Posted on 03/27/2016 4:57:40 AM PDT by Kaslin
They're both iconic figures in American culture who are known by their first names. California's former governor is Arnold. The GOP presidential front-runner is The Donald. We Californians who lived through Arnold's two terms in the governor's office have watched The Donald's presidential campaign unfold with a sense of deja vu.
Donald Trump starred in the TV show "Celebrity Apprentice." Arnold Schwarzenegger will replace him. Both men can boast supersize personalities and bulging bank accounts. Both bombasts ran for a top office with no political experience whatsoever -- which turned out to be a plus, as they tapped into a tidal wave of voter resentment. Both are more pragmatic than ideological.
Schwarzenegger's supporters thought he could not win a GOP primary -- and he didn't have to, because he ran and won in California's free-for-all recall election of 2003. Trump's front-runner status in the 2016 primary -- also the beneficiary of a crowded field -- likewise has confounded the professional political class.
Over the past week, I talked to four former Schwarzenegger aides (only two of whom would say anything on the record) about what Trump and Schwarzenegger have in common, how they are different and what Schwarzenegger's tenure might tell us about a Trump presidency should he win in November.
One former adviser, Adam Mendelsohn, who wanted nothing to do with a negative assessment of Schwarzenegger's time in office, told me he sees "absolutely no similarity between the two" men. All appreciated that the biggest difference is that Trump is running for president -- as a naturalized citizen, the Austrian Oak is not eligible to be president under the Constitution -- and there should be a higher bar for the man who wants to have his hand on the nuclear button.
Looking back, Schwarzenegger's first term was highly successful in many ways.
True to a campaign promise, Schwarzenegger renegotiated terms with major tribal casinos, which netted state coffers a $1 billion windfall. He also ushered much-needed workers' compensation reform through a reluctant Legislature by threatening to put a measure on the ballot if Sacramento did not pass a bill.
Later, the Governator overreached when he placed four different ballot measures before voters. When Californians rejected all four, Schwarzenegger's aura of invincibility crumbled.
Many had feared that if Schwarzenegger failed to live up to his promise, it would be because he needed to be liked. And that's exactly what happened. Schwarzenegger told voters he heard their message and promised to work with the Legislature. That signaled a lurch to the left. He won re-election. In term two, Schwarzenegger enacted a landmark law to curb greenhouse gases, a move very popular among Democrats. On the way out the door, Schwarzenegger issued a pardon that shaved nine years off a 16-year term for voluntary manslaughter, which benefited the former Assembly speaker's son.
Schwarzenegger entered politics with the sort of great American success story that only an immigrant can tell. He dreamed of becoming an American, and he did. He worked hard. His belief in the free market steered him to the GOP. He worshipped conservative economist Milton Friedman. He had tried to push through meaningful pension reform and pare back state spending. But saddled with a Legislature loaded with Democrats, even with his sharp political instincts, he did not succeed. When conservative political neophytes fail, their path to salvation is to list left. And there he stayed.
Trump has fewer conservative credentials. He supports the use of eminent domain to seize property for private development. He has lavished money on Democratic candidates. If he should win the White House and find himself flailing in the polls, then he would know where to go.
It is instructive to note that for all they have in common, Schwarzenegger chose to endorse not Trump but Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Schwarzenegger spokesman Daniel Ketchell told me it's because Kasich knows how to work in the center.
Former Schwarzenegger aide Sean Walsh, however, thinks Schwarzenegger chose Kasich over Trump precisely because Trump is too much like Schwarzenegger. Let me add another trait The Donald and Arnold share: They're both salesmen first. And salesmen usually aren't around when you need to fix the refrigerator.
Speaking of Ah-nold and Donald and silver spoons, Arnold married into the Kennedy clan. They were born with silver spoons in their mouths. How did they turn out compared to Donald Trump?
Say, how’d did Cruz’s feet on the ground work out in South Carolina?
Are you somehow trying to imply that Arnold's success is due to his matrimonial choice?
All Kennedys, all misbehaving.
Now look at Donald Trump's children.
I am implying that you are either stupid or dishonest to have missed a point that obvious.
the Kennedy (IIRC) who died skiing into a tree.....That was Sonny Bono, Married to a Kennedy (not Cher).
note the IIRC, and I remember Sonny Bono; but I thought there was one other.
Well excuse the hell outa me but the only point that I can deduce from your hysterics is to start an argument.
I make a statement that I give Arnold more credit for his success because he started from scratch whereas Trump was handed his initial fortune from his father and you launch into some rambling tirade about Arnold’s wife and her dysfunctional family.
Perhaps, like the Kennedy’s, you’ve been hitting the juice a little too much.
Have fun, I'm off to work.
First you call me stupid and now a troll so you tell me, who’s trolling, troll?
The Donald fits in very well with the Kennedy clan. He also likes to cheat on his wives and thinks he’s the best at everyting.
You know absolutely nothing about the Donalds’ children except what you see on the TV.
Sara Palins’ children are a wreck also. So is its her fault because they are “misbehaving”
Getting pregnant out of wedlock, but raising your kids instead of aborting them, is still better than ...c’mon, you know all the Kennedys have done, this is FR after all. :-)
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