of the pack are not Rush's word or opinion. It is mine.
LOL! Quite telling
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