Posted on 12/02/2015 9:42:02 AM PST by Kaslin
Although there is a sense that Donald Trump's unusual and outlandish run for the presidency is the first ever of its kind, this is not entirely true.
Californians, such as myself, remember how Arnold Schwarzenegger captured the governorship of California in 2003, in a campaign remarkably similar to Trump's. Obviously, governor of California is not the same as president of the United States, but it is the chief executive of the nation's most populous state.
That year, California's incumbent Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, was pulled from office in a recall election. It was a time of disillusionment and cynicism toward the governor and government, amidst a poor economy and rising energy prices.
Schwarzenegger had long held political aspirations. He was a wealthy man from his career as a bodybuilding celebrity, film star and businessman. He saw this as his opportunity and ran for the Republican nomination.
He fell back on his movie persona as "The Terminator" to pitch California voters that, despite no political experience, he could go to Sacramento and kick "butts" and get the government in order.
"I know how to sell something," the political novice justified his candidacy.
"What the people want to hear is ... are you tough enough to go in there and provide leadership? That's what this is about, and I will be tough enough," the Terminator assured California voters.
Sound familiar?
Once elected, the butt-kicking tough guy discovered the realities of two-party government. When the state legislature pushed back against what he wanted, Schwarzenegger called them "girly men."
It's fun entertainment. And campaigns may be like the entertainment business. But once elected, the entertainment is over. Governing is about the nuts and bolts of political reality, professionalism and acumen. Schwarzenegger, entertainer and businessman, was a great campaigner. But once elected, he didn't know diddly about governing, and he was a disaster. I, and my fellow Californians, watched the muscleman crumble.
The Cato Institute, which issues a bi-annual Fiscal Report Card on America's governors, grading them A to F on their fiscal performances, awarded Schwarzenegger a D in his final years as California's governor.
Here's Cato's summary of Schwarzenegger's governorship: "Schwarzenegger has made some reforms to California government, but he will be handing over a giant economic and fiscal mess to the next governor. State unemployment is over 12 percent, the state's pension system has massive funding gaps, and the state's bond debt has exploded. According to Moody's, California's state debt soared from 2.5 percent of state income when Schwarzenegger came to office in 2003 to 4.4 percent in 2009. The rising debt is a looming threat to state taxpayers, yet California's personal, corporate, and capital gains tax rates are already some of the highest in the nation."
As I have written before, political campaigns are job interviews. The job applicant, or candidate, goes before the employer, or voters, and explains why they should hire him or her. Any savvy employer looks for demonstrable evidence that the job applicant is qualified. You look for consistency between what applicants say they can do and what they have actually done.
Political leadership is not like running a business. Business is a dictatorship. In government, even the president is limited in power. You can't summon those who are not cooperating and say, "You're fired."
Worse, Trump's business record shows he loves to use government power to advance personal interests. His use of eminent domain laws to evict low-income residents in order to build casinos is particularly offensive.
Donald Trump is a world-class marketer. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is doing a great job telling frustrated voters what they want to hear. But even if you agree with what Trump says he wants to do, he has little experience or record that I can see that shows he can achieve any of it once elected.
It's a good time to remember the warning "caveat emptor." Buyer beware.
I remember one: It showed Arnie in black/white chiseled with the words: Your votes, give dem to me.
“he has little experience or record that I can see that shows he can achieve any of it once elected.”
You must be wearing blinders.
If the Trumpster has a problem with anyone/anything, he will simply bring in “people” who can solve the problem.
For Arnie, Demo machine worked day n night to make him winner. Kennedy’s influence was major factor.
Comparing the Schwarzenegger campaign to that of Trump’s?
Man, that is a strrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttcccccccchhhhhhhhh.
Anybody who’s ever done any development knows nothing gets done without the government. They have forced themselves at multiple levels to be partners on every deal.
Wetlands mitigation, zoning, shoreline access, open and green space requirements, environmental impact studies that can either go expeditiously or take a decade - the government is a partner.
This is the only thing the uniparty has on Trump, and so they are going to use it.
Rove will be pleased with this “article”
I was in commercial RE for 30 years. If anything, you put things mildly.
To correct a small factual error, Arnold did not run for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2003 recall. That recall election was non partisan, with about 100 candidates on the ballot. There were no party nominations as such in that election.
“...he has little experience or record that I can see that shows he can achieve any of it once elected...”
THAT’S a statement that more correctly applies to “O” than to Trump, or ANYONE else in American political life)!!
The big difference is that Arnold IS a coward with no particular accomplishments when he ran and Trump has done things and is not afraid to stand up to the left.
Swartzenegger (sp -who cares?) lost me when he let people’s lives be destroyed in the Imperial Valley. If he had any courage he would have ridden out to the dam cut the chains and dared the federal government to arrest him.
Punk - pure punk.
Political leadership is not like running a business. Business is a dictatorship. In government, even the president is limited in power. You can’t summon those who are not cooperating and say, “You’re fired.”
I used to give Starr a bit of credit. With that statement, I see she deserves absolutely NONE.
A successful businessman is exactly what this country needs to upright this listing ship. Someone with great managerial/people skills, someone who has had to personally guarantee the payroll of thousands, leadership skills, negotiating skills....
We the People are tired of career politicians/government employees making cr@pazz decisions for us. It hasn’t worked out well, for the past eight years.
Well, this is a new twist. Really, what will they do when they run out of reasons?
“Caveat emptor” is ALWAYS the standard when it comes to electing someone to political office.
However, Schwarzenegger came in during a recall and saw it more like something new in which he thought he could be successful. He didn’t rally have a gut-wrenching drive to rescue the ship of state. His Waterloo was a proposition that would have destroyed the teachers’ union and their iron grip on CA education. He completely folded. After that, he wasn’t much more than an in-box politician.
I do not see that in Trump. I see passion for America and see Trump standing up to the bad guys. I think Trump has a much stronger moral and political compass than did Schwarzenegger.
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This comparison is as goofy as a photoshop job would be of a combination of the two.
And it is amazing how open and blunt some officials are in telling you what its going to take to get something done. They aren’t even afraid of getting caught.
Nah. Trump’s wife looks so much better than Ahnuld’s wife.
But all kidding aside, Trump will have a GOP congress, which Arnold didn’t have in Sacramento.
” They aren’t even afraid of getting caught.”
A friend of mine built luxury homes on the water in Ventura Cty, CA. He knew in order to pull a final permit, he had to hire the mayor’s wife, who was a “lansscape architect”. 20,000 payoff, and every builder in town knew the scam. I could cite many more.
If one builds a large commercial project, you WILL NECESSARILY deal with
city
county
state
federal
POLITICIANS.
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