[calcowgirl]

He tried to bypass the obstructionist assembly and enact the agenda he ran on by going to the people with referendums. They turned him down and turned against him for trying. Support is a two way street.

Aha! Another one from the Blame-the-Conservatives crowd! Did you know that the Secretary of State does not publish any statistics about how many conservatives showed up and voted? Did you know that the Secretary of State does not publish any statistics about how many Republicans or Democrats showed up or didn't? Did you know that the media performed zero exit polls of how many the party make-up of those who voted? Did you know that the 2 most conservative measures did the best on the ballot--which would indicate that the right side of the aisle did show up and support the measures?

In fact, the campaign team was either totally inept or trying to lose. In retrospect, one has to wonder if it was the latter. By alienating the unions and using inflammatory campaign rhetoric, I'd guess that Arnold offended every union member, and family of union members, to some degree. His 'girly-man' comments only embroiled the opposition and squelched any ability to sell the initiatives on merit. (Attempting to sell them on merit would have also disclosed the various flaws in at least 2 of the measures).

If someone tries something and loses, does that make it okay to abandon all principles and the Party platform and join the opposition? I say NO. If he wants to act like a Democrat, run under the (D) label!

By the way, all of that has nothing to do with the other actions the Governor could take--proposing budget decreases, vetoes, etc. Under your logic, it sounds like promoting socialized medicine would be justified in your book.

[mngalt]

"Under your logic, it sounds like promoting socialized medicine would be justified in your book."


At least I can't be accused of tacitly voting for Angelides. Were you old enough to vote for Clinton via Perot, too?

[goldstategop]

I can just see Arnold's defenders rationalizing the adoption of Canada style health care here in California, if a Republican signed it into law! Apparently, measures stop being liberal if they are embraced by a Republican! Party worship is blind.

(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )

[L.N. Smithee]

In fact, the campaign team was either totally inept or trying to lose. In retrospect, one has to wonder if it was the latter.

I concur. The unions and left-wing moneybags struck early and often, turning Arnold's name into a dirty word in their negative TV and radio ads. There were no responses in kind by the cipher-like CA GOP flunkies until very, very, late in the campaign, and they were -- at least they were in the San Francisco Bay Area -- mostly in the form of 15 second ads for one of the four measures played back-to-back.

Arnold was very GWBish in his far-between speeches on the measures, not being specific about the measures' goals and a seeming inability to answer the most biting criticism of the propositions. In concession speeches on election night, Shrivernegger telegraphed a major shift leftward. Then he hired Susan Kennedy, a CA Dem strategist, which completed his species-change operation from elephant to RINO.