Posted on 08/09/2003 7:03:40 AM PDT by NYC Republican
No one seems to have a phrase to describe Arnold's politics. Is he a "conservative," a "moderate," a "liberal" or a "pragmatic libertarian?"
None of the above. Arnold Schwarzenegger is... a Soccer Mom!
Your prototypical Soccer Mom isn't a hate-the-greedy-corporations Democrat. Heck, her husband is probably a middle manager at Procter & Gamble. She's a "fiscal conservative," in the sense that she doesn't want more taxes and regulation. She doesn't like affirmative action either, since it goes against her sense of fairness and threatens her childrens' future.
On the other hand, she doesn't want to be seen as a meanie. She thinks Republicans are too hard-edged on some issues. She wishes they were more "tolerant" of minority groups like gays and blacks. She's pro-choice, although she doesn't want abortion to be a widespread practice. She is, of course, an "environmentalist." And she's not averse to Big Government programs like Medicare and Social Security. An easy way to win her vote is to claim that some big-spending entitlement is "for the children." She doesn't see why ordinary people need assault rifles, but she can see why pilots should have pistols.
Now look at Arnold's stated beliefs - vague as they are - and see how they dovetail nicely with Soccer Mom values. When he comes out with detailed policy prescriptions, I bet they'll reflect Soccer Mom values too.
Democrats should be scared of Arnold. He has a massive advantage when it comes to the male vote. If he can appeal to Soccer Moms, he can also steal away women voters who ordinarily provide Democrats with their margin of victory
Why not? He's a celebrity, and that seems to be the only qualification some FReepers need to support a candidate.
Either one of those would be an improvement over Davis, as far as I can tell from this remove. I would get tired of listening to Lieberman's voice after a while, if he were governor of my state.
You can never turn back the clock. The only answer at this point is to move forward and improve the situation in that way, with new ideas. We cannot get rid of Medicare, for example. It just is not going to happen. We can (and some Republicans are) proposing "modifications" of Medicare, to make it more responsive to the market, and less costly to the taxpayer.
People don't want to go back to what they perceive (and which in fact were to some of them) to "the bad old days". But if you can package your ideas so that you are proposing "good new days", that's another matter entirely, and it will get an audience.
Just your average soccer mom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.