Posted on 01/05/2007 10:49:37 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Styling himself a centrist who is not beholden to either political party, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be sworn in Friday to a second term.
"The American people are instinctively centrist, so should be our government," he planned to say, according to excerpts of his prepared inaugural speech. "No one ideology can solve prison reform or immigration reform or any of the other challenges facing us. It will take the best ideas of everyone."
To burnish his bipartisan credentials, Schwarzenegger invited the state's top Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who on Thursday became the first woman speaker of the House, and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, although none of them decided to attend.
However, the master of ceremonies was to be another famous Democrat: former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, who once was speaker of the state Assembly.
The symbolism is important for Schwarzenegger, who will need the cooperation of Democrats again this year, as he attempts ambitious reforms in health care and prisons. Democrats hold majorities in both houses of the Legislature.
His popularity hinges on the perception that he is a pragmatic dealmaker - not an ideologue - who is independent of both political parties, a theme he was to emphasize in his speech.
"We must think of ourselves as belonging not just to the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, but to the Party of California," he said in his prepared remarks.
The governor has not been seen in public since he broke his right femur during a ski accident in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Dec. 23, a painful injury that required surgery. Doctors used screws and cables to connect broken fragments of his thigh bone.
The injury will force him to use crutches for two months.
He skipped the opening event to his inaugural festivities on Thursday. But aides said he would attend all three events planned for Friday, the swearing in at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, a luncheon in the Capitol and a black tie gala at the convention center.
Friday's inauguration was to be more elaborate than the one he received in 2003, after winning the divisive recall election and replacing Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. At the time, California's economy was still recovering from recession.
With the state in better shape, Schwarzenegger's advisers said the good times called for a more lavish celebration.
To that end, Schwarzenegger collected at least $1.3 million from donors to pay for the two-day affair. Contributors include construction firms, developers and insurers, many with business before the state.
Among those who donated $50,000 or more, earning the title "Gold Sponsor," are Chevron, which often is at odds with environmentalists over regulation, and Martin Matich, a Southern California construction baron who got part of Interstate 210 named in his honor.
His firm will be among those vying for part of the $37.3 billion public works bond package approved by voters in November. Lawmakers and the governor will decide who gets the business.
The donations are not subject to contribution limits, and the governor did not have to disclose the donors' names. Schwarzenegger insists he is not influenced by contributions.
His popularity hinges on the perception that he is a pragmatic dealmaker - not an ideologue - who is independent of both political parties, a theme he was to emphasize in his speech.
bookmark
Well, if Pelosi can be "bipartisan"...
TWirP!
I guess that sounds better than, "I'm boxed in."
God bless the founders!
Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Sorry Arnold!
Wow. I doubt the Founding Fathers would find anything in common with this euro-socialist jerk.
He's a RINO, RINO, RINO who dances to the tune of his Liberal wife.
Thanks for the question.
I would pose in turn,,
Who believes the co-opted Ca GOP is a party for anyone but the dems to benefit from in its current mode of retreat from its longstanding priciples?
Are you going to watch the inaugural?
I guess his speech hasn't started yet. I just clicked on and they were featuring the female mariachi band singing Guantanamera.
http://gov.ca.gov/
Maria Shriver, left, wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, leave the inaugural kick-off at Capitol Park in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. The event, 'Leading the Green Dream', highlighted California's environmental strides featuring electric cars, organic foods and solar panels on the Capitol lawn. Gov. Schwarzenegger did not attend the activities after his doctor advised him to stay off his broken leg.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Are you going to watch the inaugural?
--
No, I have tender tummy. :-)
Been there, done that. Business as usual.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, seen here with his wife Maria Shriver in 2006, will be sworn in as California governor later in the day, entering a final term that the former Hollywood tough guy hopes will secure his legacy as a caring, compassionate conservative.(AFP/File/Gabriel Bouys)
I guess it was more of a rhetorical question...
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