Posted on 08/12/2003 11:48:53 PM PDT by goldstategop
THE VOICE OF REASON HUGH HEWITT
This Conservative Is Voting For Arnold
Last week Arnold declared his candidacy for governor of California. I was broadcasting at the time, immediately endorsed him, and immediately began to receive a steady flow of mail from Tom McClintock and Bill Simon fans. Tom and Bill are fine guys, and both have been my guests on countless occasions. I endorsed Bill over Dick Riordan last March and stand by that choice. When it comes to elections, I am a single-issue voter: I support the most conservative candidate who has the most realistic chance of winning.
In the Republican California primary of 2002, that was Bill Simon.
In the recall election of 2003, that is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Here is my analysis:
Cruz Bustamante may get 30 percent of the vote the die-hard, dead-end Democrats and the beneficiaries of the iron triangle of special interests that currently control Sacramento: the unions, tribes, trial lawyers. Even if there was only one "movement" conservative in the race McClintock or Simon neither of them could get the 30 percent +1 vote needed to win. Schwarzenegger can. Arguing about what-might-have-been doesn't change the facts on the ground.
Schwarzenegger is best positioned to withstand the "Graystopo," as the slime machine Gray has perfected has come to be called. If Schwarzenegger wasn't in the race, all that withering fire would be turned on McClintock or Simon, and it would tear them apart. Schwarzenegger has the sort of celebrity status that lets him stay above a lot of the low blows. Some, like Democratic operative Bob Mulholland's warning of "real bullets," even backfire on the Democrats. This is a major advantage for Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger does great things for the re-election of George W. Bush by immediately putting California into in '04 when Schwarzenegger is sworn in as governor, and Schwarzenegger helps the likely GOP Senate nominee against Barbara Boxer the conservative Tony Strickland. So Schwarzenegger is closer to Pataki than Reagan, so what? It is a huge advantage to have an ally in the statehouse. The choice to think about with '04 in mind is not Schwarzenegger vs. McClintock or Simon, it is Schwarzenegger vs. Cruz.
The GOP benefits as a whole. Imagine you are Jim DeMint, likely nominee of the GOP for the open U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina, or Lisa Murkowski, incumbent GOP senator in Alaska. Wouldn't it be great to call the Bush people and ask for and get Schwarzenegger to drop into your state for a little fundraiser at $1,000 a head? This is what Bill Clinton does 24x7x365. Schwarzenegger would be a hyperdraw on the fundraising circuit, a crucial component of politics, exceeded only by the president and the vice president. Three such draws is better than two.
Finally, and really most important, is the state of the state. We are losing jobs and talent at an extraordinary rate. The yawning budget shortfall has been covered over with hot checks, and worker's comp, time-off laws and crazy regs are driving hundreds of thousands toward the Arizona and Nevada border. This state of collapse in the Golden State's economy burdens the national economy as well, thus harming the president's re-election effort. The state needs real help from a real businessman. Take a look at Schwarzenegger's tax returns. Remember, he started with nothing except some natural talent. Sort of like the state right now. He can get the job done.
Time for the purists to check their passion at the door and focus on winning. A governor with whom I agree 75 percent of the time or even 60 percent of the time is far, far better than a governor with whom I never agree.
A vote for Tom McClintock, Bill Simon or Peter Ueberroth is a vote for Cruz Bustamante.
It really is that simple.
Hugh strikes me here as pandering to, "The soft bigotry of low expectations".
I'll vote for substance and values in Tom McClintock.
Thanks again.
I support the most conservative candidate who has the most realistic chance of winning." - Hugh Hewitt
I like that !
calgov2002:
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RonDog, this election will be decided by Californians, and Freepers nationwide don't even make a bad sample population for this poll. Or are they all voting absentee?
If Davis resigns and Bustamante is Governor and falls to the recall, Bustamante is out completely. He doesn't assume the governorship as a seatwarmer. Davis would have to resign in time for Bustamante to be sworn in and then nominate a new Lt. Governor and get him or her confirmed before the recall. If he doesn't, and loses the recall, the Dems lose both top spots, and the replacement Governor would nominate the new Lt. Governor.
A Davis resignation is not a risk-free strategy for the Democrats.
Which "third party" and which "types," exactly?
Arnold could probably be better described as a social libertarian and a fiscal conservative. That is possible.
My take on Arnold is that he's a businessman first. If there was money in the budget for nice social programs for kids, he'd probably spend it. That's not good. But in California's current crunch, the money just isn't there, so its moot.
The big plus I see to Arnold is that he articulates some really core Republican values very well. Self-reliance, hard work, land of opportunity, pro-business, etc. Even if he does not follow through on all that to the degree that McClintock might, just getting that message repeated publicly has huge value not just within California, but outside as well.
As great a guy as McClintock is, he'll be completely hamstrung by the legislature. Arnold is one guy who may be able to go over their heads the way Ronbo did.
Scenarios:
If Cruz and Arnold are say, 30% each and McClintock is at 10% and Simon at 10%, would you still vote for McClintock on election day?
If McClintock and Simon both were to pull out in September and endorse Schwarzenegger, would you vote for him?
The day after Arnold's first policy speech that interweaves golf analogies.
What you should have written was "The day after Arnold's first policy speech."
I'm still waiting too, as should anyone who can intellectually call themselves "Conservative" rather than just fan-boys of the letter 'R'.
RonDog, this election will be decided by Californians, and Freepers nationwide don't even make a bad sample population for this poll...One might expect that the members of this forum (even nationwide) are considerably more conservative (and hence considerably MORE LIKELY to vote for McClintock) than the "average voter" in California - so that any poll numbers generated here are dramatically skewed in his FAVOR, i.e., in the general population, his numbers would be MUCH LOWER.
If Tom McClintock cannot get his message out effectively on THIS forum, what chance does he have in the much more liberal California media market?
California Recall Ballot to Use Calbonic Alphabet
ridiculopathy ^
Posted on 08/13/2003 7:29 AM PDT by Sir Gawain
California Recall Ballot to Use Calbonic Alphabet
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA- On Tuesday, representatives from the state election office unveiled the ballot order for the upcoming Recall election on October 7th. Rather than listing the 247 candidates alphabetically, the state has opted for the revolutionary method of ordering their names in unordered fashion. While many thought the mixing of the letters had something to do with shuffling the order as not to favor "A" names, election officials say the starting letter will change with each polling place but the mixed up order will remain the same.
The Calbonic Alphabet, or Cali-bet as it is sometimes called, stems from an innovative language instruction program known as New English. The basic idea is to shuffle popular characters into the middle of the deck out of fairness to the other letters. In the old system, A, B, and C were getting far more than their fair share of attention. Clumsy and shy letters like Q and W sat on the sidelines while the vowels and primary characters grabbed the spotlight.
By state law, the "ABC Song" has been banned in California's public schools. Instead, children gleefully sing the Golden State's officially sanctioned "Diverse Letters of Equal Value Song."
"R, W, Q, O, J, M, V
A, H, B, S, G, Z, X
N, T, I
E, K, U
P, D, Y, F and L.
Now I know my R-W-Q's, next time I might sing with you's."According to Superintendent of Education Jack O'Connell, Calbonics and New English are just the most recent example's of the state's pioneering spirit. "California has traditionally been way ahead of the rest of the nation in adopting new educational trends. We were the first to adopt and later reject innovative ideas such as new math, whole language, and flat earth geography."
However, the alphabet may have had its origins in California's own mother of invention: litigation. In a suit against the state two years ago, attorney Dick Cheetham argued that the old-world ABC alphabet ran afoul of the California's diversity policies by ranking letters by factors beyond their control. In the settlement, his kindergarten-age client received $500,000 and a passing grade on his alphabetizing homework.
On a related note, Governor Davis has assembled a blue ribbon panel to look into why California's students tend not to do well on standardized tests.
Still, the state's educators applaud the election commission for using the system. "We can only hope that Calbonics might one day undo the damage caused by more than a hundred years of oppression and discrimination perpetuated by the schoolboy code."
Experts now say voters will likely become frustrated with the disorderly ordering of names as they scan through a ballot the size of Rhode Island looking for their choice. Fairness to the unpopular letters aside, the system could turn election day into an embarrassing disaster. That is why officials are happy they decided to forego confusing computerized voting machines in favor of more user-friendly paper-and-chad ballots.
However, California's Secretary of State Kevin Shelley insists that the system will not be confusing for voters. "So few Californians read English all that well, anyway," said Shelley, admitting that most voters will just pick a name at random. "Honestly, we don't think most folks will even notice."
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