Buyer's remorse: Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Tom McClintock

[EveningStar]

I supported and voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger for California governor over Tom McClintock. Not only that, I ridiculed McClintock and his supporters.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have supported and voted for McClintock.

I hereby openly apologize to McClintock and his supporters. I was wrong.

How about the other people here who supported Arnold in 2003: Agree? Disagree?

[EveningStar]

No. FO was banned last year. I’ve been here for 8 years.

[EveningStar]

Good for you. :)

[fieldmarshaldj]

5 years later, it just doesn’t feel very good to say to you folks, “I told you so.” RINOs never get you anything in the end except heartache and disaster, all attached to (and blamed on) the Republican label. The Democrats get not only their agenda enacted by the “supposed” opposition, they get to reap all the benefits at the next election by winning said offices.

[SmithL]

Have I mentioned that I’m hugely disappointed in Schwarzenegger?

[sailor4321]

You’re forgiven. I realized at the time that there were so many people like you that McClintock could never get the nomination. So, I moved to Nevada where I figured (correctly) that I would enjoy more freedom and lower taxes.

I follow California news off and on, and I can see that things have only gotten much, much worse there in the 5+ years since I left. When I visit, I’m careful to avoid discussions involving politics, religion, foreign affairs, the environment, second amendment rights and patriotism in general. This works fine, and the thought police have left me alone so far. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I cross that line back into a free state, however.

I’ll pray for you (Nevada does not punish religious practice, either).

[B Knotts]

That is just not true. Schwarzenegger was pushed into the race unprepared, because the RINO establishment feared that McClintock would win.

[kellynla]

“shared the fear that a vote for McClintock might throw the election to the Democrat.”

Maybe you didn’t see this poll taken 9/2003

“If the choice were between Cruz Bustamante, the Democrat and Tom McClintock, the Republican, who would you be more likely to vote for: Cruz Bustamante or Tom McClintock?”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/polls/tables/live/2003-09-28-recall-poll.htm

Probable Voters
McClintok 56%
Bustamante 37%

If everyone who said they were going to vote for McClintock had actually voted for him; we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today.

[Amerigomag]

Schwarzenegger was pushed into the race unprepared,

How prepared can a a dope smoking, fanny pinching tank driver get?

[EveningStar]

BTW, I still don’t care for the term RINO.

[karnage]

I voted for McClintock.

[karnage]

Simon ran a terrible campaign. A good man, but his campaign was abysmal.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Trojan Horse Democrat might be better. A liberal Democrat whose intention is to get elected under the Republican label and maximize damage to the party from within, to the point of either crippling it or even killing it, paving the way for the Democrats to “save the day” and assure them near-uncontested control for many years (or decades) to come.

[BillyBoy]

Whatever happened to freeper Registered? Was he banned too? He used to do excellent political parodies with photoshop on FR. I always thought his "jump the shark" moment was he not only created propaganda images promoting Arnold on FR, but created some lame anti-McClintock ads too. His stuff was never the same after that, and got increasingly poor.

Fortunately we had the folks at SacredCowBurgers take over the parody images after Registered went off the deep end.

I always wondered if he regretted supporting ARINOLD SCHARTZEKENNEDY

[fieldmarshaldj]

He did run a great Spring (’02) campaign. Just absolutely floundered after he got the nomination. Another problem is in California the absurdly long period between the primary and the general, almost as long as the period between the Presidential primaries and the general. The period needs to be tightened up and moved back to mid, or even late, Summer.

[EveningStar]

I should not have commented on FO. If we keep talking about people who are no longer here, this thread is going to get pulled.

[BillyBoy]

>> Trojan Horse Democrat might be better. A liberal Democrat whose intention is to get elected under the Republican label and maximize damage to the party from within, to the point of either crippling it or even killing it <<

While I accept the apology of Arnoldbots who admit the error of their ways, you can't they weren't warned and were simply "uninformed" voters who didn't research their candidate. We told them EXACTLY what they would be getting, they chose to ignore those warnings and take Arnold at his word.

Perhaps they will learn from this mistake and vote more carefully in the future.

From the 2003 recall:

==============================================

BTW, Combine selected U.S. Senate Steve Sauerberg says he's a "fiscal conservative". How original. And people wonder why I say he'd morph into Durbin-lite if elected? (fortunately Sauerberg is a sacrifical lamb with no chance of actually winning)

[Joan Kerrey]

I am a McClintock fan but I felt the defeat of Davis was vital and McClintock didn’t stand a chance. Until we rid California of the nutcases in Sacramento there isn’t much we can do. California deserves the government it votes in over and over and over. California is doomed. It’s too late to fix anything. It’ll be destroyed completely very soon with the government we put in charge here.

[BillyBoy]

>> Many of the same aRINOld crew went on to support tootyfruityrudy and other RINOs and denigrated Hunter supporters. Free Republic has been infiltrated and overcome by RINOs. <<

Well I think one of the few positives to come out of this experience is the Rudybots were purged as FR wasn't going to put up with anymore of the "only RINOs can WIN!!!" garbage from them after they shoved Arnold down our throats. After Don Sundquist, Christie Todd Whitman, George Ryan, etc., Arnold might have finally been the straw that broke the camel's back.

True, backstabber McCain is the nominee, but even HE is significantly to the right of the Rudy/Arnie crowd. Plus if McCain beats Obama, it will prove all that B.S. about how Republicans have to love abortion, gays, and gun confiscation to be "electable" in purple states is a lie.

[itsahoot]

But, he can win! Too bad he did, we would have been as well off with a dem....oh never mind.

[itsahoot]

Schwarzenegger was pushed into the race unprepared, because the RINO establishment feared that McClintock would win.

Sad, but true.