Posted on 02/26/2006 12:15:59 AM PST by FairOpinion
California's best-known conservative, Sen. Tom McClintock, tried to unite its fractured Republican Party behind Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reelection on Saturday, urging GOP loyalists to set aside qualms about his vast spending plans and envision the fiscal wreckage a Democrat could inflict on the state.
Joining Schwarzenegger's drive to crush a conservative rebellion, the Thousand Oaks lawmaker reminded delegates at the state Republican convention that both Democrats seeking to replace the governor have backed not just higher taxes but also driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
McClintock's lunch speech to 500 delegates marked the party's most aggressive attack yet on the Democrats, state Controller Steve Westly and Treasurer Phil Angelides. He called Westly "the emptiest suit I have ever encountered in 25 years in politics" and branded Angelides a "self-anointed elitist who thinks that, darn it, he's just so good at running his own life, he's entitled to run everybody else's."
"What's greater, the differences among us as Republicans, or the differences between us and the Democrats?" asked McClintock, who gained widespread praise in 2003 for his ideologically consistent, if unsuccessful, bid for governor in the recall election won by Schwarzenegger.
The rancor among Republicans over Schwarzenegger's direction comes amid a raft of other difficulties for the state party. The unpopularity of President Bush and the Republican Congress has created a poor national political climate for the GOP, deepening its trouble in a state that already tilts heavily toward Democrats. Organized labor is planning to resume its aggressive advertising against Schwarzenegger, whose special election agenda last year enraged public-employee unions.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Gee Tom, they look about the same from where I'm standing.
Dems=massive budget increases.
Arnold=massive budget increases.
Dems=massive tax hikes to fund massive budget increases.
Arnold=massive borrowing to fund massive budget increases.
Tell me again how y'all are different again there Tommy.
Oh yea, it's borrowing instead of taxing...
Pathetic.
L
If there had been a robust primary this year and Schwarzenegger had won, I would be a lot more inclined to support him. I suspect this election cycle is going to see one of the lowest turnouts in decades. I'm sure the Republican leadership will wonder why. I'll be available for consultation after the fact.
Parties don't hold primary challenges against their own incumbents. That's a prescription for disaster. It only helps the opposition party, by weakening the incumbent.
I hate to have to keep posting it, but THIS is what the Dems WILL do, if a Dem gets elected governor:
"Angelides calls himself a champion of "progressive values." As state treasurer, he has pushed public pension funds to dump tobacco stocks, invest in urban renewal projects and pressure corporations into cleaning up the environment. A close ally of labor, he also supports abortion rights, gay marriage, gun control and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
If he makes it into a general-election race, his call for increasing taxes could pose problems; Schwarzenegger has been steadfast in opposing higher taxes. "
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-phil22jan22,0,1913189.story?page=2&coll=la-headlines-politics
Sorry guys, I love that state, lived there for 30 years, I am glad I moved to AZ.
God bless
In this instance not holding one was an even bigger prescription for disaster. It's going to take a lot for me to vote for Arnold again. I'm not going to say right now that I won't, but I'm leaning very hard in that direction. I've really had it with the California RP. That $225 billion dollar bond plan was the last straw.
Who's going to pay back all that money that Arnold wants to borrow and how exactly is that different from a tax increase?
California doesn't have a revenue problem. California has a spending problem. Saying that you spend like drunken sailors isn't nearly accurate.
Drunken sailors eventually have to stop spending when they run out of pay. In California your politicians of both parties just keep right on spending in spite of being bankrupt.
There's no functional difference between borrowing more money and raising taxes. None at all.
What McClintock needs to do is drop Arnold like a bad habit, which he is. He shouldn't be campaigning for him. He should be ripping him a new Austrian a**hole every day of the week.
You can't borrow your way out of this FO, nor can you tax your way out of it. THere's only one thing that's going to return California to its former glory and that's cutting the god d***** spending.
If Arnold had any balls he would veto every budget that comes out of Sacramento until State spending is cut by at least 25%.
L
Well, as I always say, you have to look at the bottom line: if you don't vote for Arnold or don't vote, you are helping Angelides get elected, and if you want to see real disaster for CA, that'll be it.
There is going and is a lot of excess cash now because of the higher property tax contributions with new sky high home prices.
Arnold pushed Prop. 76, which would have given him the power to cut spending, and our fine so-called conservatives either stayed home, or actually voted against it. So don't put the blame on Arnold. Put it where it belongs, on all the so called conservatives who talk, talk, talk, attack their own, and when the chips are down and they could actually vote for conservative measures, they vote AGAINST it, all they while telling us what fine conservatives they are.
"Proposition 76 is another Norquist special delivery, one he and other conservatives have pushed in many states. It gives Schwarzenegger extraordinary budget powers to cut spending. "
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1585204/posts
Nobody but nobody on this forum took more heat for wanting to avoid Bustamante becoming governor of this state. I played along. I voted for Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger flopped. Now he's sounding more like a democrat than the democrats.
I was born here. I have lived here most of my life. I dearly love the state and my home town. I've had it. The RP and the DP can return this state to Mexico, they can ignore or better yet burn the state constitution since they're ignoring it already. I've had it.
F these sons of bitches and the donkey they rode in on. I gave them a chance. I am one pissed off state citizen.
If they raise $225 billion in bonds, they'll have to raise taxes no matter who is in there. As for illegals getting driver's licenses, I'm convinced they own the state now. Screw the whole damned lot of them in Sacramento.
They don't give a rip. Why should I? At this point is futal to give a damn.
L
Well, you ain't seen nothing yet -- just wait until Angelides gets through with CA, followed by Villaraigosa, the current US Mayor with gubernatorial ambitions.
Villaraigosa Stands the Best Chance of Succeeding Gov.
http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-cap23feb23,1,907236.column?coll=la-news-columns
Or maybe Villaraigosa will surprise people and actually run for gov this year. Welcome to Bustamante II.
Arnold did NOT raise taxes, despite the pressures by the Dems.
The first thing Angelides WILL do, as he promised IS to raise taxes.
Arnold also reformed the Workman's Comp, helping CA be more business friendly, to stop the fleeing of businesses out of CA.
This is beyond the ken of many. They think that being pragmatic is a betrayal. The real betrayal is in not being pragmatic.
In theory, the taxes from homes are for things like streets, schools, lights, police and fire. They are supposed to contribute to the funding of a people's base needs regarding mostly their own home.
I think we will see budget hell again when the short term loans come due and things crash in the financial end of the RE market everywhere.
That was the Davis mistake. He budgeted like it would always be coming in at great levels.
You know what, give it another two election cycles and there'll be so many illegals in state, you and I'll be will the minority. You tell me if it matters if we vote for Schwarzi this time or not. The publies don't give a flying fig. There's a large contingent on this forum that don't give a flying fig. Our president doesn't. What's the point? Who gives a rat's ass?
If you have an inside with the RP party leadership upstate, you can tell them this guy said they can go straight to hell.
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