Posted on 01/05/2011 7:50:20 AM PST by SmithL
As Arnold Schwarzenegger exited the governorship, he left behind a brief video showing himself chomping on a cigar and turning off his Capitol office lights.
He also left behind a foul stench – and not from one his stogies. It came from a last-minute flurry of appointments of ex-legislators and other insiders to high-paying state boards and, most of all, from his indefensible decision to lower the prison sentence of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez's son for his role in a senseless slaying.
The appointments were outrageous, giving out-of-work politicians seats requiring little work but paying over $100,000 a year on boards Schwarzenegger once said should be axed. But commuting Esteban Núñez's manslaughter sentence from 16 years to seven years was beyond the pale.
The younger Núñez and two other young men were involved in the 2008 stabbing death of college student Luis Dos Santos in San Diego. They had been rejected from a fraternity party and deliberately returned to seek revenge.
Schwarzenegger based the commutation on the fact that Núñez did not actually wield the knife. "I do not discount the gravity of the offense," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "But given Núñez's limited role in Santos' death, and considering that … Núñez had no criminal record prior to this offense, I believe Núñez's sentence is excessive."
Excessive? Núñez was damned lucky to get only a 16-year sentence, and now he'll be out of jail after only a few years.
Schwarzenegger did not even have the guts to tell Santos' family members of his action, leaving that to reporters. "This is dirty politics: cutting backroom deals,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Aren’t we thankful that AS isn’t eligible to be US President? He acts more like an arrogant European elite than the man many thought he would be in office. Not too bright on the global warming or health care front.
A girly man through and through. Never trust a Euroweenie.
Mr. Kennedy is a failure.
Arnie isn’t eligible to be president because he is a failure. There is no one who would vote for him on incompetence alone. The country isn’t Cali.
It would be a betrayal to act any other way.
Looks like the Austrian Oak had a hollow center, rotted by years of being a liberal and pretending to be a conservative.
Inexcusable. This isn’t “fixing” a goddam parking ticket! Esteban Nunez participated in cold-blooded, pre-meditated murder. This spoiled brat should be on death row.
I predict, that, like Joran Van Der Sloot, he will inevitably serve up another “embarrassment” for his father and benefactor. I only wonder what they’ll say to the family of his next victim.
That does not appear to be an impediment.
Have no pity, given the new Governor elected; save that it will be 'our' backs they will ride on, to get out of their financial crisis - and clearly this is a 'never ending story' for Californina.
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