Is victory not enough? [Gov. Schwarzenegger could be the Democrat Party's "plant" inside GOP]

Washington Times ^ | 12/24/04 | Cal Thomas

[truthandlife]

In the new Broadway play "Democracy," actor Richard Thomas plays an East German spy who manages in the midst of the Cold War to penetrate the upper echelons of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's government.

California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could be the Democrat Party's "plant" inside the GOP, or so it seems from an interview he gave recently to a German newspaper. In that interview, Mr. Schwarzenegger suggested the Republican Party should move left to attract more voters.

What is interesting about this suggestion is its contrast with what Mr. Schwarzenegger told the Republican National Convention in New York last summer. Then, he said it was Richard Nixon and his conservative policies that persuaded him to become a Republican after emigrating from his native Austria. Nixon famously created the Southern strategy, which doomed the GOP's liberal wing and began the Democrat Party's long decline into its current anemic state.

Why would Mr. Schwarzenegger want to trade a winning strategy for one with a proven record of failure? When the Republican Party was controlled by lefties like Nelson Rockefeller and House Minority Leader Charles Halleck, the party lost elections. For 40 years, the moderate-liberal wing of the Republican Party never achieved majority status in the House of Representatives.

[Lancey Howard]

[Lancey Howard]

[AreaMan]

With Republicans like Arnold, who needs Democrats?

Outside of CA, NY, and MA, Arnold would be a liberal democrat.

[calcowgirl]

What is he doing to "destroy California"?

Carry_okie has a long list. But a few items would be:

• Appointing leftists to high ranking positions
• Locking up 1/5 of the land of the state in a conservancy that he promoted
• Issuing massive bonds ($15 billion) to borrow his way out of debt. The deficit was only $8 billion - he borrowed almost double and then issued a budget with continued out-of-control spending.
• Promoting issuance of more bonds for embryonic stem cell research, a program with few controls, infested with self-serving individuals, and which the state cannot afford (no matter what one thinks about the merits or non merits of the research itself).
• and many more...

How is it "worse off", and "not better" than what they had?

Higher spending, higher debt, more special interest pandering, etc. etc.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

There is a very simple answer......................

NEVER judge a politician by the letter "D" or letter "R". Judge the politician on how well they stick to Constitutional principles.

[pissant]

But unlike the vast majority of democrats, he's patriotic and thinks very highly of RWR. That's two good points that few other democrats can match.

[calcowgirl]

Gray Davis created a big problem.
Arnold has perpetuated it and created the death spiral with the bond issuance.

[calcowgirl]

But it's fun to spin titles to fit an agenda!! What's wrong with that?

Huh? The title is as published. The parenthetical addition is descriptive of the contents.

[AreaMan]

But unlike the vast majority of democrats, he's patriotic and thinks very highly of RWR.

Granted. I would then say Arnold is more like a Democrat of 50 - 60 years ago.

[Digger]

There is a difference in AS & doofus Davis. AS smiles when her screws us. Doofus is just a sourpuss. There's your choices in this "Two-Party Cartel".

[bedolido]

Joe... Say it isn't so!

[hosepipe]

[ Mr. Schwarzenegger suggested the Republican Party should move left to attract more voters. ]

Or basically "TRICK" the democrats into voteing republican..
The RNC already does that.. Bush is a, "Unite'er not a divider"... The DNC "tricks" the demos why not the RNC.?. Eventially those wild-eyed oxy-morons will catch on and determine that they would rather be "tricked" by democrats than the republicans.. THEN, we'll, have Hillary as President..

What ever happened to the truth.?. If your a socialist vote democrat, if your not, vote republican... maybe voteing republican is NOT voteing against socialism.. In which case what difference does it make.?.

What elected George Bush.?.. ONE THING...
Democrats(or whoever) running John Kerry..
2008 must be the democrats "TURN" at bat...
Republicans WILL run a RINO(2008), and why elect a republican that ACTS like a democrat when you can have the real thing.. Mark my words.. Its, "THEIR" turn at bat..

[Admin Moderator]

Huh? The title is as published.

As first posted, the Washington Times title -- "Is victory not enough?" -- was absent. I added that, and put the poster's title in brackets.

[calcowgirl]

Thanks. You're good! :-)

[Carry_Okie]

Arnold is good for California (at least a marked improvement). Fortunately, the constitution allows him no shot as CIC.

Please explain how Arnold has been good for California.

[Carry_Okie]

What is he doing to "destroy California"?

Here's my current list of Arnold's "accomplishments":

• He supported a Sierra Nevada Conservancy that Gray Davis vetoed, authored by a socialist from Santa Cruz.
• He has a appointed member of the Sierra Club hierarchy to the CalEPA.
• His hydrogen fuels program is a thinly veiled corporate agricultural scam.
• He didn't lift a finger to stop gay marriage and has signed "domestic partners" legislation that violates in spirit, if not in letter, Proposition 22.
• He continues to negotiate with Cedillo on drivers' licenses for illegals.
• The prison guards rolled him completely for a pittance now in return for more later.
• He "negotiated" minute concessions from the universities in return for more money later.
• He grabbed revenues from cities and counties with a promise to return it later.
• He "negotiated" a minute reduction in workman's comp premiums when all he had to do was copy Arizona's plan and put it on the ballot.
• He signed SB 50.
• He's raising more campaign money faster than Davis ever did, INCLUDING from the tribes he swore he would never solicit. In return for that he got a pittance compared to his the amount of gambling revenue he was boasting he would get. My bet is that the revenue won't even offset the direct cost of State social programs to deal with the results of gambling. Instead, he is well on his way to implementing organized gambling statewide.
• His planned "deregulation" of electrical rates has totally ignored the illegal contracts Davis' people negotiated under a conflict of interest.
• He used his popularity to foist a constitutional amendment that makes it possible for the State to balance a budget by borrowing and called it "cutting up the credit cards." From McClintock's analysis of 58 (http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/mcclintock/article_detail.asp?PID=262): "The second assumption is that Proposition 58 “tears up the credit cards” to assure the state never borrows to balance its budget again. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Proposition 58 made no practical change in current law beyond suspending the oldest provision of the state constitution that for 154 years has prevented exactly the kind of borrowing that Proposition 57 now begins. "Under the “Balanced Budget Amendment,” a balanced budget is whatever the legislature says it is. Every one of the budgets that got California into financial difficulty was defined by the legislature as “balanced.” California’s budget deficits are the result of uncontrolled spending and dishonest accounting -- and the short-term borrowing to cover them -- and Proposition 58 does nothing to change that."
• He opposed Prop 54 (Racial Privacy), calling Ward Connerly et al., "Right wing crazies."
• He didn't support the Save Our State initiative.
• He rolled over on the spending cap.
• He has rapidly accelerated pardoning violent criminals
• He endorsed Proposition 68 supporting open primaries, a proposal similar to Louisiana's famously corrupt election system.
• He backed the $3 Billion Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Proposition 71
• He is co-opting Ted Costa's effort to give California a just reapportionment system with one of his own.
• He appointed a socialist labor activist to run the State Employment Development Department
• He appointed a person who advocates tracking every mile you drive and charging you for it as head of the DMV.
• On the plus side he appointed a talented auditor, Donna Arduin, to be Finance Director, but then didn't listen to her.
• He killed the Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority.
• He appointed Tom Campbell to be Finance Director. We'll see if Arnold listens to him.

Other than that, he's doing a great job.

[JustAnotherSavage]

"NEVER judge a politician by the letter "D" or letter "R". Judge the politician on how well they stick to Constitutional principles."

It'll never fly. LOL!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Higher spending, higher debt

So you feel that way about Bush then as well.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

The title was altered. Or are you calling the Admin Moderator a liar?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Glancing thru, without looking at them each, this one interested me:

"He has rapidly accelerated pardoning violent criminals"

I agree with the Gov.
Idiot Davis ran it like a dictator. He didn't give the parole board its right to review. What about DNA evidence that cold be reintroduced to set an innocent man free?

Davis screwed up allot there. Arnold might not be "perfect" but who would be and what would they do differently (and not what have they "said" they would do?)