Arnold didn’t run as a RINO. He had never held elected office before, so there was no record to consider, except his history as a successful businessman who had amassed a fortune in real estate. To my mind, that’s a pretty good predictor of executive success in the governor’s chair.
I voted for him in the recall election because Gray Davis had raised taxes and was borrowing money instead of cutting spending.
And because Arnold said, “Taxes are too high” and “California must operate under a balanced budget.”
Not a word about bankrupting us to adhere to nonsensical environmental standards. Not a word about a state asset fire sale for pennies on the dollar. Not a word about his plan to hire an all-Democrat staff of advisors and policy-makers.
Sure, we were suckered, despite our due diligence. And as for re-electing him... did you see the alternative in the last election?
The hell he didn't. All you had to do was R-E-A-D his position papers and you would have known he was going to take us into the sewer. You just believed the whisper campaign that he was a "fiscal conservative." It was complete crap from the beginning.