Please Pass me the Rolaids PollAids, Thanks!
Posted on 09/20/2005 7:51:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed confidence Tuesday he can persuade voters to approve several "reform" measures in the special election he called for Nov. 8, although he acknowledged making mistakes in his effort, starting with a widely publicized comment last year calling nurses a special interest group whose "butts" he is always kicking.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Schwarzenegger discussed a wide range of matters pertaining to the special election and his own decision to pursue a second term next year.
Among other things, he said that, "in principle," he supported Proposition 73, a ballot measure requiring clinicians to notify the parents of a teenager seeking an abortion.
He also said his wife, Maria Shriver, supports his decision to seek re-election, and dismissed as "silly" the criticisms leveled his way in recent months by actor Warren Beatty, who has been mentioned as a possible challenger in next year's gubernatorial election.
Schwarzenegger is pushing several "year of reform" ballot initiatives that would curb the power of the Democrat-controlled Legislature and the state's public employee unions. He wants voters to establish a state spending cap, extend from two years to five the time it takes for public school teachers to be tenure eligible, and strip lawmakers of their power to draw the lines of their own districts.
At the state Republican convention last weekend, the governor endorsed a separate measure, dubbed "paycheck protection" by its backers, that would require public employee unions to seek permission from their members before using dues money for political purposes. Democrats, who receive the vast majority of labor's campaign contributions, view that as a direct assault on their political power.
Since announcing the initiatives in his State of the State address last January, Schwarzenegger has struggled to convey his message amid a barrage of labor union-driven protests and negative television ads. With the Nov. 8 special election looming, his job approval rating sits at an abysmal 36 percent, according to the a statewide Field Poll released earlier this month. Aides dispute that figure, saying their internal polling shows his job approval to be much higher.
Of the four ballot initiatives he supports, only the union dues measure appears to have majority support.
Schwarzenegger's fundraising for the initiative campaign is languishing, too. Disclosure records show he has managed to raise little more than half the $50 million he publicly targeted for the campaign. The governor announced Friday that he would seek a second term in 2006, in part to reassure potential special election donors that he didn't intend to leave office anytime soon.
Late last week, aides confirmed that the governor would be contributing a sizable amount of his own personal fortune toward the effort, but he has yet to do that.
Prop Prop Prop
FoR all our sakes, Let's hope it doesn't turn into
Plop Plop PLop
Dems, who feel they rule by devine right, always work ruthlessly and relentlessly to turn ANY perceived victory by grassroots conservatism, such as the initial stages of the historic CA Recall, into something that never happened just a quickly as humanly possible.
The MSM is especially helpful in this endeavor, in fact, crucial to it! So tell your Mom... They're doin it again!!!
Please Pass me the Rolaids PollAids, Thanks!
If he agrees with it then endorse it! More game playin'.
GOP in a fighting mood, Sacramento Bee, September 19, 2005
Some party insiders predicted Schwarzenegger would generate even more fervor among activists by endorsing Proposition 73, the initiative requiring parental consent for teens to obtain an abortion."That is one of our secret weapons," California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim said. "People feel very passionately about that."
Sundheim and others said the initiative will increase voter turnout among abortion rights foes, who would be likely to support the measures the governor has endorsed.
For both sides, turnout is the key to victory in an off-election year. There are no candidates on the ballot to get voters excited.
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