Posted on 11/09/2005 5:24:38 PM PST by calcowgirl
Thank you.
[Cheers]
Thank you very much. Thank you all. Thank you....welcome.
Thank you, it's great to see you all here. Thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate it. You know, there are so many people that I want to thank here tonight. So many people.
First of all, I want to thank all of the people of California. I want to thank them... I want to thank those who voted for our propositions, and also I want to thank those who did not vote for our propositions. I want to thank them for being part of the process. So thank you very much. Thank you.
[Cheers]
And, uh, believe it or not, I even want to thank the people who were so passionately vocal against us. I guess I didn't do a good enough job to convince them otherwise.
But of course, I also want to thank all of you in here and I want to thank the people all across this great state. Because I have traveled up and down the state of California and I have seen the hardworking volunteers. I have seen the thousands of people out there working the phone banks, knocking on doors, and working in the offices, putting up the yard signs. Even children, painting signs, Welcome Arnold, Welcome Governor, and so on. It is wonderful. And I am so proud to call you all my friends. And how California is so lucky to have you as citizens.
[Cheers]
And, of course, I want to thank Maria. I want to thank Maria.
[Cheers]
Maria, I know... Maria, I know that this campaign has been tough on you and tough for you. I know there is a lot of time I could have spent at home with you and with the children if it wouldn't have been for that campaign. And I know how hard it has been for you and the children to watch all those negative ads and the negative ads about me. So I want to say thank you very much for all your love. Thank you very much for all of your support and thank you for being the greatest friend that anybody in the world could have.
[Cheers]
Thank you.
You know, the other day... the other day, I was in Bakersfield. It was Sunday. And I said to the people in Bakersfield, I say, "I want you to go to the polls on Tuesday... I want you to go to the polls on Tuesday with a big smile and vote Yes on those propositions." And tonight is Tuesday. Tonight is Tuesday. And I am sorry to tell you that I cannot really tell you how much we should smile. I don't know because we don't have all the results in yet. You see, we don't know... with some propositions that are ahead. Some propositions are behind. So we don't know, we have to wait a little bit. But I have great hopes. So let's just wait until tomorrow, I guess, for the results.
But anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing those results. But no matter what the results are, I want to tell you, and what I said to my staff the other day on the plane. I said to them, that in a couple of days, the victories or the losses will be behind us. And whether we win, lose, or draw, whatever the outcome is there is one thing we will do. We are going to continue to make California a better place for our citizens here and for our people of this great, great, state. We are going to make it again... we are going to make California again the golden state that it once was.
[Cheers]
You know, the other day something wonderful happened to me on the campaign trail. I was in Walnut Creek and we were having a debate, a Town Hall meeting, and there was Senator Perata. Senator Perata there, presenting his case, to the people, hundreds of people sitting out there. And then after that, I presented my case. And then afterwards, we met back stage. And he came up to me, and looked me in the eyes, smiling and he shook my hand. Shook my hand and he said to me, he says "Governor, I cannot wait until this election is over so I can sit down with you and start working with you again to improve our state."
And it really touched me. And I said the same to him. I said "you know, even though we are on opposite sides but you can see there is no personal animosity. We are going to work together." I said "I am looking forward to working with you also."
And this is a very important that we move our state forward. This is exactly the same reaction I got from the Speaker today. I talked to Speaker Fabian Nunez. And he had the exact the same reaction. He said "Let's work together--As soon as this is over, let us go and work for the state of California."
And all of the other leaders... all the other leaders... the legislative leaders say the same thing. So, I'm looking forward to this Thursday. Democratic leaders and Republican leaders will get together in Sacramento with me which we call the Big 5 meeting. And we are going to go and find common ground. We are going to talk about reforms of how to move our state forward. We are going to ask to make sure that we going to bring new ideas to the table. Big ideas. Radical ideas. I always said, the bigger the better. So I'm really looking forward to that meeting.
And then right after that meeting, I'm going to leave for China. I'm going to leave for China for a trade mission. China is the largest growing market in the world and I want to increase California's business with China, because, it will mean jobs for our people, it will mean extra revenues for our state. And when I return from Asia, we will get down to business. Oh, yes. Because there is much work we have to do. Much, much work has to be done.
[Cheers]
We've got to rebuild... we've got to rebuild our infrastructure. It is so much that is needed.
We need more roads. We need more bridges. We need more highways. We need more hospitals. We need more schools. We need more nurses, more teachers, more firefighters, more police officers. We need more affordable housing. We need more energy, more water. We need more of everything. And I recognize that we also need more bipartisan cooperation to make it all happen. And I promise I will deliver that.
Because Californians believe that the state is on the wrong track. Californians believe that we need reform, we need change. But the people of California are sick and tired of all the fighting. And they are sick tired of all those negative TV ads.
Tomorrow... But, tomorrow, we begin anew. I want to close here this with a personal note, not with a political note. I feel the same tonight as that night two years ago when I was elected Governor. You know, with all my heart, I want to do the right thing for the people of California. Oh yes, I want to do the right thing.
[Cheers]
I... I tell you, I feel so... I feel so honored and I feel so privileged to be your Governor. I feel so honored and so privileged to be able to serve you. And I promise you, from the bottom of my heart, that I will continue to work as hard as I can to make you proud of me. I'm going to continue to work... we are going to make this state ... we are going to make this state ...the greatest state of the greatest country in the world, again.
[Cheers]
So I want to say thank you very much to all of you for coming. Thank you and for your warm support and for the incredible hard work that you've put in there. And thank you for being such great Californians. Thank you, very much. Thank you. Thank you.
[Cheers]
Some people are hopeless, Arnie. Irredeemably stupid and selfish are the voters of California.
"Some people are hopeless, Arnie. Irredeemably stupid and selfish are the voters of California."
Mostly the latter.
I keep asking them, Where is the money going to come from?
No answers of course on that.
Im proud of Arnold, he stood up for the right things. But that union nut is a tough one to crack. And crack it we will someday.
Thanks for posting this.
I disagree. He (or more accurately, his campaign team)didn't do a good job convincing the people. Both campaigns avoided discussing the issues themselves, instead spewing lies and rhetoric to try to "win." Some of these measures should have stood on their own based on fact and logic. The politicians and campaign strategists are the ones that treated all voters as if they were stupid and many of those voters just got fed up with it all.
That was an excellent speech. Very, very clear.
What an inspirational speach.....not!
Did ya see the county map breakdown on the union prop vote? A red/blue split with the exception of the red counties with lots of gov't jobs (ie like Lassen County with the large prison in Susanville). At some point, the socialists will run out of other peoples money - until that happens, nothing will change.
Tell me, Alia, since it seems so "very, very clear" to you... Precisely what does "bipartisan cooperation" mean to you in CA's historical context?
He will be moving to the left under the guise of bipartisanship. Maria will be playing a bigger role. The "Big 5" will be collaborating to advance the political class and collectively help heal each others wounds, not to solve the problems of California. He has grand visions of spending huge somes of money (see quotes: "we need more..."). And he still thinks California politics is all about him (see quotes: "make you proud of me", "negative ads about me", etc.)
Maria is already planning the further infiltration of of the Capitol by her Democratic colleagues. [See: CA: Special Election Defeat May Prompt Administration Upheaval ]. A recent view of who is funding Arnold's 2006 campaign, thus far, also shows numerous contributions pouring in from historically Democratic powerhouses like the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips. The message of the Recall election seems to be forgotten, imo.
What Recall election?
I don't recall one happening. I witnessed a Shanghai job even the Chinese would be proud of.
The sad part is that, although Arnold's leftward moves may be politically expedient, he will continue to take the blame for the necessary consequences of liberalism and, as a "Republican," tar conservatives with that very brush.
Arnold has now positioned himself so as to be unable to "do better" in regard to anything in CA. Politically he's not a "wounded animal," he's a wounded fish in a barrel and the Dems have the rifle aimed right down at him!!!
Meanwhile, back at the Repub Ranch... Well, I've already outlined my views on the lack of a meaningful Repub Primary contest next June. The whole scenario looks pretty danged grim, if you ask me! Not saying it can't be turned around, but it's been made a whale of a lot tougher the it ever needed to be!!!
What was that you used to call him? The OneTerminator?
I agree completely.
I believe Arnold has completely misinterpreted the lesson to be learned from the defeat of his four propositions.
As I said elsewhere: "The problem was Arnold. He failed to inspire the base, while the Rats went crazy getting everyone possible to the polls (wonder how many illegals were included). Arnold could have inspired the base if he had mounted an aggressive program of cost reductions and cuts shortly after taking office. Instead, he did nothing to fulfill any part of his campaign rhetoric. Finally, he got together his four initiatives which turned out to be confusing (76 & 77), and were too little/too late. By then, the base questioned Arnold's reform seriousness beause his two years in office mostly revealed him to be long on talk but short on action when it came to cost cutting (his interview statements about "we never want to cut anything" certainly didn't help). The fact is, the base simply didn't trust Arnold, so many didn't bother to go to the polls. That, combined with the Rat's nuclear spending anti-Arnold program, made the difference."
If Arnold thinks he can fix everything by moving even further to the left he is in for a real surprise.
No! I still call him "The CAGOP Terminator!!!" (because he's gonna bail like Jesse Ventura and leave the CAGOP without a viable candidate slate in next June's Primary, since the CAGOP prematurely pre-emptied all that by endorsing A.S. last February at their CONvention!!!)
I don't think he will ever get the message. He bought into the "conservative can't win" mantra a long time ago.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
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