Giving away the store [Schwarzenegger]

Sac Bee ^ | 12-13-03 | Dan Weintraub

[ambrose]

The outcome suggests that Schwarzenegger is not as good a negotiator as he thinks he is, or at least those skills weren't evident in this round. He was smart to demand more than he needed and then scale back from there. And he was smart to abandon the concept of a formula-driven spending cap. But in the end, he swung too far in the other direction. This looks as if his only bottom line was ending the negotiations with a deal, any deal. And now, to make it worse, he has begun to try to sell this package as more than it is. He should just admit the truth: this is the best he could get from the Democrats. It's a harmless first step but not nearly enough to achieve the goal he set for himself and the state. More work will have to be done.

[ambrose]

ping!

[Amerigomag]

Only two Republican senators voted for the compromise.

I was surprised the senate Repbulicans held their ground. I was not surprised a Hollywood liberal try to shove it down their throats.

[2banana]

Stay away from CA in the next few years...

[expatpat]

The Terminator seems to have been taken to the cleaners!

[John Lenin]

I'm voting NO on the bonds. Without the spending caps the RATS will be selling bonds every year to pay the deficit. Sorry Arnie, you blew it !

[winker]

There is no instant gratification to be had in all this mess. Nobody likes the thought of fiscal restraints or being strapped with an oppressive Budget situation. The party is over guys & dolls. The Valley Girl existence has now got to be paid for. Many cannot fathom the depth of what has now got to be provided for. For some the cure is too much to manage or be concerned with. Pure and simple the Conservative image every liberal hates has finally positioned itself squarely in your face. This is a pay out plan that will hurt everyone equally. You all bought into the game and have now got "left" holding the bag. If you have to TATTOO this on your foreheads do it. "You Accumulate By Not Spending" Rome was not built in a day and this problem won't go away tomorrow; now the Barbarian Bill Collectors are hammering at your Gates!

[TheAngryClam]

To everyone who said that Arnold was a "fiscal conservative," and that the GOP was solidly behind him, and that this deal was an Arnold victory, I have the following questions for you:

How is it that Arnold could only get two GOP senators to support this bill, when many more than that endorsed him in the election?

How can you consider this anything other than John Burton and the Senate Democrats bending Arnold over the negotiating table and having their way with him?

How can you call something supported almost wholly by the people responsible for the California budget debacle "fiscally conservative?"

and, finally, how do you sleep at night after the litany of BS you spew every day in support of frauds like Arnold Schwarzenegger?

[MJY1288]

I wonder if Dan Weintraub was scratching his head over the Gray Davis budgets? I'm not a Californian so I probably shouldn't say anything, but just the fact that Schwarzenegger was able to get anything out of State Assembly dominated by the RATS is a good start. I'm no Arnold fan, and if I was a resident of California, I would have voted for McClintock. But before this guy Dan Weintraub starts ridiculing Arnold's budget, I want to know where he was when Davis was plowing through the state's treasury like tractor trailer sized Hoover Vacuum and emptying it's contents at the feet of every special interest group that would guarantee their votes in the next election.

[TheAngryClam]

I think that Weintraub stated that he voted for Arnold. He has said that Arnold stood closer to his own politcal values than Tom or Cruz Bustamante did. I'll see if I can find you were he explicitly states whom he voted for.

And he's been a pretty incisive commentator on Sacramento politics for years.

[Delphinium]

We told them so, they would not listen.

[MJY1288]

Thanks for the info, I haven't read many of Dan Weintraub's articles, if any at all, so I wasn't sure where he was coming from. After years of witnessing the double standards from the leftist reporters at the NYT's and LATimes and the many others, I'm always skeptical of their motives and agenda's. After all if it wasn't for double standards, Liberals wouldn't have any standards at all :-)

Freegards,

Mike

[concentric circles]

Arnold's Budget Deal Sealed with Stories, Cigars
"Wesson said he and the governor... would occasionally retreat to Schwarzenegger's private, inner office to work out key disputes. Most of the time, Wesson said, the two would return with a compromise deal."

Oh man, and here I was feeling all warm and fuzzy about our self sacrificing public servants. Way to rain on our parade, Weintraub.

Now I've got to recapture that feeling. Where did I see that recipe for Tom and Jerry's?

[TheAngryClam]

No problem.

He's got a great blog:

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/insider/

[MJY1288]

Thanks for the link

[concentric circles]

Here's one example of Weintraub's writing from July '02:

Don't fret; budget gridlock can be a good thing.

[Lancey Howard]

I continue to wonder if any of this stuff matters in the long run because the well is dry and Arnold and the Republicans will never let the scumbag Democrats raise taxes, not in a million years. Arnold promised.

[MJY1288]

Thanks for the link, it looks like Weintraub is one of the good guys. But I think Arnold should be given a chance before he gets condemned, after all, he managed to do something Gray Davis never did, he actually cut the budget. I hope Arnold can make things happen out there, hopefully between the budget cuts and the sharp increase in the economy, California will grow it's way out of the deficit bacause of the natural increase in the States Treasury when the economy grows. Time will tell

[Carry_Okie]

And he's been a pretty incisive commentator on Sacramento politics for years.

So where was he during the election when Arnold was talking out of both sides of his mouth depending upon the audience? It was obvious he was a liar and Weintraub didn't lift a finger.

[Lancey Howard]