Posted on 10/01/2003 9:27:10 AM PDT by tallhappy
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Leftist Environmental Agenda
Candidates’s environmental policies continue to foster
the same environment that causes business to leave California
and damage President’s Bush’s 2004 re-election bid.
The last best hope to save the planet
The above quote referred to Al Gore in his 2000 presidential run and was spoken by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Who is Kennedy and what does this have to do with the California recall and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s run? Everything.
Schwarzenegger has staked out an image as the green Republican. He has made environmental issues a key plank in his campaign and agenda for governing California. His environmental plans have been forthcoming and clear. In every case they are as left or more left than Davis. They also directly contradict and are at odds with Bush administration policy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the son of Robert Kennedy and is Maria Shriver’s cousin. He has found his niche in the Kennedy clan and liberal politics as an advocate for the environment. This has included being arrested at Vieques Island in Puerto Rico for protesting US military use of the island. He shares that distinction with Jesse Jackson. Kennedy’s commitment to the environment inspired him to praise Al Gore as “the last best hope to save the planet” when endorsing Gore for President in 2000. Recently Kennedy endorsed John Kerry for President in 2004.
Kennedy is the architect of Schwarzenegger’s leftist environmental agenda along with others advisors, including Santa Monica based Terry Tamminem of Environment Now. Tamminem is the one who pushed retrofitting Schwarzenegger’s Hummer for hydrogen. Schwarzenegger’s Green run is heavily influenced by his wife and Kennedy relatives.
Said Tamminem in early September, “We, as a team, approached Arnold, and he welcomed us after he and Bobby spoke at length.”
Schwarzenegger’s leftist agenda is detailed in a series of five questions he answered for the LA Times. The five issues asked about were: 1) A California law meant to reduce global warming by regulating carbon dioxide emissions; 2) The state regulating logging on private land to protect birds and salmon; 3)Oil drilling off the California coast; 4) Support for the Bush administrations move to allow access to public land in the Sierra Nevada and 5) Coastal access for the general public.
On each issue Schwarzenegger’s position is congruent with Davis, Camejo or Huffington.
His positions on questions one, three and four are diametrically opposed to Bush administration positions. Schwarzenegger calls the global warming law “California's landmark legislation to cut greenhouse gases” and vows to implement it and win any court challenges against it. He says he will fight for a ban on all coastal oil drilling. He says he will call on the Bush administration to “abide by the policies” of the Sierra Nevada Framework which deny public access to public land.
Schwarzenegger as Republican governor is argued to be a positive for Bush to in California in 2004. But Schwarzenegger’s stances on environmental issues which oppose existing administration policy in reality make it possible for the Democrats to paint Bush as an environmental extremist, at odds even with a popular governor in his own party.
Nothing encapsulates Schwarzengger’s leftist liberal environmental positions b etter than his promise to build a network of hydrogen refueling stations throughout the state. Spoke the Republican frontrunner at a Santa Barbara county stump speech:
As Governor I will create a network of clean hydrogen fueling stations every 20 milesTo build a network of such stations from scratch every 20 miles in California would cost more than the current deficit itself. It would be a huge undertaking and would have no customers at all. In the early 20th century no government official had to pledge taxpayer money to build gas stations.
As far as the massive billions of dollar costs to do such a project, Schwarzenegger earmarks 60 million and says 95% of the funding would come from the federal government. So those of you outside California who think you have no dog in this race, think again. You’d not only have to pony up to build these hydrogen stations in California, undoubtably the liberals would get similar projects going all over the nation.
Environmental policies championed by Schwarzenegger are a large reason business have left California. He says he will bring back business to raise the state’s revenues. But with a leftist environmental policy crafted by Al Gore’s champion RFK Jr. and other liberal environmentalist it is highly unlikely business will change their minds.
With a Republican taking over for the liberal left as point for environmental regulation business will likely see no hope at all for California and the exodus will actually speed up.
Schwarzenegger’s policies and agenda will allow the Democrats in the 2004 election to be able to falsely paint George Bush as out of touch with the public and extremist on environmental issues by pointing to the popular governor of the largest state of the union and saying – see, even this Republican governor opposes Bush on global warming and other critical environmental issues.
I have to admit to secretly looking forward to the inevitable vapor lock among some here when that happens.
The Bush administration controls policy over federal lands, the State regulates private land. The question was regarding State regulation of private land, a quagmire I deal with on a daily basis. Was there another response besides the one you posted?
Details...details...
They can't let such details get in the way of their hate for the man.
Sheeesh...
You are truly ignorant of how these people work. The environmentalists harrass him anyway in order to drive him even further left and give him credibility with "moderates" dumb enough to fall for it. They've been pulling that stunt for years.
Need an example? The Turner Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts (SUNOCO money), both committed globalists, support the Ruckus Society that protests globalism. Go ahead, look it up at ActivistCash.com.
We will be off to a GREAT start with Arnold when the heat is on for the 2004 elections!!I believe he is in step with the Democrats and will break ranks with even the moderate Pubbies by that time!!!
I'm glad you cleared that up.
Here, I thought the state was in trouble under Gray Davis.
Silly me.
"Uh ...... which way did they go George"? "Which way did they go"?
Carry_Okie had a GREAT thread on this last week, but of course too many are too busy swooning to pay any attention.
He may become too busy, but his little GANG-GREEN "Green Shirts," some left over from the Pete Wilson fiasco, will be browbeating and badgering us with purpetual PSA's until he will become known as Arnold SchwarzeNAGGER!!!
BOHICA!!! Get ready for a truly "Hostile GovernMental Environment!"(especially for rural CA!!!)
Proving my contention that the only things keeping the RATS and Libs in the Political Game are the "Conservative Purists" and the single-issue conservative voters.
Arnold says, "Eat the chicken, turkey, grouse, quail, ducks, and geese and if you like fish, eat all the salmon you can catch".
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