Replies

This, friends, is the point.

Arnold gets elected. He implements Republican FISCAL policies. Hopefully his policies are *successful*, and more people in CA start realizing that Republicans aren't so bad and we really do know what we're doing. Arnold is a way of getting future Republican successes, but ONLY IF we support him. Otherwise, forget it--Bustamante becomes Governor, and the cycle repeats again.

You people that have this "all or nothing" mentality are, to be blunt, the problem. This is *California* we're speaking of, not Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, or Alabama. It's not even *Pennsylvania*, not by a long shot, and I should know since I live here. You'll never get a real conservative elected there in this day and age. Spout off about Reagan all you want; our culture, sensibilities, and most importantly *demographics* were different then. Everyone knows that playing to race sells, and you know darn well Bustamante will play it to the hilt. His strategy from day one is "Hispanic boy does good" and the Hispanic media is 110% behind him. If you want *any* Republican policies in California you have Arnold or nothing at all. If Bustamante gets elected and even does a halfway decent job, you can forget about getting him out next time.

But who knows, maybe I'm just an idiot and don't know what I'm talking about. I've only seen two different black men (Wilson Goode and John Street) run for mayor of Philadelphia and pick up 97%-99% of the black vote. You think Bustamante doesn't think playing to race is a winning strategy?

I have read a lot of this thread. Out of curiosity, because I no longer live in CA. I did live in CA as a single adult in the 70's. Arnold lived the way that most young adults (20-40) did. I used to tell my East Coast visitors that the "unusual smell" was cactus. :-)

IMO, the people who are critical of the way Arnold lived in the '70's are from the East or midWest, or maybe just awfully young.
If no one can show me pix of the partying after Arnold married Maria, then I'm not impressed. Although, extramarital affairs are quite common in her family. She probably expected a few or more.

And even more, has anyone caught him in a lie?