Posted on 09/18/2007 11:21:00 AM PDT by ElkGroveDan
"Everything is on the table," said Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday, when asked whether he would support a statewide sales tax, in this case, as part of a massive government intervention into health care in California. The Governor said that he could support placing a tax hike on the ballot on which Californians can vote. Presumably the Republican Governor, after negotiating such a "deal" for California taxpayers, would then advocate its passage as well.
Shame on Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I don't know how to sugar coat this, so I will just say it like it is -- he lied. He lied to me, he lied to his supporters and he lied to all Californians. When he campaigned for re-election last year, he said he was "moderate on social issues, progressive on environmental issues, and conservative on fiscal issues."
I cannot remember a stump speech that the Governor delivered to Republican activists, and I heard quite a few as a grassroots supporter of his campaign, where he did not flat out state his opposition to raising taxes, period. There was no audible "asterisk" qualifying his opposition to new taxes. Schwarzenegger's firm opposition to increasing taxes, in contrast to billions in tax hikes being promoted by Democrat Phil Angelides, helped to keep the Republican base fired up for the Governor while he reached out to Democrat voters with his social and environmental views.
Along with all of my fellow Republicans, we have been trying to practice a terrible balancing act, perched precariously on the Governor's stool while it is has been balanced on just one leg -- solid opposition to new taxes. Well, the Governor has yanked that stool out from under us and we Republicans have now all fallen on the floor. I don't know if it is more embarrassing, frustrating, or upsetting. My Republican Governor has proposed taxes on hospitals, income taxes on medical professionals, and now he is "open" to supporting a statewide sales tax.
The mantra that the Governor has been spewing on healthcare is downright... liberal. He has wrapped himself around the banner of the notion of "hidden taxes" and articulating that there is a cost to all insurance-holding Californians to provide coverage to all of those who do not have health care insurance and that this justifies tax hikes. He is correct about insurance-holding Californians bearing the costs of the uninsured, though the experts at the Hoover Institute have released a study showing that this burden is much lower than has been articulated by the Governor. But the next step that Schwarzenegger takes is to say that we should, in essence, replace the so-called "hidden tax" with actual non-hidden, overt taxes. What the Governor proposes is no fiscally conservative solution. It is not even a moderate one. His proposals on health care "reform" are quite liberal, and are based around this left-wing straw man called "shared responsibility."
Shared responsibility is just another way to say government responsibility, and moves away from a bedrock American principle -- individual responsibility. There is a notion in America, unlike any other place in the world, that here you have freedom. Freedom to succeed, and freedom to fail. You have opportunity that is boundless, but that comes from the notion of a limited government, one that affords liberty to its citizenry. The price for this freedom and liberty is individual responsibility, and the Governor's direction on health care "reform" in California is counter to this philosophical approach towards the proper role of government in our society.
Today in the Wall Street Journal, former Presidential advisor Karl Rove has an outstanding opinion piece in which he articulates a broad number of market-oriented approaches that government can take to increasing the accessibility to and the quality of health care in America -- including leveling the tax playing field through tax deductions or credits, tax-free savings for health costs, increase competition by allowing insurance companies to offer policies across state lines, allow for greater pooling of risk by small companies, increase transparency of medical costs so that American consumers understand what they are paying for, and reigning in junk lawsuits that are driving costs up dramatically. These are just some areas where market principles can be applied to make our health care system in America better -- without attacking the core American principles of freedom and liberty.
Today there is a bold headline in the Los Angeles Times proclaiming "In Clinton Health Plan, Coverage Is Mandatory" -- referring to the latest "HillaryCare" proposal to massively increase the federal government's role in health care. I find it disturbing that both Hillary Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger have at the core of their respective proposals the notion that carrying health care insurance is no longer the responsibility of the individual, but is the role of the government. Both want to move us in the direction of European socialism, and this should be rejected from the outset.
I can respect fighting the good fight against long odds.
‘Course in 4 dead in OHIO, you have those rock-ribbed conservatives like Voinob!tch.’
Do you see the irony in your post?
I don’t dispute my state is totally screwed up by country club Republicans that are completely corrupt.
But hey, back in the good old days, if you burnt a school building, we shot you....
Thank ya Colonel! Many of us aren't ready to wave the white flag. All encouragement to carry on the fight is welcome!
Sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can start to climb back up.
Are we there yet? ;-)
You think it is typical for the state Republican party to undermine its own candidates in favor of democrats?
Record spending increases, $15 billion in unconstitutional borrowing, a 25 million acre land grab,
embryonic stem-cell research, global warming, solar roofs, hydrogen highways, etc.
Ah, yes... the good old days before Arnie turned into a liberal. /s
‘You think it is typical for the state Republican party to undermine its own candidates in favor of democrats?’
Yep. Saw it here in Ohio as well in the past two election cycles.
(chuckle)
Thats the direct result of a leftwing state legislature, isn’t it?
No. The borrowing was a plan initiated by Arnold. The land-grab, promoted by Arnold. The record spending, proposed by Arnold. Global warming, hydrogen highways--all Arnold (it was in his "platform," written by his "advisor," Robert F. Kennedy, jr.).
And speaking of advisors... Terry Tamminen, Bonnie Reiss, etc... all extreme leftists appointed by Arnold within his first "18 months" that you so admire.
’ all extreme leftists appointed by Arnold within his first “18 months” that you so admire.’
Two points.
1. Arnold has the state legislature, regardless of your viewpoint, that he has to work with. So pretending its all ‘arnold’ doesn’t wash. Yes, he’s done some things I didn’t approve of either, but I didn’t vote him into office. I just watched as things unfolded on the leftcoast.
2. Nothing I’ve posted indicates ‘admiration’. If you had followed this thread closely, you would have seen up above my noting McClintock would have been my choice, but that he was not electable in the current political enviroment within the state.
You act as if Arnold’s ‘King of California’...even though we both know thats simply not how things work in government in this country, or that state.
Run along. We’re done. ;-)
No problem, simplistic views as you’ve displayed them so far don’t require much more thought.
Even California liberals are abandoning the mess they've made here and are probably settling in your state as I write. They're already turning nearby formerly Red states like Oregon, Nevada, Arizona into Blue bastions. It's a national contagion and no one's immune in the long run.
Just to set you straight about my view, I was appalled at the Bush Amnesty plan. And utterly disgusted the President didn’t ‘get it’ the first time around, and is hinting he’s going to try it one more time according to reports.
The double fence in SD worked. It should be extended for most of the length of the border, only excluding those areas where topographical features render it moot.
Are we there yet? ;-)
Sadly, probably not. But I will be cheering for you, down here in Saucier, MS.
(Ummm, that is of course, if the next hurricane doesn't get us, LOL)
Take your personal insults back to Ohio.
If you want to discuss facts, I will more than welcome you here. If you continue to post myths about a public record, expect to be called on it.
‘Run along. We’re done. ;-)’
Golly, I thought my response to the above was rather mild.
Have a good evening, no harm intended.
Your feigned innocence is transparently insincere, when you clearly said "simplistic views "as you’ve displayed them so far." You were called on the contentions you made on this thread and offered nothing to support them. As I said, continue to post myths and expect to be called on them.
And a good evening to you.
Is that a sincere ‘good evening’ or a faux one?
LOL! No ill will here, I assure you. Its only the internet.
Hmmmm. I had similiar debates back when that was going on, and I always remembered it was a special election cycle.
From here, it didn’t look to me like McClintock stood a chance in hell under the circumstances...but we’ll never know.
Is he going to run for Governor next time it comes up?
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