Posted on 12/24/2004 12:25:49 PM PST by LouAvul
BERLIN (AP) - A German reporter who interviewed California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the governor did not say the Republican Party should "move a little further left" as his newspaper reported.
What Schwarzenegger said in the interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung was that the Republicans reach "all the way from the right to the center" and "I'd like the Republican Party to cross that center line," according to a transcript released Thursday by the governor's office.
But reporter Marc Hujer said Schwarzenegger never talked explicitly about a need for the party to edge toward the left, even though the remark appeared as part of the interview in the Munich paper last Saturday.
Hujer, who interviewed Schwarzenegger in English, said he added that wording to interpret Schwarzenegger's remarks for readers.
"He did not use the word 'left,'" Hujer said by telephone Thursday from Washington. "This is really unfortunate. I was trying to translate into German political terms."
A spokesman for Schwarzenegger's office said Friday the governor would have no comment.
The remark Schwarzenegger never made caused a buzz in California, where Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters cited it as an example of how an inaccuracy can snowball politically.
Fox News picked up on Schwarzenegger's remarks, and conservative groups attacked him for allegedly saying the Republicans should move to the left and embrace gay marriage and abortion rights, Walters reported.
The interview never mentioned gay marriage or abortion rights. Schwarzenegger did suggest that the Republican Party reach out to centrist voters, according to the transcript.
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
Ah, Germany, home of Goebbels.
Hey Arnold I tried the center - kept getting my nads hung up!
So exactly what is the difference between this and "moving left"? I think this is Arnie's version of the "meaning of is."
Maybe Ahrnold was trying to say we should pitch a bigger tent... Why does the tent need to be bigger? He and Guliani are in aren't they? what else does he want?
who cares?
Well, say what you want, the reporter had the class to try to rectivy the situation. That's more than we can expect from the MSM on our side of the pond. Over here they would have stuck to it, and claimed they printed what Schwarzenegger really meant, even though he didn't say it.
Funny. And rather accurate.
Where's the confusion?
"And I'd like the Republican Party to cross that center line."
Sounds crystal clear to this conservative. Schwarzy is a liberal and supports most of the agenda of the liberal establishment. GovRino would fully embrace the GOP moving left of center. Take it to the bank.
Correct & float another bond while your at it, Ahnold. Neat primary let's select something besides an actor with ties to the most socialist in America.
A tempest in a teapot.
Well actually there is a big difference... moving left means the whole party moves to the left, from his statement it sounds like he was calling for an expansion of the Republican tent...
Oh well I guess the true believers will have to find something else to persecute the pragmatist over.
Hey I heard that Arnold put his pants on left leg 1st! That's definate RINO posturing if i've ever seen it.
I agree.......let the Dems destroy each other, we as Repubs should accept moderates as well as conservatives...i'm not a one issue voter over all like many special interest dems are.......some people need to find fault everywhere they look......it is a hell of alot better than Gray "face" Davis...progress, not perfection
17.12.2004
Interview mit Arnold Schwarzenegger
"Dieser Laden hier soll explodieren"
Interview: Marc Hujer
begin excerpt:
SZ: Mr Governor, moderate republicans complain that America has taken the wrong course, that the "neo-conservatives" have hi-jacked the party. To whom does the future belong in the Republican party, George Bush and Dick Cheney or moderate republicans like John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani?
Schwarzenegger: It has to adjust somewhat. The Republican party covers at present only the spectrum from far right (Rechtsaußen.....outside right would be the literal translation....lj) to the middle; and the democratic party covers the spectrum from the left to the middle. I would wish that the Republican party crosses this dividing line, shifts somewhat more to the left and puts more emphasis on the middle. This would immediately give the party five per cent more votes, without it losing some somewhere else.
end excerpt
Translated by longjack
The link to the original German article:
Sueddeutsche.de...."Dieser Laden hier soll explodieren"
longjack
That's how I understood it, too--try to cross that line and invite the non-wacko lefties to maybe come a little closer to our way of seeing things. But there are so many who will want to attack him with pitchforks for daring to suggest we shouldn't round up all lefties and execute them that he shouldn't have bothered.
The difference between an expansion and a shift. Sounds a lot like the "big tent" approach to me. Would examination or support for some "libertarian" idea (e.g., legalization of marijuana) be a "shift" leftwards?
We should have known Arnold wouldn't have said something so stupid.
"cross the center" + "move left" = Democ"RAT"...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.