Posted on 09/02/2003 4:21:28 PM PDT by socal_parrot
A Democratic plot to boost Tom McClintock’s candidacy at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s expense has recently come to light.
On paper, the recall election should be a cakewalk for California Republicans. A cursory analysis reveals a governor with an approval rating below Richard Nixon at his low point. The only serious Democrat candidate is the state’s uninspiring lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, who unquestioningly followed Governor Davis through his mishaps with the budget and energy crisis. It should be a breeze for Republicans, right? Think again. Democrats are euphoric over Tom McClintock’s intransigence in continuing his long-shot bid for governor. This allows Democrats to divide and conquer their way into office. Democrats are attempting to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and Tom McClintock is an essential part of their game plan.
For starters, Democrats know McClintock cannot win. They know that he has ran for statewide office twice before and lost both times. McClintock’s problem is not so much that he’s unknown but that Californians know about him and have rejected his candidacy time and again. Knowing this, a Democrat plot to boost McClintock’s candidacy at Schwarzenegger’s expense has already surfaced. According to the Sacramento Bee’s Daniel Weintraub, “Ever since Cruz Bustamante entered the race, it's been assumed that California's Indian tribes were going to pool their money and do independent expenditures on his behalf, expensive ads that get around the $21,000 limit on contributions. Now I am hearing rumblings that the Indians might think about helping Cruz in a more creative way as well. If they spent, say, $4 million on behalf of state Sen. Tom McClintock, the most conservative Republican in the race, they might pump McClintock's numbers up while hurting Arnold and not harming Cruz a bit. Remember, Cruz needs a split GOP vote to win. That would be one way to get it.” The reliably Democratic Indian tribes, loyal to Bustamante, would essentially throw their weight behind McClintock to chip away at the support of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the GOP front-runner. The Democrat strategy with regard to Tom McClintock is: “If you know you can beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
McClintock is unfazed by this conniving scheme and is more than happy to play along. His actions suggest that he’s willing to make allies with loyal Democratic groups under the logic, the enemy of my enemy (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is my friend. On August 28th, McClintock and Bustamante went together before the California Nations Indian Gaming Association to pledge their support. Needless to say, money will follow. Whether McClintock knows it or not, he’s being used by the Left. If Democrat allies can keep McClintock in the game, they can put a cap on Arnold’s support. A recent Los Angeles Times poll shows Bustamante with 35% of the vote and McClintock with 12%. The poll indicates that McClintock will lose decisively but more importantly, his vote will ensure that GOP front-runner Schwarzenegger loses as well.
It doesn’t have to be this way. McClintock could see the light and do what’s best for the party – as Bill Simon did by bowing out of the race. Other than his new Democratic support, the picture continues to grow bleaker for McClintock. The Washington Post and Sacramento Bee are reporting that there will be a record turnout for the recall election. This invalidates the early calculus by McClintock supporters - that in a low turnout election, grassroots could carry the day. Further, the base is growing more familiar with Schwarzenegger’s conservatism – Arnold came out against partial-birth abortion, against gay marriage, and for a constitutional spending cap.
There comes a time when personal ambition must be set aside and self-affirming but false justifications for one’s candidacy need to be reexamined. If McClintock stays in the California Senate, and assuming Arnold wins the governorship, he and Arnold could play the good-cop/bad-cop routine to perfection, mirroring President Bush and Tom Delay’s efforts at the national level. Additionally, McClintock may be well positioned to challenge Barbara Boxer in next year’s US Senate race. However, if McClintock persists with his spoiler campaign and throws the election to Bustamante, it is doubtful he will have any political capital for a future race.
But assuming things stay the way they are, with McClintock’s help, Bustamante and the Democrats may well pull off an upset of a lifetime on Election Day.
Yup, but you still didn't answer my question in #655.
Btw, I find your page interesting. You obviously are a scholar on Black Republican history, a very neglected field.
Btw, that crack about my being strange? Thanks, I take that as a compliment, too many mooing cows in the world.
Were you under the impression that I WOULD vote for an anti-gun Republican? Where did you get that idea? I certainly have never said anything that would justify that expectation.
I, however, am somewhat surprised to see so many Republicans supporting pro-abortion, anti-gun, "don't bother to read my lips, because $60 billion dollars may not be enough taxes" Arnold.
It seems to me that YOU are the one who shot us all in the foot by supporting Arnold.
Fortunately we didn't nominate the muscleman for President, otherwise they might've been right. ;-)
"Btw, I find your page interesting. You obviously are a scholar on Black Republican history, a very neglected field."
Thank you. I was rather shocked recently when I was doing a googlesearch for more info on a 19th Century African-American pol, and lo and behold, my own FReeper page was listed. I apparently have the most comprehensive list of Black GOP elected officials and candidates on the internet just on that one page. Perhaps if it helps some liberal journalist out there when doing research for one of their articles that they realize there are more Black Republicans other than J.C. Watts, all the better. Getting and electing more non-Caucasian Republicans is a strong interest of mine. I only mentioned it once in this thread I believe, but Ah-nold's comments on Black Africans being incapable of running their own countries was very disturbing to me, and that won't do well to make an appeal to African-Americans in California. It's not "Black Africans" that are incapable of running "their own" countries, it's some truly evil individuals that have managed to seize control of many African states after the not-so-good colonial rule (where civil rights for Black Africans was non-existent). We should know that evil totalitarians come in all creeds and colors and we should endeavor to expose and defeat them.
"Btw, that crack about my being strange? Thanks, I take that as a compliment, too many mooing cows in the world."
Ah. Say, can you tell how many posts I made in this thread tonight ? I swear I must've made 200 of 'em. :-P
I sure as hell don't anymore. The Pubbies have the White House and Congress and we've gotten bigger government out of both branches. I'm fed up and going to vote my concience!...not for a no nothing second rate actor. And if we get stuck with Bustumonte, so be it. Let the state go to hell, give me a reason to get out sooner.
Unlike you, I reside in CA and I will be voting.
Apparently, it has not yet occurred to you that, barring a bit of humor here and there, that these threads are a waste of time. Nobody is going to change anyone else's mind.
I hope it is for the right man for the job and not the Austrian leftist RINO. Don't go native and don't sell out. Nothing, NOTHING ever gets bad enough to sell out like this. Remember, my young niece and nephew live there, consider THEIR future, too.
"Apparently, it has not yet occurred to you that, barring a bit of humor here and there, that these threads are a waste of time. Nobody is going to change anyone else's mind."
Maybe I'm wasting my time, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm hoping that by enlightening people to just how destructive RINO Governors are that CA voters will keep from making a horrible mistake that will make things there that much worse. Reaching people like you, for example. You were on my Conservative *ping* list for a long time, y'know. I'd hope you'd see why I did it. I truly will take no pleasure in (if HE gets elected) seeing all the people here that were ostensibly Conservative watching in horror as everything they believed he would do he turns around does the opposite (in pursuing the leftist agenda that I and others believe he will). Saying "I told you so" ain't worth it, because that's our nation's largest state we're talking about, that's their state party we're talking about, and that's the state where my niece and nephew live that we're talking about. That's the reason why I'm fighting to get as many votes for Tom McClintock as I can. It ain't for me, it's for them. There's your emotional appeal, and I hope you consider it.
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