Free Republic

The major Republican candidate for lieutenant governor pleaded with his fellow GOP conservatives Saturday to override their objections to moderate Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and support him and Schwarzenegger as a ticket. State Sen. Tom McClintock urged members of the conservative California Republican Assembly not to snub Schwarzenegger "because there is disagreement on certain issues." The CRA, many of whose members are upset with Schwarzenegger, is meeting in Bakersfield this weekend to endorse Republican candidates for the June 6 primary election. Unlike Schwarzenegger, McClintock is a hero of the conservative movement and he sought to energize them behind both his...

For those who miss the prose of Matthew Dowd, here's his first memo to Team Arnold, for Team Arnold. His line: "...this race is not, as the Democratic operatives and many pundits say, a referendum on Governor Schwarzenegger. Races for governor, especially the governor of the largest State in the Union, are about a choice. This campaign will be a choice between Arnold and the Democratic nominee, a choice between what Arnold has done in office and what the Democratic nominee has done in his career, and most important, a choice between the vision Arnold has for California in the...

SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento insiders can't believe what they're seeing -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger bounding to the Capitol patio with lawmakers to smoke cigars. Forget the in-house, working lunches of previous administrations: This governor dines in restaurants most weekdays. Schwarzenegger is the rare Republican governor who courts Democrats. He even sent a birthday present to Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Johnny Burton. This is not politics as usual. Typically, when a governor is about to address the Legislature and present a budget, his overworked staffers look awful. Their skin is pasty or splotchy. They're tired and bigger than they were on...

Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's bipartisan transition team includes some of the state's most-dynamic, civic-minded people, as well as a wealth of experience -- a promising start for the "people's governor" and his war against "politics as usual." Team Arnold has reached beyond traditional -- and polarizing -- ideological divisions to bring in those representing the left, the right and the center. He tapped business people and community activists, professors and policy analysts, former and current mayors -- including Los Angeles' own Mayor James Hahn and former Mayor Richard Riordan -- political friends and onetime rivals. This is exactly the kind of...