Posted on 08/18/2003 10:23:14 AM PDT by RGSpincich
SUCCESSES BEYOND HOLLYWOOD HELPED POLITICS By Mike Antonucci Mercury News
If Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to be the second coming of Ronald Reagan -- on his way from movie actor to governor -- it's not just because of their Hollywood roots. Other similarities may be crucial between now and the Oct. 7 recall election.
Schwarzenegger's campaign, unlike Reagan's, was instantly defined by the Hollywood factor when he announced his candidacy Wednesday amid a frenzy of media attention on ``The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.'' He joins a small group of actors turned politicians on both the regional and national stage, including George Murphy, who represented California in the U.S. Senate, and Shirley Temple Black, who lost a congressional bid in the 1960s.
Lyn Nofziger, press secretary for Reagan's 1966 gubernatorial campaign, recalled Thursday that Reagan spent ``six months in 1965 going up and down the state seeing if anybody really wanted him.''
When Reagan announced he was entering the race, said Nofziger, ``The reaction was, `Ho hum, what's this dumb actor doing running for governor?' There was no hullabaloo.''
And that points up a major parallel between Reagan and Schwarzenegger, says veteran political writer Lou Cannon.
``I think the thing that's similar is that people may be underestimating him,'' says Cannon, whose book, ``Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power,'' is scheduled for publication next month. ``This guy's a work in progress. I have no idea how he's going to turn out. Reagan was, too.''
Fred Thompson, a fellow Republican who went from actor to U.S. senator from Tennessee, says there are other comparisons to Reagan that favor Schwarzenegger.
``It seems to me that there are some striking similarities, even to the point of having other successes than film success,'' Thompson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at bayarea.com ...
Sure, they're both guys... that's about where it ends.
Schwarz's a RINO.
"Comparisons between the Terminator and another actor who ran for California governor are inevitable. Mr. Schwarzenegger keeps a large bust of Ronald Reagan in his office and says "Reagan was heaven." Like the Gipper, the Terminator delegates authority well and favors short bullet-point memos. But they are also clearly different men, with Mr. Schwarzenegger's public cockiness ("I am programmed to be a star") contrasting with Mr. Reagan's consistent humility. But his work with inner-city youths gives him an appeal to minorities that Mr. Reagan didn't have. "Arnold's popularity among Hispanics is off the charts," says one pollster."
"Some critics charge that, unlike Mr. Reagan, Mr. Schwarzenegger has no clear ideology. While known as "Conan the Republican," he didn't alienate Hollywood with overt philosophical combat. But there is abundant evidence he has clear beliefs: call him a compassionate libertarian. Rep. Ed Royce remembers him attending many dinners of the libertarian Reason Foundation. When Milton Friedman's PBS series "Free to Choose" was reissued in 1991, Mr. Schwarzengger jumped at the chance to introduce a show he said "changed my life." "I come from Austria, a socialistic country. There you can hear 18-year-olds talking about their pension. But me, I wanted more. I wanted to be the best," he told viewers. "Individualism like that is incompatible with socialism. I felt I had to come to America, where the government wasn't always breathing down your neck or standing on your shoes.""
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110003797
You are mistaken: that isn't (late congressman) Sonny Bono.
Then let's hear him say that under no circumstances will he raise taxes.
A true libertarian would make elimination of the income tax the center of his platform (OK...that means libertarians are unelectable...but the point is that Arnold has no right to call himself a libertarian).
Begin similarities-----
Republican actors with the same six letters in their first name
End similarities-----
DD
But but but, I thought the Mercury News HATED REAGAN. I mean, golly, why in the wide world would they say something like this?
Rush was right. This is so intellectually insulting that I am ill this has been printed for widespread distribution. Luckily mostly Leftists read that rag, so it would actually be a turn off for them. Mu ha ha ha!
Say, speaking of Ronald Wilson Reagan, anybody like a comparison beyond whether they used to be actors?
Another thread calls this recall a revolution. But seriesly, other than the spin on economics, aren't we just going to get the same old thing? Arnold's a Rino. That means the real problems of CA will always remain. It's just the second coming of the same old calvary.
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