The woman who would be governator

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/11/9 | Debra J. Saunders

[SmithL]

Former eBay chief Meg Whitman is preparing to run for governor in 2010. Considering that California is so broke that next month it may have to issue IOUs instead of checks, I cannot imagine why anyone would want the job. And considering that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger started out as a political outsider who promised to parachute into Sacramento to clean up the mess - only to allow it to grow messier - I wonder if voters will be eager to pick another parachute-in Republican for governor.

Not that the alternatives are all that appetizing. If Whitman may seem too new, some Democrats expected to jump into the race have been running for governor longer than many readers have been voting in California. Attorney General Jerry Brown ran and won the governorship in 1974 and 1978. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who has already announced his candidacy, ran and lost in 1982 and 1994. He announced he would run in the recall race, then didn't, but then ran for lieutenant governor, or governor-in-waiting, in 2006.

I wonder if Democrats are eager to nominate Your Father's Oldsmobile when there are newer models - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa or EssEff Mayor Gavin Newsom - that have been road-tested, without having rusted in the driveway.

"We all hope that Gavin Newsom wins the nomination so the Republicans get a chance," GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum noted.

So far, it looks as if Whitman will compete for the GOP nomination with Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former Rep. Tom Campbell. It is a sign of a more moderate GOP that all three support abortion rights.

[MNReaganite]

Is Whitman originally from Illinois? We might have to watch for some pay-go in the form of “Buy it Now” positions.. ;-)

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

If the Republicans in CA nominate a pro abortion candidate, then we might as well vote for a Democrat.

Pro-life measures will never pass in CA at this time.

The state is swimming in $40 billion red ink - and you want to make abortion a priority?

Look, a lot of people supported RINOLD in 2003 because of the fiscal aspect. The problem with RINOLD is that he unfortunately supported global warming and didn't take on the entrenched unions or fight the bloated state gov't.

The state is being killed by regulations, taxes, bureaucracy, illegals, etc. Fight the social issues for another day, and work on getting the fiscal house in order first. I had no problem with Schwarzenegger's social views initially as long as he would have reined in spending and advanced real, objective, long-term energy policies.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Many social issues (abortion, gay rights, minority representation) were cooked up by extreme leftists in order to split this country apart.

And these same social issues are being used by Republicans to keep conservatives in bondage while the goobermint gets bigger. Why don't you guys cut taxes and leave people alone, for crying out loud? Stop trying to be people's daddy and reduce the size and power of the government, and people will take the initiative to advance social issue. I'm not saying abandon social issues, but in CA's case now's not the time for bible-thumping.

[stylin_geek]

If you would have bothered to read further down in my comments, I opined that anyone who was willing to compromise on the right to life is willing to compromise on anything.

Looks to me like our current governor, who is “pro-choice” has compromised when it comes to spending.

If you’re willing to vote for another RINO, be my guest. However, I’d think you’d have learned your lesson about RINO’s after the experience with our current governor.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

What I’m saying is that the only type of Republican that will win in CA is a libertarian type of Republican. One that focuses on fiscal matters and doesn’t make social issues the centerpiece of his campaign.