GOVERNOR TAX: ARNOLD TELLS ADVISERS HE WILL NOT RULE OUT HIGHER RATES

The Drudge Report ^ | August 10, 2003 | Matt Drudge

[TBP]

GOVERNOR TAX: ARNOLD TELLS ADVISERS HE WILL NOT RULE OUT HIGHER RATES

Movie tough guy Arnold Schwarzenegger has confided to advisers that he will not rule out raising taxes in California if he is elected governor, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

The tax issue was raised last week during a meeting between Schwarzenegger and his senior campaign staff.

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"Look, Arnold will not, cannot say, 'Read my lips, no new taxes,'" a well-placed source explained from Los Angeles. "Our first priority will be to get the state back in to top fiscal condition, and everyone knows it takes revenue to achieve this."

Schwarzenegger top economic adviser Warren Buffett told the WALL STREET JOURNAL this weekend that taxes in California are too low.

In the JOURNAL interview, Buffett -- a Democrat and vocal critic of President Bush's economic policies -- strongly suggested that California needs to raise its property tax rates to help fix the state's money mess.

"The truth is California has got some very serious financial problems," Buffett told the paper. "It's an economy that's the size of France and there's no way the US is going to have a healthy economy if California continues to have the problems it has... They have to do whatever is necessary on spending or taxes to get it in balance."

[TBP]

Another high-tax, big-spending politician with an R after his name, so conservatives are just supposed to fall in line behind him, even though he is really a Big Government Kennedy liberal.

[RLK]

No amount od reasonable tax increase could keep up with the irrational demands on the California government. Included in those irrational demands are the determination to subsidize the California irrational life styles without collecting taxes.

[Centurion2000]

He just lost the election.

[GOPrincess]

Yep. The only way Republican conservatives will hold their noses and vote for him, despite his social positions and support for taxpayer funded daycare, is if he comes out strongly against no new taxes -- indeed, he needs to propose cutting taxes. (Any fool can look at the early 1990s and see that when CA taxes went up, tax revenues went down.)

If he won't rule out taxes I'm voting for McClintock, and we'll probably be looking at Bustamante winning :(.

[Pikamax]

this bit of news was from the same source that said he wasn't running for governor. so I would be wary.

[So Cal Rocket]

At this point, it appears that having Bustamante win is more palatable than having Arnold win.

If Bustamante wins and tries to raise taxes, the senate and assembly Republicans will band together like they did this past year and refuse to increase taxes. The Dems can't raise taxes without some Republican votes (requires 2/3 vote in both houses).

If Arnold wins and tries to raise taxes, there will be enough Republican defections in both houses to pass the tax increases.

Our only hope at this point is for the Republican voters to get behind McClintock.

[Enterprise]

Even IF tax increases somehow "balanced" the budget, the RATS would immediately launch another spending orgy and run up a milti-billion dollar deficit, and then once again assure us that they needed to raise taxes to balance the budget.

That being said, Drudge properly put my feelings about Buffett into words - "What an SOB." Thanks Matt, beautifully put!!

And that being said, I think Arnold is not really his own man. He is married to a high maintenance Kennedy woman and she wears the pants in the family and calls the shots. He is in effect, PU..Y WHIPPED!

[Consort]

It still looks like:

1. Cruz
2. No Recall
3. The rest of the field

[GOPrincess]

Good points. It's going to be an interesting few months...

[GOPrincess]

"this bit of news was from the same source that said he wasn't running for governor. so I would be wary."

Thanks for the info.

You know, a lot of people thought it was wonderful that Arnold managed to pull of such a "show" and surprise even those closest to him, but my perspective was that a) It didn't say a lot about him if he would lie to those working hardest for him and b) It didn't say a lot about him if he'd really intended to say no but said yes on a last-minute whim.

[GOPrincess]

Make that "pull off" not "pull of." :)

[TheDon]

Already posted.

Drudge shooting in the dark again.

[Malesherbes]

What a great team of "advisors" Arnold has assembled: (1) Warren Buffet: "Californians are under-taxed and need higher property taxes." (2) Rob Lowe: "Remember, when partying with under-aged girls, don't get it on video-tape." (3) Pete Wilson: "Pro-choice and pro-abortion are not the same thing, but don't ask me to explain it."

[WSGilcrest]

Geez people. Let Arnie split the Cruz vote. McClintock's in!

[Dan from Michigan]

California needs a (1st and 2nd term) John Engler.

[ATrueConservativeMan]

Princess posted:
"this bit of news was from the same source that said he wasn't running for governor. so I would be wary."

Arnold could put this confusion to rest if he would just come out from behind his advisor's skirts and pledged "I will not RAISE your already too high taxes!" Why won't Arnie do this?

[FairOpinion]

"Just to be sure, the campaign released a paper statement from Schwarzenegger reiterating his support for the tax-cutting measure, a popular rallying point for conservatives.

``Warren and I have talked about Proposition 13, and he clearly understands my strong unequivocal support for the initiative,'' the statement read. ``I expect many dynamic ideas and policy recommendations from my team. But with regards to my position on Proposition 13, my position is rock solid in support of that initiative.''

In the meantime, Simon is resorts to deliberate lying:

``Gray Davis tripled our car taxes, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger's team wants to triple our property taxes,'' Simon said in the ad. ``Which just goes to show you, don't send a liberal to do a tax-fighters job.''

Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman accused Simon, who ran against Davis last year, of misrepresenting the actor's positions.

``Bill Simon looks like he learned a lesson from Gray Davis last year and is putting distortions on the air,'' Stutzman said. ``He knows as well as anyone that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a staunch supporter of Prop 13 and to say anything else is disingenuous.''


http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6556358.htm

[Kaslin]

In your haste to slam Arnold you missed the date the article was written. Today is August 17, 2203 The article was written a week ago.

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN AUGUST 10, 2003 19:29:05 ET XXXXX

GOVERNOR TAX: ARNOLD TELLS ADVISERS HE WILL NOT RULE OUT HIGHER RATES

Movie tough guy Arnold Schwarzenegger has confided to advisers that he will not rule out raising taxes in California if he is elected governor, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT

The tax issue was raised last week during a meeting between Schwarzenegger and his senior campaign staff.

MORE

"Look, Arnold will not, cannot say, 'Read my lips, no new taxes,'" a well-placed source explained from Los Angeles. "Our first priority will be to get the state back in to top fiscal condition, and everyone knows it takes revenue to achieve this."

Schwarzenegger top economic adviser Warren Buffett told the WALL STREET JOURNAL this weekend that taxes in California are too low.

In the JOURNAL interview, Buffett -- a Democrat and vocal critic of President Bush's economic policies -- strongly suggested that California needs to raise its property tax rates to help fix the state's money mess.

"The truth is California has got some very serious financial problems," Buffett told the paper. "It's an economy that's the size of France and there's no way the US is going to have a healthy economy if California continues to have the problems it has... They have to do whatever is necessary on spending or taxes to get it in balance."

Developing...

[TBP]

"In the meantime, Simon is resorts to deliberate lying"

This is a falsehood. Schwarzenegger is a tax raiser. It's just that his people don't want to admit it.

Ah-nold is a Democrat in Republican clothing, a Kennedy Republican who refuses to say he won't raise taxes. That is because he will. And everyone is about to find this out, thanks to Bill Simon.

[anymouse]

Too bad Drudge and the rest of the media are too busy making up stuff to find a real attributable quote from Swartzenegger or Buffet, or even a Swartzenegger staffer willing to go on the record.

Hopefully Arnold has a good PR person to skewer the media for the absence of attributable quotes.