[BillyBoy]

>> Can the CAGOP leadership appreciate the dilemma they've created for themselves, at the top of the ticket, when they surrendered their principles and organization to the Wilsonegger Gang and its liberal, celebrity spokesman? Did the Wilsonegger Gang think that Republicans would follow quietly or did they just assume that their spokesman had such broad appeal that the conservative members of the CAGOP weren't needed anymore to win statewide election? Last but not least; to those who labor away in the trenches; to those dedicated souls who work the FairOpinion account <<

You continually refer to Schwartzekennedy as a Pete Wilson Republican. He is definitely not a Pete Wilson Republican. Pete Wilson was a sucky "moderate" who sided with Democrats fairly often on social issues but at least stood up for SOMETHING, like when he CONSISTANTLY stood his ground on prop. 187 and consistantly opposed affirmation action while in office, proving those positions were more than just campaign rhetoric. If anyone is from the Peter Wilson wing of the party, it's Congressman Bilbray.

Schwartzenkennedy doesn't stand for anything. He claimed he was for Prop. 187, then flip-flopped on it once he got into office. He said he wanted to "seal the borders" then immediately took it back. He championed vetoing the driver's licenes for illegal aliens, then said he would sign a "compromise" version (which is no different than how Gray Davis acted prior to the recall)

Schwartzekennedy is not a centrist-style moderate Republican, he's a political opportunist who supporters whatever will win over enough commie liberals to keep him in power.

The governor most comparable to Schwartzekennedy would be Earl Warren. Call him the Warrenegger.

[Amerigomag]

You continually refer to Schwartzekennedy as a Pete Wilson Republican.

Nope.

The reference to the Wilsonegger Gang involves the period from early to mid 2003. During that period, sensing the unrest in the natives and harboring a long cultivated grudge against the CAGOP leadership, Pete Wilson and his old staffers squeezed money from liberal, Republican businessmen in Orange County and cultivated a spokesman, Schwarzenegger, for their new, political enterprise.

The Austrian is not a Wilson clone. He's European. He's liberal. Wilson was a patriot. Wilson did have moments when guided by party traditions and principles. Generally, however, Wilson was guided by expediency, not political principle. The Austrian does exhibit Wilson like flashes of expediency but always tends toward his liberal core.

In the ensuing months since the die was cast in mid 2003, the relationship between Wilson and Schwarzenegger has evolved to the classic: Master loses control of protege.

The continuing use of the term Wilsonegger Gang is a reminder to the CAGOP, which maintains a subscription on FR, that their surrender to the gang in the summer of 2003 is what led to the mess that Republicans in California currently endure.