The GOP RINO's have been telling me for 35 years that "you have no choice... the Dems are worse...". Except for that bright and shinning moment when the GOP put up the "Contract with America", and then actually followed through on a few items, they've NEVER meant what they said when they mouthed conservative rhetoric. It was all just "red meat for the rank and file". Ever wonder why a dozen years after the GOP "revolution", most of the House and Senate committee leadership posts are still held by RINO's. And, when the old "bears" like Dole and Michel, who wouldn't know victory if it bit them in the butt, left the scene, other RINO's took their place. Ever wonder why 3/4 of the current USSC justices were nominated by GOP Presidents, yet the court is still at least 60% hard-left liberal?? The GOP has never meant what it's said about the GOP policy issues. They'll say anything to get the conservative base vote, get elected, and then they all become "big government" Tom Delay Republicans.
The government we now have, both in California and the USA, is the government the GOP is comfortable with. The GOP "conservatives" are comfortable putting RINO's into those positions of leadership. They're comfortable with liberal Supreme Court Justices, and they're comfortable with an onerous tax policy, and a tax (local, state, federal, etc.) burden that eats up of over half of what we earn. They're comfortable with the left-wing union owned public schools of non-education. They're even comfortable with making a "little bit of war" in Afghanistan and Iraq, of talking about "your with us or against us", and that "we'll pursue the state sponsors of terror", as long as it doesn't actually mean getting into a "big war" that might impact the next two year election cycle. They're comfortable enough with the hypocritical Democrats calling their own elected President a war criminal, and our fighting men "baby killers" (i.e. all over again..), not to denounce them, shutdown government, put the Democrats on the spot by uniting the public around a referendum on National Security, and by redefining what IS and IS NOT treason by Congressmen passing state secrets.... No, the GOP is comfortable with the status quo, with nuclear armed N. Korea and Iran, as LONG as they keep their seats during the next election. Just like the treasonous Democrats, the GOP is more concerned with maintaining their perks of power than about national security or public policy. They say all sorts of nice sounding, conservative things, but they mean none of it.
My personal writ against the GOP is long, but I'm not unrealistic. I realize how tough it's been to run upstream against the left. However, as I said, it's personal now. I've been screwed by big government in more ways than I can begin to tell you, but now my kids are getting screwed. And, Schwarzenegger is PERSONALLY involved with the law just passed (he did more than just sign it into law) and the current management of the UC system (he controls the Chancellors - they're his boys, ..or um girls.. or um... tranny's.. whatever).
So, I'm going to get personally involved in ending Schwarzenegger's political career, and that of every GOP RINO I can get my hands on (figuratively speaking). If I can't vote against them, I'm pumping my money into alternate candidates for the primary. If we lose in the primary, I'm doing what RINO's have done for 35 years in California, "on principle" of course, and supporting whoever can beat the RINO, even if it's a Democrat.
It's simple: if I stay home, that's 1 lost vote for Arnie. If I vote for the Dem, that's 1 lost vote, plus a vote for the guy who can beat him, i.e. a 2 vote difference. If I convince my wife to do the same, that's a 4 vote difference. My 18 and 19 year old kids go along with this logic, BELIEVE me, so that's an 8 vote difference. It doesn't take many GOP protest votes to seriously disturb Arnie's math.
As far as the policy effects go, we're screwed either way. There is, in fact, a limit as to how far Red Phil can go, before he shares Gray Davis' fate. The fact is, reelecting Arnie will NOT have the benign impact you expect, it'll be much worse the next four years, than the past two. Neither will electing Red Phil have as serious a negative impact that you believe. As Arnie runs left, he and Phil will merge on the issues. The difference is, we can mount a constructive opposition to a Democrat Governor; we can mount no opposition at all to a sitting GOP Governor.
GOP conservatives need to defeat Arnie to turn the ship around, not walk away from the polls. Arnie's counting on conservatives to disenfranchise themselves, to his benefit.
Like hell, I will!
SFS
Make your vote count. VOTE .. but vote AGAINST Arnie. Double the value of your vote; vote for the #1 or #2 candidate who'd NOT Arnie. If the Libertarian starts polling #2, I'll vote for him. Right now, #1 or #2 is a Democrat, so if the election is held today, he gets my vote.
The next four years of the liberal Govinator will be much, much worse than the past two years. You KNOW that this is true. We can muster NO effective opposition against a sitting GOP governor, and his local California policies will become the defacto national GOP policies. How could it be otherwise. The governors of the largest 4 or 5 states wield a disproportionate influence on national public policy.
At least if the governor is a Democrat, we can mount an effective opposition against him, as happened with Gray Davis. And if you think Arnie's policies after he's received a RE-ELECTION MANDATE will be any "kinder and gentler" than Red Phil's, you're nuts. The GOP has little influence on the Governor and his hand picked, Gray Davis Democrat staff now; it'll have none after he's reelected.
SFS
Where did I say anything about voting for Arnold?? Did I not say the opposite?? But voting for a Democrat instead is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. That is truly cutting off your nose to spite your face. No one said vote for Arnold. I won't be. But for god's sakes don't vote for someone from the Party of Satan, the party that initiated the legislation on this private school gag order against anti-homosexuality teaching nonsense. How the hell does that make any sense to validate the candidate of the party that passed that legislation in the Assembly? No Republicans voted for it.
No, all I'm saying is vote write in, vote 3rd party or leave it blank so Arnold can see how badly he underperforms against real conservatives like McClintock. But don't vote Democrat. Sheesh, you're just putting yourself into the enemies camp if you do that. And NO AMOUNT of hysterical and long-winded counter-replies will EVER justify that stupidity in my book. AGAIN, I am not voting for Arnold or saying you should. But DO NOT VOTE FOR THE SATANIC DEMOCRATS EVER FOR ANY REASON! You are guilty of their sins and the evil they legislate if you do that! DO YOU WANT THAT ON YOUR CONSCIENCE??