Sex, Lies and the Angry Left (MoveOn hypocrisy over Schwarzenegger grope charges).

Opinion Journal ^ | October 3, 2003 | BY JAMES TARANTO

[BJungNan]

. What we have here is every sign that Arnold will also abuse his power, and that he has a history of doing so.

Not the first time I have been one of a very few willing to say what the majority didn't want to hear.

This candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is the polar opposite of everything this forum was meant to be.

Your last sentence says about all that needs to be said about your first. Obviously you don't like Arnold. Your statemtment that the allegations against Arnold are an indication he will abuse his power should he get the Governorship is completely absurd.

[thoughtomator]

These are simply extra straws to break the camel's back. The camel was already heavily strained before the Week of Slime (as I shall hereafter refer to it). I am simply at a loss as to how anyone who can consider themselves conservative can continue to defend him.

Conservatives don't appreciate sexual harassment. Whatever Reagan or Bush might have done was consensual; I make no judgement about them. There is something fundamentally wrong with the state of mind of a person who can without a revolt of conscience grab a woman sexually without even implied consent. And these incidents aren't decades old... the most recent one is a mere 3 years in the past. That's not long enough to be convincing that a 20-year habit is over.

What you are arguing for is one standard for movie stars/politicians/famous people, and one standard for everyone else. Were any other man to engage in a single one of these incidents, he could be sued into the poorhouse.

There is way too much exception-making for Arnold. And it is completely illogical to expect him to be, in office, conservative in any way at all.

And what really makes me outraged is that given all this, so many so-called 'conservatives' are so wedded to their self-corruption that they STILL support Schwarzenegger over McClintock.

[thoughtomator]

It follows a lot more logically that a person with a record of abuse will abuse power, than the litany of claims that he is somehow "conservative" when there is nothing at all, among his policies, advisors, or speeches, to give any inkling of conservatism.

[Robert_Paulson2]

So, you're not bothered at all that there are now 15 women who have made complaints of sexual harassment, nor that the candidate himself made a blanket admission that the accusations are true?

---

nope, not at all. they filed no complaints. and he never admitted he had committed sexual assault.
surely even you realize that sexual harassment law is clearly in the mind of the harassee... and arnold would be foolish to deny what someone may have THOUGHT regarding an action that took place as long as 20 years ago.

I have been sexually harassed by more than fifteen women in my life... so what? These are scorned women who wanted some action from a hollywood moviestar, mr universe in fact, and did not get what they wanted, is my bet.

he apologized for his behavior, has acknowleged no criminal act taook and has moved on... NONE of the women have pressed charges have they? nor did they at the time.

This BS is transparently dishonest on the part of the LA times.

Now for the agenda question about YOU: who would you prefer we vote for? Davis? Bustamente? or McCee...

[thoughtomator]

Vote McClintock, and get a conservative and a Republican, be certain of no new taxes or liberal socialist schemes, have a serious governor who has the experience and knowledge to deal with the imminent financial crisis, and, perhaps most importantly, have a governor who is not susceptible to blackmail.

[ArneFufkin]

For someone so appalled by these sordid gropes, you sure are wallowing in it. It's as if you're a desperate agenda-consumed hack. And you're really, really bad at it.

[thoughtomator]

That is precisely the same charge made about Ken Starr. How memory fails when one is blinded by idol-worship!

[ArneFufkin]

You're unraveling. You're not changing anyone's mind with your skillful presentation.

You're projectile vomiting smeary slime. Now it's blackmail?

[goldstategop]

Exactly. What "conservative" treats women as playthings? But we're stuck with him and the reason we're holding our noses to vote for him is let's face it, as ethically challenged as Arnold the serial groper might be, Gray Davis and the Democrats are the terminators of all that's good and decent in America.

[thoughtomator]

The problem is that by endorsing Schwarzenegger, the GOP is essentially saying that liberalism is just fine as long as our team controls the purse strings. This is a potentially fatal error that will come back to haunt the GOP for a long time and lead to a lot of future Democratic victories.

[goldstategop]

I agree. It depends on whether we have the backbone to insist Arnold govern as a conservative or whether we'll take the easy way out and let our party become a wing of the Democrats. Its not really Arnold's choice any more, its ours and we have the power to make him be the kind of Governor we demand. And if he doesn't, we're not going to vote to re-elect him. For me pragmatism in a political campaign, yes but definitely not at the expense of our conservative principles.

[thoughtomator]

I don't see how it is going to be possible to influence Arnold to govern as a conservative, when it wasn't even possible to get him to pay some decent lip service to conservatives during the campaign. Given that the people who have his ear are named Buffet, Wilson, and Kennedy, I would place the odds as very, very long.

[Robert_Paulson2]

The problem is that by endorsing Schwarzenegger, the GOP is essentially saying that liberalism is just fine

---

baloney. nobody believes this rap on arnold, INCLUDING Tom.
get over it. He has. He already is defeinding Arnold on this... and promised to support ARnold as governor if he is elected and TOM KNOWS Arnold is going to be governor.

He's known it for weeks now. He's just playing the cards he picked up... and eventually we are going to win it all..
davis gone,
arnold governor,
bustamente beat,
tom in second place ahead of busty, more than likely,
la times bitchslapped,
hillary's war masters cut off at the knees
and on and on...

you need to say your good stuff about tom and move on.
it's over... unless arnold drops out.

he won't.
GOP leadership won't let him at this point in the game...and neither will maria... even if she is sick about it.

it's governor arnold in just about 72 hours.

[Robert_Paulson2]

How memory fails when one is blinded by idol-worship!

---

I think you are mistaking "pragmatism" as "idolatry."
Everybody KNOWS arnold's not perfect.
HE admits it himself.
He's the most pragmatic choice for the state to be saved, and the election for next year, secured for the president.

He is the party's leadership choice for the job.
He will either be our state's governor... or else Davis will beat the recall.

and that is the pragmatic reality of the vote on Tuesday.

[nopardons]

Politicains aren't monks. There have been few, if any politicians who are as "pure ", moral, and uncorrupted as you would wish them to have been/be. I'm not the one making excuses. I simply state facts.

Neither do you know that those making claims against Arnold, are telling the truth now, or that if the acts were committed, that they weren't consensual at the time.

I heard one woman, on FOX, the other day, who has come forward publicly, who did NOT try to stop him from doing what she claimed he had done. Do I believe her story? I don't know. He wasn't in a position of power. She didn't stop him; didn't say a word. I would have. So would most other women.

[steve-b]

Vote McClintock, and get a conservative and a Republican

When did Cruz Bustamante become a conservative Republican?