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Why I Am Now Behind Arnold
me

Posted on 08/12/2003 9:52:14 AM PDT by DrMartinVonNostrand

I have slowly come to the conclusion that California needs Arnold. Republicans need Arnold, and above all, California Republicans need Arnold.

I had been leaning towards McClintock, and I must admit, I made that decision before Arnold threw his hat into the ring. I welcomed the move when he did, but I still had reservations. I had gotten pretty excited over McClintock's vision, particularly his desire to void the Davis energy contracts and his general desire to stick it to the Democrats. I was also justifiably concerned at first about Arnold's talk of handing the treasury over to "the children".

But one has to be able to discern politics from policy. Everyone who wants to win elective office has to pay lipservice to "the children". It is the national passtime of politicians. I think when Arnold says "the children should have the first call of state Treasury" it is followed by an unspoken qualifier of "before illegal immigrants, welfare recipients, and special interests." He is simply putting forth his priorities, and they lay in stark contrast to Gray Davis and Cruz Bustamante's. He is quite savvy, so he isn't going to come out and say it in those words. He knows highlighting what is his priorities gets much better press than highlighting what isn't. He wants to reassure the soccer moms who have been frightened by Davis' threats of cutting funding to schools that he will be looking elsewhere to cut.

Arnold is very mindful of the hurdles he faces by running as a Republican in such a liberal state, so he will take extra measures to make traditional Democratic voters feel comfortable voting for him. It is what he has to do right now if he wants to win, and it seems to be working brilliantly.

Some conservatives will argue against Schwarzenegger because he opposed the impeachment of Bill Clinton. But Arnold understood the articles of impeachment that were brought were a pretty weak justification. Right or wrong, they were too easily construed as a right-wing lynching. He recognized it as too divisive and knew it could only further poison the political atmosphere and ultimately damage the Republican party.

Perhaps if Ken Starr had the convictions to pursue the serious matters of Whitewater, Chinagate, Filegate, or the murder of Vincent Foster, then Arnold would have seen it differently, just as the rest of America would have. But clearly Starr had no will to do so. It's hard to understand why, but perhaps he didn't want to expose that level of corruption in the highest office out of the long-term best interest of the American political system. Exposing Clinton's ties to the Dixieland mafia and Red China could have brought the entire government to its knees. It would have been a short-term victory for Republicans, but just as Nixon understood when he covered for Kennedy and Johnson over the Pentagon Papers, the long-term damage to the nation as a whole would have been far too great. Anyways, had Clinton actually been removed from office as a lame duck on those flimsy charges, we would have a President Gore in office right now. Arnold knew, just as everyone else did, that this was not going to happen considering it required a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Surely he understood that impeachment was a lose-lose proposition for Republicans so it was a mistake to go down that road. It was important for him to remain above it all for the sake of his own political future.

Some will argue that what we need right now is someone sort of financial wizard to fix the budget, and Arnold just doesn't qualify. But the truth is we really only need someone who can admit that Gray Davis has made some huge mistakes. Anyone but Gray Davis will do.

I hate to admit it, but the whole budget crisis is being about as overplayed for political reasons as the federal deficit in the '90s was (and is again). When it comes down to brass tacks, I think even the Democrats will bite the bullet and fix it. Yes, I know you're cringing, I am too, but it's the truth. The issue here isn't that the Democrats are incapable or even unwilling to fixing the budget. It's merely about how they want to fix it: the usual liberal approach of skyrocketing taxes. Either way, California isn't going to drop into the ocean or become a third world nation.

As far as Arnold not being a "social conservative", neither am I, and neither is California. A social conservative is not going to win a statewide election here for a long time to come. I fit in more along the lines of a fiscal conservative, just as Arnold is, and a "Constitutional conservative" with libertarian tendencies. Piety is not a prerequisite for my support, and too much of it may even lose it. I don't begrudge anyone their religious beliefs, but I do belive strongly in Jefferson's "wall of seperation between church and state". I also believe in strict interpritation of the First Ammendment, and that freedom of religion also entails freedom from religion. I realize those of you in the religious-right do not agree because this doesn't reinforce your personal religious beliefs, but not everything should be about our own personal whims and narrow agendas. Defending our own freedom as individuals must always be a higher objective. Otherwise it may be you they come for next. The Constitution protects everyone, or it protects no one. I think there are a lot of people on both extremes who forget that sometimes.

Even though some will say for these various reasons that Schwarzenegger is not the ideal conservative candidate, it is important for everyone to be pragmatic and pick their battles wisely. Right now we should be looking at long-term goals. An expedient victory in the recall of a conservative candidate by a 20 percent plurality is going to be counterproductive in the long-term. What are you going to do when Bill Simon is elected and the drive to recall him begins October 8th and qualifies three weeks later?

Electing Arnold, who can come to office with a true mandate and bring California together, will pay off big in the perception wars. Conservatives will never get their agenda anywhere in California as long as it is taboo to even vote for Republicans here. The longer Democrats have a complete lock on the state, the further left we will drift. Even if Arnold can't change the course right away, he can at least slow the momentum.

Personally, my goal is the destruction of the Democratic party and the liberal agenda far more than it is advancing any conservative single-issue. I have far more hate for left-wing Democrats than I have love for right-wing Republicans. I would be happy simply with a return to sanity at this point.

You can't walk a mile until you take the first step. For right now we all need to be concentrating on the jouney one step at a time or we will never reach the final destination. You have to at least open the door, which is now closed and locked here. It seems like a lot of right-wingers around here would rather rant and rave and pound on the door in futility than grab it by the handle.

I think I've finally figured that one out. For the death-before-electibility crowd, it's not about advancing their cause on earth, it's about earning a place in heaven.

As for the rest of us, we have to make a decision: do we want a small victory, or a huge defeat?


TOPICS: Heated Discussion
KEYWORDS: 1eternalvignotincali; california; davis; election; governor; guessmyotherid; imatroll; mcclintock; recall; schwarzenegger; schwarzenutter
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
The sooner conservatives figure this out, the better, because then we can all get on with issues that we CAN change, and we would deprive the liberals of their favorite fear-tactic.

I am in total agreement. No governor of any state will have much influence over this issue. We could focus on abortion too much and end up putting a bunch of socialists in office.

101 posted on 08/12/2003 12:00:05 PM PDT by wayoverontheright
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To: dead
His pro-abortion stance is largely irrelevant in a state executive position.

Maybe not as much as you think. California pays over $100 million in tax dollars to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers per year. Plus, you may not realize it, but California is not ``pro-choice,'' last year Davis signed a few laws that made it so hospitals, pharmicists, and med students are forced to take part in abortions. Why should Libertarians and RINOs support that?

102 posted on 08/12/2003 12:03:32 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: BlackElk
From the AP:

"The only specific plan Schwarzenegger has announced so far is almost risk-free — he said he would roll back the state's vehicle license fee, which tripled this year as a result of California's budget deficit."
103 posted on 08/12/2003 12:04:26 PM PDT by DrMartinVonNostrand
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
I am pro-life, but I agree with your realistic approach. I consider myself a conservative (though some on this forum disagree) I am a strong Republican. I would rather eat dirt than let Democrats win elections because no matter how bad a rino is...a Democrat is worse (only exception is Zell Miller and he is retiring).
104 posted on 08/12/2003 12:05:11 PM PDT by nyconse
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To: nyconse
Zell Miller is a DINO. That's not a term you see often.
105 posted on 08/12/2003 12:10:01 PM PDT by DrMartinVonNostrand
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
Very good-wish there were a few more like him/next best thing to a Republican.
106 posted on 08/12/2003 12:12:26 PM PDT by nyconse
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
Well done! I especially agree with your closing statement, which bears repeating often:

You can't walk a mile until you take the first step. For right now we all need to be concentrating on the jouney one step at a time or we will never reach the final destination. You have to at least open the door, which is now closed and locked here. It seems like a lot of right-wingers around here would rather rant and rave and pound on the door in futility than grab it by the handle.

I think I've finally figured that one out. For the death-before-electibility crowd, it's not about advancing their cause on earth, it's about earning a place in heaven.

As for the rest of us, we have to make a decision: do we want a small victory, or a huge defeat?

107 posted on 08/12/2003 12:24:44 PM PDT by Wolfstar (And an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.)
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
Maybe you don't know that in California over $100 million/year of taxpayer money goes to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers per year. Why is that a Libertarian idea? Plus, California hospitals, pharmacists, and med students are forced to participate in abortions. Why is that okay?
108 posted on 08/12/2003 12:36:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: Maelstrom
I'll say it again. If you don't get a Republican, ANY Republican, into a truly visible role in that state, you stand NO chance of ever getting the people to change their vote. Ever. A lot of them inherently dislike Republicans and if you can get one into office, even a RINO, who they view in a good light, it helps the party long term.

But go ahead and vote for McClintock. When Bustamante is governor and Democrats win the governor's seat for the next 25 years and the state stands NO chance of going Republican in the ensuing presidential elections, at least you'll have your party platform.
109 posted on 08/12/2003 12:39:37 PM PDT by VOR78
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
The main reason [I favor Arnold] is because he is the only Republican who will not do harm to Republicans by winning.

Huh?

110 posted on 08/12/2003 12:47:17 PM PDT by Torie
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To: Cicero
I heard that Arnold came out AGAINST partial birth abortion and FOR parental consent for abortions. I hope it's true because looks like he'll be our next governor.
111 posted on 08/12/2003 12:50:52 PM PDT by Saundra Duffy
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
I was hoping that the Republicans would show some semblance of order and not run a bunch of candidates. But, of course, that's like hoping that Rosie O'Donnell won't eat the last jelly doughnut in the box. And for a while, it looked like the Dems might lose their normal lockstep discipline. 3 or 4 strong Democrat candidates were toying with running. In the end, however, the Dems maintained their usual level of self-control as did the Republicans. As a result, the GOP has 3 strong candidates and the Dems are all lined up behind Bustamente. Business as usual with the CA GOP!

I didn't want to see a RINO in a good position to win when this started. The RINO in question, at the time, was Slick Dickie Riordan. In fact, were Riordan the "front runner", I'd vote against the recall and for Cruz Bustamente! Riordan is not only to the left of Aaaahnold, he's to the left of Davis and Bustamente. But now that Aaaahnold has sucked the air outta Slick's room, things are different.

Aaaahnold isn't a great candidate. He's not really a good one either. He's "OK". But all that's in regard to policy. In terms of politics, he's out-freakin'-standing. He can win this. (Note that "can" doesn't equal "should"!) This is assuming that he doesn't implode between now and October. And assuming that he can take the heat in this kitchen, the GOP should seriously consider pressuring Simon and McClintock to back out. (Simon should back out anyway. He's a good guy, but he still has the smell of death on him.)

Aaaahnold can inflict a serious bloody nose to the Dems if he wins. He probably won't get squat done, but neither will McClintock. The difference is that Aaaahnold has the political cache to get away with blaming the Dems in the Assembly and Senate if things don't improve. McClintock would be accused of simply playing politics. The media will gleefully participate in demonizing Gov. McClintock. They'll at least think twice about attacking Gov. Schwarzenegger. This wiggle room could translate into GOP gains in the Assembly and Senate. (Remember that the GOP did gain seats in the Legislature during the last election.) A popular RINO governor would be able to campaign in swing districts for GOP candidates. ("Vote for these guys if you vant to live!") And the selection of those candidates would be done by the more conservative GOP primary voters.

In the long run, this RINO could inadvertantly help get conservatives elected from districts where Republicans and independents hold an edge in registration over the Dems. In the short term, the Dems might be able to pass some pretty crappy laws if they can convince Aaaahnold that the bills are "bipartisan".

Decisions, decisions... The best course of action right now is to see how Aaaahnold handles the pressure over the next month. If he can, then we might consider hopping on the bandwagon rather than under it.

(And now, if y'all will excuse me, I need a drink!)

112 posted on 08/12/2003 12:50:56 PM PDT by Redcloak (All work and no FReep makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no FReep make s Jack a dul boy. Allwork an)
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To: Cicero
By the way, isn't Maria Shriver's mother pro life?
113 posted on 08/12/2003 12:51:24 PM PDT by Saundra Duffy
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
I hear you.
114 posted on 08/12/2003 12:52:08 PM PDT by Saundra Duffy
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To: Torie
Yes, Arnold is the only Republican that can win and not do harm to the party.

Let me explain, as I think it merits an explaination.
There what do you think will happen if Simon or even McClintock wins by a slim plurality?

They will be recalled. Immediately.

And how do you think the largely Democratic voters in California will respond to such a "right-wing coup" in the state?

Certainly it will not be kind. The Democrats will not lay down on this one.

Arnold is the only Republican - the only candidate at all, even - who can win and be accepted by the people as legitimate. The political atmosphere would be poisoned far worse than it is now if someone else won.

After not even being able to beat the very governor we're throwing out, what do you think the response to Republicans through out the state would be if Bill Simon won?

Do you think having an "illigitimate" Republican Governor who "stole the election" would be good for Bush here in 2004?

Consider it carefully.
115 posted on 08/12/2003 1:07:55 PM PDT by DrMartinVonNostrand
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
Good post.

and don't worry about the troglodytes, they're harmless

116 posted on 08/12/2003 1:10:50 PM PDT by mac_truck
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To: RS
True.

Though I think Gray Sewerwater Davis is too much of a Walter Mitty sappy wimpy idiot stooge to go quite as far as Dilldo.

I sure hope we don't need to get rid of Arnold for any globalist connections later. But for now, I think he's plenty of what you see is what you get I'm moderately comfortable with cheering for him.
117 posted on 08/12/2003 1:20:39 PM PDT by Quix (PLEASE SHARE THE TRUTH RE BILLDO AND SHRILLERY FAR AND WIDE)
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To: Quix
Globalist connections?

You mean like maybe he was sent here from Europe all those years ago as part of a plot to claim California for the EU?

I think the rest of America would say, "go ahead, take it."
118 posted on 08/12/2003 1:25:18 PM PDT by DrMartinVonNostrand
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To: Torie
Huh?

It's a variation on a current theme by David Horowitz.

It's aparently no longer enough to vote, or to vote for a Republican and agree to disagree, or to even vote for a winning Republican, because the sky will fall unless we vote for Arnold.

Hurry! Panic! Vote Now!


119 posted on 08/12/2003 1:27:34 PM PDT by Sabertooth (Where do Arnold and McClintock stand on California Drivers' Licenses for Illegal Aliens?)
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To: DrMartinVonNostrand
WHen you say you are not a social conservative that means you are in support of allowing doctors and women to kill unborn children and in support of laws that make it difficult to discriminate against those who put their organs in places that were meant only for exrement to come out?
120 posted on 08/12/2003 1:30:53 PM PDT by kkindt (knightforhire.com)
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