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Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at the California Republican Party convention in Indian Wells, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Posted on 09/09/2007 6:30:28 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
INDIAN WELLS - Gov. Schwarzenegger's clout among diehard Republicans took a hit this weekend, potentially weakening his power in Sacramento with GOP lawmakers already leery of his agenda, activists and legislators said Saturday.
Schwarzenegger, who always has been more moderate than the party's rank-and-file members, rankled members when he called for a move to the political center Friday at the California Republican Party convention. The controversial pitch left some Republicans irritated and frustrated with him Saturday, hinting that Schwarzenegger's level of influence in state government may suffer.
"I think it was a real eye opener" for party activists, said Jon Fleischman, vice chairman of the California Republican Party's southern region, which includes Riverside County. "It reduces the ability of the governor to influence the legislative caucus. You can't assume he's in your corner."
Fleischman said he wasn't surprised by the governor's comments, but the party's "true believers" in fiscal conservatism got a taste of what lawmakers already know about Schwarzenegger. Now lawmakers may be emboldened to take stands separate from the governor more frequently, knowing that Republican activists support them, Fleischman said.
Schwarzenegger called for the party to pay attention to global warming, support his state health care plan and warned that the GOP will be "relegated to the margins of California's political life."
"The road to our comeback is clear. The California Republican Party should be a right-of-center party that occupies the broad middle of California," he said in a speech during Friday's dinner. "Our party has lost the middle, and we will not regain true political power in California until we get it back."
California Republicans replied Saturday that the party is not losing members because its principles are wrong. They say it's in trouble because of failures on the part of its elected officials to crack down on corruption, improve border security, rein in government spending and limit government control.
Republicans are not going to pursue the path Schwarzenegger outlined in his speech, said the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, a public policy organization that says it represents more than 43,000 churches and is based in Orange County. Schwarzenegger failed to talk about what party members wanted to hear and advocated things members don't support, Sheldon said.
"The governor's talk last night did not deal with the budget crisis," he said. "He's got to practice on these fiscal issues what he's preaching."
Schwarzenegger was first elected in 2003 when Gov. Gray Davis was recalled, in large part because of the state's budget problems. Schwarzenegger campaigned to replace Davis by promising to balance the budget and control spending.
"We wish he would actually follow his own advice," state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga echoed.
Dutton said he is concerned that the budget passed last month fails to address the state's spending problems and includes overly optimistic revenue projections.
He said Schwarzenegger is governing not from the center of the political spectrum, but actually is left of center and out of sync with what Republicans expect him to do.
"I think people have to really evaluate every aspect of his agenda," Dutton said. "We expected him to systematically move toward elimination of (the deficit). He seems to be abandoning that."
Dutton said he was unsure how Schwarzenegger's comments would affect his power in Sacramento, where lawmakers return Monday for the final days of the legislative session.
Don Donnelly, a Thousand Palms Republican and longtime party activist, disagreed with assessments of Schwarzenegger as failing to be fiscally conservative. Donnelly said he knew ahead of time that Schwarzenegger was more moderate on other issues.
"It bothers me at times, but I can't expect 100 percent," he said.
'Defined by Candidates'
GOP Chairman Ron Nehring refused to say whether he agreed with Schwarzenegger's comments, saying the "governor has chosen to charge into issues" Democrats have traditionally dominated.
"I think it's the Democrats who have lost the middle ground," he said.
Nehring said the Republican Party includes a variety of political perspectives, and there's room for all of them. He seemed to hint that Schwarzenegger's viewpoint, however, won't be a dominant force in the coming election year, when Schwarzenegger is not on the ballot.
"The Republican Party is defined by its candidates," he said.
Nehring spoke with reporters after a lunch speech by Sen. John McCain, the only presidential candidate to attend the convention.
McCain, R-Ariz., has lost support among likely Republican voters in recent months, plummeting from 24 percent to 9 percent, according to a nonpartisan poll by The Field Institute. He spoke about the need to continue the war on terrorism.
Shirley Walton, chairwoman of the Riverside County Democratic Party and self-described conservative Democrat, said Schwarzenegger's call to push the party to the center amounted to a call for a third party.
"I don't see that happening," she said.
.Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at the California Republican Party convention in Indian Wells, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks at the California Republican Party convention in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, Sept. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Read: "Voters"
What diehard Republicans would still be supportive of this ultra-RINO abomination at this late date ?
Which brings up the question:
Is the objective to "regain true political power" by compromising our principles?
Or is it to represent the principles of a group of like-minded voters?
That’s what Arnold does best—divides Republicans.
Who ever thought an Austrian bodybuilder would be the Manchurian Candidate?
Arnold is one of the biggest GOP disappointments ever.
And Arnold—don’t refer to Ronald Reagan-ever-again. You are not fit to kiss the dust off his cowboy boots.
Arnold is certainly shaping up to be the most destructive Republican politician nationally since Nelson Rockefeller.
Karl Rove intervened to install him. Probably his stupidest move ever.
=raises hand=
I got thrown off of FR more than once four years ago for being vocal in denouncing him as a destructive RINO during the recall in support of Tom McClintock, the only true statesman and unapologetic leader that dared to run for Governor. Interesting how Ah-nold's supporters and apologists have all since vanished off of FR.
Rove interfered in my Senate race to install a dunce RINO (Lamar! Alexander) over a distinguished House impeachment manager. He’s not as smart and as magnificent a bastard as we make him out to be. :-\
Seems to be abandoning? Boy is *that* an understatement!
Diehard TROLLS continue to support him--and bash McClintock at the same time.
Maybe that's because most Conservatives understand that a call for a move the the center is followed almost immediately by an actual move to the rabidly extreme far left.
30% of the Republican party that refused to vote for him knew exactly what he was. The rest are finally waking up.
You were right—and ahead of your time.
The "center" is nothing more than forcing the Republican office holder to move further to the left some more. Democrats will NEVER meet the Republican halfway on their end, no, it's always the REPUBLICAN who has to "moderate" or move to the middle. You never see other Democrats or the media advocate that Democrats should move to the center. In fact, those that did, Lieberman and Zell Miller, got crucified for it.
The argument is so bogus that Republicans by now should just ignore it.
Naah, not ahead of my time. My state had just gotten finished with 8 years of a destructive RINO Governor, who then sabotaged his Republican successor candidate for office and, no surprise, helped elect a rodent. It was just merely deja vu all over again (to quote Yogi Berra).
When you explain it that way, it reminds of my former state, NJ and how we got McGreevey as a Governor.
Some days I wonder if the Republican party will last after the 2008 election.
If Hillary gets in, with all of her criminal baggage, the Republicans deserve to go the way of the Whigs.
Here’s to better days on both our coasts.
Very true. California is turning into a mess, like NJ has—my former state. Funny thing how Democrats and RINOs ruin everything they touch.
That’s exactly right, too. The Whitman/Donnie DiFrancesco Country-Clubber RINOs deliberately sandbagged Mayor Schundler. They couldn’t take the risk that he was going to reform the party and deprive them and their flunkies of their patronage privileges. RINOs are more than happy to help rodents if it serves their cause. It may be a long time before NJ gets a Republican Governor again, and even longer before they get a Conservative (and for the record, the last Conservative NJ Governor was a Democrat, Charles Edison, in the early 1940s — he later left the state and helped found the NY Conservative Party).
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