And here is some good news about Arnold:
Tom Campbell, UC Berkeley business school dean, to lead state’s Department of Finance
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1270786/posts
Also see post #16.
To: ElkGroveDan; calcowgirl; farmfriend; Carry_Okie; SierraWasp; NormsRevenge; Amerigomag; ...
Dan, you have it wrong. I know Tom Campbell, personally and have debated him publicly. He is a man of intelligence and integrity. His National Taxpayers Union rating while in Congress was an "A". He opposes higher taxes and strongly argues for limited government. Although I disagree with him on a variety of issues having little to nothing to do with this appointment, selecting him as finance director was an excellent choice by Arnold.
Yes, this is one time I can praise Arnold without reservation. That it is so rare should tell you something.
16 posted on 11/05/2004 4:29:48 PM PST by Carry_Okie
=======
The bottom line is that Arnold certainly does some things which are tending liberal, BUT he does have a laser focus on gettin CA's fiscal house in order.
What we need to keep asking, is "What would Davis or Bustamante have done?"
Arnold does 60% thing very right, 20% not great, 20% really irritating, but the 60% he does right are really important things.
Davis or Bustamante would do 100% of things that are destructive to CA.
So overall, no matter how you view it, Arnold is still way ahead, and we should be happy he is governor, not Davis or Bustamante.
You can't keep comparing his performance to an ideal conservative, who couldn't get elected.
In the real world, much as I als disagree with a number of things Arnold has done, you have to realize that he is fixing the major problems in CA.
I wish Tom Campbell well. He signed on for a 16 month stint, btw.
It wouldn't surprise me to see him leave well before then, tho. just a gut feel.
The next few months will be hell for the number crunchers,, and if Perata has his way, for taxpayers too, as he and the Rats will be pushing for tax increases to keep spending at current levels for all the state programs.
We're all talking about him, not Tom, not Dick and certainly not Hairy!!! Arnold is the one that's scaring us with some of his major actions that will have this state tied in knots right after he moves on from his current position!!!
C.O. certainly has a higher opinion of Campbell that I have, but AS could certainly have done worse than Campbell, I agree! I too will reluctantly give some credit for that appointment.
And I will certainly give a little credit for AS appointing the old Democrat to the new CalTrans position. Davis appointed a Santa Clara County Supervisor who was completely unqualified and a leader in the despicable LaRaza movement!!! (see how annoying talking about Davis and Bustamonte can be?)
BS. Pure and simple.
What we need to keep asking, is "What would Davis or Bustamante have done?"
Not much, because the Republicans would have precluded him from either raising taxes OR selling bonds.
Arnold does 60% thing very right, 20% not great, 20% really irritating, but the 60% he does right are really important things.
Defend that unsupported assertion with data please. Either you are bloviating or you have no idea what you are talking about.
So overall, no matter how you view it, Arnold is still way ahead, and we should be happy he is governor, not Davis or Bustamante.
I would prefer that Davis was still the governor. The public would have done more to throw out the legislature because the fiscal crisis would have been real, instead of papering it over with debt.
In the real world, much as I als disagree with a number of things Arnold has done, you have to realize that he is fixing the major problems in CA.
Name five. Most of what I see is empty posturing.
I think the jury is out on Campbell. I've looked at his record, and I am not ready to make a judgment. I respect C.O.'s opinion very much, but I also respect that of others who have commented on his record.
I am however very curious about your post. Why are you willing to call this good news and support your contention with an opinion posted by Carry_Okie, when you seem adamantly opposed to all of C.O.'s opinions that are unfavorable to the Governor?
It seems just a tad bit inconsistent to me. Are there all one-way streets in your neighborhood?
The bottom line is that Arnold certainly does some things which are tending liberal, BUT he does have a laser focus on gettin CA's fiscal house in order.
He has a laser focus on using every move out of the smoke-and-mirror playbook that Gray Davis used. When those options were exhausted and there wasn't enough money to support his LIBERAL programs, he took an already indebted state another $18 Billion further down the path to insolvency. Your idea of getting California's "fiscal house in order" is certainly much different than mine.
What we need to keep asking, is "What would Davis or Bustamante have done?"
NO. We don't ever need to ask that question again. It is irrelevant. Here's the question to ask about Arnold's actions: "Good Move or Bad Move"? Everything else is history.