Posted on 12/05/2005 2:24:20 PM PST by calcowgirl
Arnold Schwarzenegger stunned California last week by selecting the former deputy chief of staff to Gray Davis, the Democratic governor ousted by the recall that brought Mr. Schwarzenegger to power, to be his own chief of staff.
Conservatives are furious that Susan Kennedy, a 45-year-old former acolyte of radical activists Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda, will be Gov. Schwarzenegger's top administrator, with power to hire and fire staff. Some liberals are angry at her joining a GOP governor; others are bemused. This Wednesday, 450 Gray Davis alumni will fill the state capitol for the unveiling of Mr. Davis's portrait. Ms. Kennedy will be reunited with David Zingale, another former top Davis aide, who is now chief of staff to First Lady Maria Shriver. Jason Kinney, a Davis speechwriter, quips that Mr. Schwarzenegger has decided to "finish the second term of Gray Davis." Mr. Davis, for his part, notes that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Some are calling the Kennedy pick the governor's "Harriet Miers moment." An executive with low poll numbers, urged on by his wife, makes a bold appointment without proper vetting. That sets off a firestorm of unanticipated criticism. The executive insists he hasn't changed and asks his allies to trust him.
That trust isn't there for Arnold now. Several key talk-show hosts have broken with him. During a meeting of the state GOP executive committee last Friday, none of the 18 participants were supportive. Several GOP groups that do vital grunt work in campaigns are in open rebellion. The GOP leaders of both legislative houses have blasted the move. "Californians spoke loudly for real change in the recall," GOP Assembly Leader Kevin McCarthy told me. "This is a tragic move backwards."
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Are they finally getting it?
1475 words, but who's counting?!
Correction: involvement with the Oracle deal ($95 million sham)...
LOL. Thanks--I estimated.
Nah. They think Arnold cares about what they think.
I still think he fancies himself another Earl Warren:
The Oracle deal really stank to high heaven.
I still think the CAGOP can get out of its new rule change "deal" for Arnold. I would bet that many a "R" staffer is looking through the fine print.
I think the term "jumped the shark" has jumped the shark.
Maybe he thought she was one of his in-laws. William Kennedy Smith's criminal record probably got in the way.
Whatever the reason, the governor's choice is the most dramatic in the Capitol since former Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, chose the late B.T. Collins, a maimed Republican Vietnam war veteran, as his chief of staff.
A big supporter of Collins was former Gov. Pete Wilson, who lauded Schwarzenegger's selection of Kennedy. Source
I guess California is like that. Politics do make strange bedfellows.
FWIW, he expression "jumped the shark" has so "jumped the shark." Apparently, it goes back to 1997 or so. It was stupid to begin with and everyone got sick of it years ago.
The funny thing about Arnold is that he "jumped the shark" merely by running for public office in the first place.
If Arnold's day is done, is that as an actor or as a politician? Or both? It's tough if the Presidency is his only possible encore. Maybe he's moved on to a higher plane and will cultivate a Garbo-like seclusion after he leaves office.
McClintock would not have hired her.
You Californians should just be glad you have a Republican governor instead of a Democrat.
What does the phrase 'jump the shark' mean?
And some are on FR still drinking the Kool-Aide.
This'll help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
You funny.
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