Fund: Arnold's Achilles Heel

Opinion Journal ^ | 08/19/03 | John Fund

[Pokey78]

If he is to win, Schwarzenegger has to win over conservatives.

In 1979 Arnold Schwarzenegger met Howard Jarvis--who the year earlier had fathered California's seminal tax cutting referendum, Proposition 13--for breakfast. Few could have predicted then that more than two decades later, the body builder would have to prove his loyalty to Jarvis's legacy in his run for governor.

[Princeliberty]

Hey Dana if Arnold is against Partial birth abortion
and supports the boy scouts why does he not say so?

[bybybill]

Buffet is not from OK., he`s either from Nebraska or the Moon.

[jasonsm]

For days Mr. Schwarzenegger has had to squelch rumors that he favors repealing Prop. 13. Those rumors started after Warren Buffett, the "Oracle from Oklahoma" and liberal co-chairman of the Arnold's economic advisory council, remarked that the property taxes curtailed by the referendum were now too low. In California's conservative circles, that's sacrilege.

Maybe wrong and i hate to point, i think he is the Oracle from Omaha. has somthing to do with living here. But everything else is on.

[RonDog]

See also, from www.hughhewitt.com:

August 17, 2003

Posted at 12:10 PM, Pacific

The center of California conservatism is Orange County, and the center of Orange County's Republican treasure chest of votes is represented by four men.  The D.C. and Sacramento delegations are made up of Congressmen Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, State Senator Ross Johnson and State Assemblyman John Campbell.  All four have enthusiastically endorsed AS. 

I made this point about an hour ago on the Fox News Channel in a conversation with Tony Snow.  I was on with Bernie Ward, a radio talk show host out of San Francisco, but we followed a segment with California Democratic State Party Chair Art Torres, who spent his time trying to build Tom McClintock into the "real conservative" in the race and promoting the theory that conservatives will not vote for AS.   How inconvenient that these four Orange County legislators have endorsed AS, as I have, the conservative pundit with affiliates and conservative listeners in San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Fresno, San Francisco and Sacramento.  This audience, like California Republican legislators, is overwhelmingly pro-AS because the prospect of Cruz --Davis-light or Davis without the talent and charisma-- is simply awful and everyone outside of Tom McC's and Bill Simon's teams  and contributors knows this. 

AS doesn't need any advice, but an early media event with the conservative legislators from Orange County might make it clear to the out-of-towners that the prospect of major conservative defections from AS to Tom McC is an Art Torres' fantasy and not a serious prospect.  Around ten percent is Tom's ceiling, and he's already there.  Nowhere to go but down as the election draws nears and even the activists at the Party's right edge focus on those car tax bills and the prospect of Cruz in charge...

[thoughtomator]

Why has he not said anything at all, policy-wise? Or rather, why say anything at all if you can win on charisma alone?

[DB]

Perhaps because the longer the right sits on the fence waiting for AS to say something the less time there is left to organize against him when he finally does.

Meanwhile Tom McClintock gets little money or exposure because everyone waits for AS. By the time AS does say something it will likely be too late for the contenders to do anything.

[tubebender]

Does Buffet own any Calif Bonds and if he does is that a problem...

[DB]

Good point...

[Biblebelter]

Arnold's achilles heel is that he really has never assimilated from the his Old World Romantic values. Arnold wanted to become royalty in America so he sought to marry into the royal family. Since we really do not have aristocracy in America, he bought into the media created mythology of the Kennedys and Camelot and married a Kennedy. He doesn't seek to earn the people's vote as much as he seeks to be annointed a king or a prince by knights of the round table. He sought the annointment of Warren Buffet because of his wealth and his modern mysticism. He sought the annointment of Pete Wilson as that of a former prince or king. Arnold does not want to lead in the modern sense as a leaders do in democratic ways. He believes that he is a hero in the romantic and literary sense and he wants continue to be the popular hero by becoming a beneficent king to his subjects. Of course that is merely a bunch of political crap, because he simply dressed up the age old political scam, he is being beneficent with the hard earned fruits of labor produced by his subjects. Arnold is condescending, and is looking for power the way caesars and kings once gained power, not by election but by playing the popular conquering hero. The problem is in ancient times there was real conquest and it came with real blood. Arnold conqests came digitially enhanced with a ketchup mixture not real blood. I hope and pray Arnold is no American Arthur and Buffet is no Merlin of Omaha.

[goldstategop]

Me too. We're prepared to cut Arnold a lot of slack but he has get his house in order and tell us where he stands on the economy and the state budget - fast.

[Princeliberty]

He will not win on Charisma, he is sinking fast.

[Princeliberty]

Hewitt is full of it. Arnold is the one who has
no were to go but down and is going down fast.

Hewitt had earlier said that Laffer endorsed
Arnold. Laffer has done no such thing.

Dana has, I don't know about the rest.
But Orange County Conservatives think for
themselves they don't vote for someone just
because a politician endorses them.

McClintock ceiling is certainly not 10%.

McClintock the only Republican running who can win.
Arnold can't win. Arnold's negatives are racing
upward like a Rocket over 40% and rising like crazy.

[goldstategop]

People wonder who Arnold is. That's why no one's committing to his campaign. Unless he takes clear stands the GOP rank and file won't take conservative office-holders word for it that Arnold gets it about the economy and the state budget.

[Princeliberty]

Arnold's the one getting in the way of a Republican
winning. If the conservatives were rallying
around and prompting McClintock then he would win.

Arnold not going to make he only helping the Democrats
with his games and this ego feeding campaign.

[RonDog]

If the conservatives were rallying around and prompting McClintock then he would win.

That's a big if. :o)

[RonDog]

He doesn't seek to earn the people's vote as much as he seeks to be annointed a king or a prince by knights of the round table.

I think that Arnold's entire public life contradicts this statement.

Both as a bodybuilder and as an "action hero" Arnold has consistently "played to the crowd."

His campaign - when it really begins - will be much more of the same, IMHO.

[Princeliberty]

Yes it is. McClintock can win, but it will hard
for him to win, but he has a better chance of winning
than the other Republicans running do.