Posted on 10/06/2003 9:52:32 AM PDT by StoneColdGOP
With Election Day voting just hours away, conservative voters need to take a hard look at their choices in the recall election. Voting "Yes" on the recall itself to oust Gray Davis is a no-brainer, as voters of all parties and ideologies up and down the state have signed the petitions and are responsible for successfully qualifying the historic ballot question.
But while the recall itself seems headed for a decisive victory, the matter of our failed governor's successor is one that should be causing conservative voters concern. Democrats, at least those willing to recognize Davis will not survive, logically gravitate to left-wing race-baiter and Mechista Cruz Bustamante, or unabashedly embrace their socialist colors by backing the Greens' Peter Camejo. And some of course refuse to acknowledge question two, insisting on a "No on Recall" line alone.
That of course leaves us with two candidates who are contenders for the votes of California's largely conservative Republicans. Oddly enough, only one of the two is himself a conservative, Senator Tom McClintock. The other is Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor with moderate to liberal view on "troublesome" social issues, which some complain year in and year out are the reasons more traditional Republicans are unelectable to statewide office in California. And so, in the name of pragmatism, many solid conservatives have joined their more centrist colleagues in endorsing and supporting Schwarzenegger, many within days or hours of his entrance to the race and to the shock of many supporting the long-time and proven standard bearer of conservatism, Senator McClintock.
Mr. Schwarzenegger can boast the endorsement of most of California's Republican congressmen, senators and assemblymen, including many stalwart conservatives, as well as Lincoln Clubs up and down the state, the majority of the California Republican County Chairmen, and the Board of Directors (but not the full general membership, it should be noted) of the California Republican Party. McClintock's supporters include a handful of unwavering Republican legislators, Reagan advisor Lyn Nofziger, commentator Bruce Herschensohn, and the endorsement of the preeminent Republican volunteer organization in the state, the California Republican Assembly.
The common knock on Sen. McClintock, and thus the reason many say they won't vote for him, is that he just cannot win. This argument of course, is a self-fulfilling prophecy, if they all refuse to vote for him on the grounds he can't win, then obviously he won't. On the other hand, if voters who regard McClintock as their #1 choice (but settle pragmatically for someone else "electable") do vote their conscience and cast their ballot for McClintock, he CAN win. That however requires conservatives to unite, and ignore the pressure and tactics of Republican Party "leaders".
Enter the campaign to discredit Tom McClintock and discourage his legions of dedicated volunteers. The Republican Establishment is almost totally united against him, as they've never really been that fond of him. The past few weeks have seen not the kind of typically vicious attacks on McClintock from the liberal left we expect, they have instead come, sometimes openly and sometimes whispered, from other Republicans and conservatives. Some like Hugh Hewitt have continually talked down McClintock and his supporters, most recently equating a vote for McClintock to a vote for just about every despised leftist sort from Bill Clinton to the L.A. Times. One particularly poisonous opinion piece compared Sen. McClintock to Gray Davis, with "marginally better hair" (how charitable). Then came the arguments that McClintock's tenacity and stubborn refusal to drop out and hand the race to Mr. Schwarzenegger were the result of his blinding, personal and selfish ambition. Right, the same ambition led him to seek the all-powerful and celebrated job of� state controller. Twice. Especially when he could have easily been a serious contender for governor in 2002, eh? Then there were the charges of McClintock being tainted by taking EEEVIL Indian gaming money and being the beneficiary of Indian independent expenditures. I don't know that this one had much effect. I don't mind Indians. I don't mind gambling. And I don't mind Indians gambling, or offering the Pale Faces a way to gamble on their lands without taking the trip to Vegas. Besides, McClintock was on their side of the Indian sovereignty issue long before they were ever in a position to benefit him politically.
Finally there are the not too veiled threats to McClintock and his supporters of political irrelevance if he were to remain the race and cost the actor a win. There's also talk of recruiting a liberal Republican to run against and defeat Sen. McClintock in the primary next year for his re-election to the 19th Senate district seat if, as they expect, he loses the race for governor.
All this for a Republican who has steadfastly and resolutely stood for conservative values, fiscal responsibility, smaller government and lower taxes in the Legislature and never backed down. And he's never gone on record saying he's "embarrassed to be a Republican", either.
It's funny, because the voters I ran into this weekend while walking precincts DO remember and know what Tom has done for them and DO NOT share sentiments of retaliation and strong-arm tactics to force him from the race. Talk about a disconnect! Seems a rather large one exists between the Republican Establishment and the Republican grassroots and voters. In fact I found quite a few Republican voters quite adamant about supporting McClintock, no matter what the polls say. They were elated to know people were out campaigning for him and made it clear they'd help and try to get as many people as they could to support Tom. And I managed to convince some marginally Schwarzenegger voters to follow the prompting of their conscience and vote for Senator McClintock. They're all glad he stuck to his guns and stood his ground, no one I found wanted him to drop out.
Neither should anyone else. They should want him in the race and want him in to win, and not just keep his supporters' "Yes on Recall" votes in the equation. And yes, HE CAN WIN. All it takes is for every voter who believes Tom to best candidate to vote for him. All that is required for victory is for every voter who says Tom is his or her first choice to go ahead and support him.
That way, conservatives can stay true to their principles, Republican and other voters will know they have sided with the best man for the job, and with Tom McClintock as governor, the Republican Party will not suffer a leftward tilt that would ensure its eventual demise.
Yes, but those 30 were so pure and clean. And Tom's campaign footed the bill for prune juice for all.
Perhaps with you! I've met you before LOL... lets just say a Star Trek example might be able to "connect" best...
I've said it before, I'll say it again, (R)nold's support is broad but shallow. The worst thing that could ever happen to him is to actually have to govern. The people will sober up very quickly. If he survives till 2006, Tom had better run. If he doesn't, I probably could beat what is left of JoinArnold.
The more of these kinds of posts I read the more convinced I am that win or lose I'm on the right side.
And they are all registered on FR.
To reach me, you need Steve Jobs' endorsement. I can picture my new PowerMac G5 in the sky, rotating as it does in the introductory video, with "Vote for Tom!" engraved on its bright aluminum surface.
Unfortunately, I don't think that will work because not even Steve could get me to support Davis or Bustamante, and sadly those are the people he supports :-(.
But seriously ...
Go ahead and vote for Tom. With Bustamante fading and Arnold continuing to do well, it won't make any difference, and it will support a message that I think it's good to have out there.
My message was just reporting on the facts as I saw them, and was not meant to influence your personal decisions. It was just telling you what's out there.
D
That is such a red herring. Shame on you partisan hacks.
Obviously, the polls now show that Boostyourtaxes is a nonstarter. That being the case, the real question is question one. So all Republicans of conscience, whether Arnold supporters or Mac the Knife (the tax cutter and spending cutter) supporters need to get out and vote tomorrow, and vote yes on the recall.
As far as Arnold or Mac, it's now a free and open question. There is no need to vote for the lesser of two evils. Just vote for whomever you think is the best man for the job and let the chips fall where they may.
I know I will not be disappointed if Mac the Knife does not win. Believing in the politics of personal responsibility means that I realize that happiness comes from within. It is not conferred upon me by a governor or a president or whatever.
So, whoever you are and whatever you believe, just do what you think is right. Vote for who you think is best for the job. The polls (a reflection of and Boostyourtaxes stupidity) have freed you from worrying about voting to keep someone else out.
No, we are the 20% of REAL conservatives who think morality matters. You are one of the liberals who have no moral anchor other than "the ends justify the means" - moral relativism.
Here is what Alan Keyes has to see about you and your liberal RINO brethren:
Tom's supporters are called arrogant for persisting in making moral judgments. Think about that for a moment. Why is it "arrogant" to act on what human beings can know, rather than to act as if we had knowledge that can only belong to God? Is it humble to have more faith in what the pollsters extrapolate in the present, and consultants predict about the future, than in what the Lord and reason have revealed to us all as the unchanging moral truth?
The worst enemy Republicans face in the political realm is not the Democrats, but the power of evil that lurks in all hearts. In the context of this true reality, the decision to vote for Schwarzenegger is not a clever tactical calculation. It is a strategic blunder. Troy did not fall until the Trojans brought the horse into their city. The Greeks offered them a false victory, and so destroyed them. The leadership of the California Republican Party does not appear much wiser than the Trojans', nor, I fear, will its fate be any happier.
The problem with "speaking no ill" of fellow Republicans, and expressly shielding such "leaders" as this man, is that we must be ever after silent in the face of the very defects we would loudly and rightly call to account in a Democrat, a Libertarian or anyone else.
Such silence reduces all talk of morality to a cynical, partisan show – which precisely serves the purposes of those who are trying to drive every shred of moral concern from our political discussions. This outcome is an enduring defeat that overshadows any transitory victory of office-holding.
Morality is on our side and you don't have a moral leg to stand on.
Yeah, mine too. You have no idea what you are in for with (R)nold actually leading.
Resistance, is futile...
Rush just announced that together the Republicans hold 60% of the vote. NOW pray tell me.....if 75% of the GOP voters say Tom McClintock is their choice but CAN'T WIN, together it would be a LANDSLIDE if the Arnold voters would join us.....and don't ask us to TURN IT AROUND THE OTHER WAY.......some of us have principles that are more important than compromise.Tom could be a WIN WIN situation. DON'T look down at the water....walk on it!!! GO TOM GO!!!!
Democrats don't eat my lunch. They may control the government, but I still eat my own lunch. Like large numbers of others, I moved out of the state and took my business with me.
The evil socialists then turned around and started eating each other. And it has been fun to watch as California has gone the way of the Soviet Union, Europe and every other state that has embraced liberal ideology.
The greater USA is next, I fear.
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