Free Republic

Maybe it was the time that Gov. Gray Davis mocked Arnold Schwarzenegger's thick accent that did him in.A candidate for governor should at least know how to pronounce "California," Davis said on Sept. 6.To most non-Hispanics, it was a lame joke. To many California Hispanics, it was insulting."It showed Davis didn't know what state he was governor of," said Raul Damas, director of Latino Opinions, a research group. Whatever the reason, Hispanic voters were a key factor in Davis' historic defeat in the Oct. 7 recall election. And they helped turn Republican Schwarzenegger's victory over Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a...

<p>With the recall behind us, it is time to reflect on its positive lessons. The primary lesson has to do with the length of elections. During the summer, recall critics argued that the short election cycle would hurt voters. But they were wrong on several counts.</p>

Now that we've elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as our next governor, there is a lot of talk about how he'll reshape the Republican Party. But he might have a bigger impact on the Democratic Party. His 68-member transition team features many prominent Democrats -- who are being called "dinos" behind their back. No, not dinos as in dinosaurs -- a bad pun -- but as in Democrats in Name Only, a rip-off of what Republicans used to say about people like Schwarzenegger and those who don't care about the party's conservative stance on social issues like abortion, gay rights and gun...

For more than 20 years, identity politics have dominated thought, speech and sexuality, giving rise to what Celia Farber describes as an all-consuming beast eating anything and anyone in its sight. Did Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful campaign mark the beginning of the end for Political Correctness? If I call them the liberal elite you’ll think I’m a neo-con, and besides, I don’t think the root, Latin word liber (free), applies to most of them. For now, let’s call them "leftists," though they’re not really that either. Let’s call them the people whose nostrils automatically flared in horror upon learning that Arnold...

<p>Barring some unforeseen event, Gray Davis' last major acts as governor of California before handing over the office to Arnold Schwarzenegger were vetoing a batch of bills sent to him by the Legislature.</p> <p>Davis probably didn't intend those vetoes to be the lasting symbols of a governorship that is being short-circuited by voters, since none of the rejected measures was of earthshaking importance. But cumulatively, those vetoes encapsulated what confounded Californians about Davis and eventually alienated them. Davis came to be seen -- with ample reason -- as someone who was interested only in the matter of the moment, viewing it through a purely political prism and lacking any consistency or broader vision.</p>

Last month, the American Life League had launched an ad campaign via their project, "the Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church." Judie Brown, President of American Life League and had this to say: "As a native Californian, I'm saddened that the top three contenders - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cruz Bustamante and Gray Davis - are unabashedly campaigning on their "Catholic" heritage, while openly defying the Church's teachings on abortion-on-demand." The ad revealed the socially liberal candidates as "California's Unholy Trinity." Crusade Director Joseph Starrs called upon Cardinal Roger Mahony to "dispel the lie that a Catholic can be 'personally...

Student fees at the University of California rose 30 percent this year because of an economic crisis under the watch of outgoing Gov. Gray Davis. With state businesses leaving at an alarming rate, an energy debacle and a corrupt governor with overall incompetence, voters had seen enough Gray. And as Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged as the clear winner in this historic recall, California's ousting of Davis is not only good for the state, but good for UC students as well. UC needs a fiscally responsible executive who is willing to curb spending, ensuring funds intended for UC will not be used...

Before the election on Tuesday, which swept Gray Davis out of office, and Arnold Schwarzenegger into office, I collected some of the poll “predictions” about the Recall. As recently as Sunday, two days before the election, we were being told by news reports from all over the world that the Schwarzenegger campaign was “deeply troubled by claims he groped women and once praised Hitler.” The Guardian Unlimited of London told us “A Knight Ridder poll released late Saturday showed Schwarzenegger still leading among potential replacements for Davis in the October 7 recall election, with 36 percent support compared to 29...

Is there any good news for libertarianism in Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor of California? Not much, if the hope was to see the two major parties undermined in an electoral free-for-all. One of the fondest third-party wishes for the recall—and a critical selling point for voters disenchanted with both the Republicans and the Democrats—was that its 135-strong roster of candidates would open the field up to everybody, and possibly create a wild-card situation where a fringe ticket might actually win. Fat chance. Schwarzenegger's win dramatically demonstrated the immovability of the major parties, and the absolute hopelessness of third-party challengers....

| McClintock claims victory in his defeatBy Timm Herdt, October 8, 2003SACRAMENTO -- Saying his campaign "framed the issues upon which this contest was decided," state Sen. Tom McClintock on Tuesday claimed victory even as he was conceding defeat to Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, was decidedly upbeat in defeat, even as early results showed that substantial numbers of his supporters decided at the end to board the Schwarzenegger bandwagon. Despite polls that showed McClintock to be the best-liked of all the major candidates, it appeared that McClintock would finish with about 11 percent of the vote --...

The California recall election is now history, and we've learned some lessons from this historic event. First and foremost, we've realized that it's OK for people in the media to mock the accent of Arnold Schwarzenegger by spelling out his name and state phonetically. Countless times, we've read the candidates names listed like this: "Bustamante, McClintock, Davis, and AH-NULD!" Sometimes they even write his state as "Kah-lee-fuah-nee-ah." Imagine for a second what would be happening if any other minority, ethnic group, or person with a speech impediment had their words written out how they talked, or had reporters mocking how...

Marin woman dubbed 'mother of the recall' Her San Francisco radio show ignited move to oust former Gov. Davis By Con Garretson It was the conversation heard around the state. The chairman of California's Republican Party was being interviewed on a KSFO talk radio show last January about the state's economic ills. Asked what could be done, he suggested an idea that had been bandied about privately among political insiders: attempt a recall of Gov. Gray Davis. Radio personality Melanie Morgan, who was working without her regular co-host that day, immediately lent her support to the idea and made it...

<p>Santa Monica -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's dramatic announcement on "The Tonight Show" Aug. 6 that he was running for governor of California was, to all appearances, a bolt out of the blue. Jay Leno gasped and the Tonight Show audience erupted in applause. Schwarzenegger's advisers insisted he had made the decision at the last minute.</p>

<p>A Nazi groper, running the fifth-largest economy on the planet? I mean this time you gotta see why the liberals are jumpin' mad! Nixon was one thing, with the hiring of the burglars and all to lift McGovern's secrets, and the bombing of Cambodia on the sly, and goofy, like when he'd shoot his arms straight up in the air like a giant V, I guess for victory (or maybe it was a big human Y, for Yes), but at least Tricky Dicky didn't pronounce it "Collifornia," and he didn't grab up a Kennedy woman for his own. No, this time it's worse. I saw the nude Arnold photos on Drudge. Nixon wouldn't even walk along the surf without wearing his suit and tie, and dress shoes.</p>

<p>President Bush has plenty to smile about today, looking at the results of the California recall vote. Then again, he must be very worried.</p> <p>True, Golden State voters not only prematurely ejected Democratic Governor Gray Davis but also gave action-movie hero Arnold Schwarzenegger a clear mandate to clean up the state's fiscal mess. Republicans are exhilarated that Davis, one of the most relentlessly negative of all American politicians, has been terminated by the electorate. National Democratic leaders are almost catatonic about the unfairness of it all and over what they see as the power of a vast right-wing conspiracy to overturn election results they don't like.</p>

Voter Revolt Goes On... The landslide victory of Arnold Schwarzenegger in California should have sent a clear message to state legislators: ''Quit the petty partisanship and get work done for the people.'' The recall passed by double digits and Arnold was elected over his Democrat opponent by 17 points – a massive margin. If that doesn’t give him a mandate, it’s not clear what would. Californians are expecting Arnold to usher in a fresh brand of politics that puts the people first. And they’re expecting that the Legislature will work with him. Unfortunately, many Democrat legislators have failed to hear...

"I came, I saw, I conquered" could well have been Arnold's secret campaign motto, for, indeed, the Terminator terminated, and California and the nation will never be the same again. Not since the tax-cutting revolution of Proposition 13 have the vibrations of a California earthquake reverberated so strongly across the nation. He Came Arnold entered the race on the deliciously succulent "Tonight Show." Would any other Hollywood star have done it differently? The Republicans had been fielding terrible candidates and had had a hard time connecting with voters. They couldn't get a foothold in a state that was voting more...

Los Angeles Daily News Was it an earthquake or simply a shock? By Arnold Steinberg Saturday, October 11, 2003 - Was Arnold Schwarzenegger's election seismic? Let's talk about what really happened. Voter turnout was hardly a record. Sure, it was high for a special election. But it was barely average for a general election. Despite intense media coverage and high public interest, voting remained largely a spectator sport. Is there, then, a mandate? And if so, for what? A key lieutenant for Arnold put it this way: The outcome was preordained. Not really, of course. What he meant was...

In the wake of California's recall election, the temptation to draw far-reaching conclusions is strong. Despite 11th-hour allegations against Republican Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, the final results were decisive. Schwarzenegger, a political novice and outsider, overcame accusations of sexual harassment, past drug use and alleged admiration for Adolf Hitler, and he did so while offering precious few specifics about what he will do as governor. He ducked all but the final debate among the major candidates, and he relied heavily on the so-called soft media, with appearances on Jay Leno's and Oprah Winfrey's shows. Does this mean that celebrities, immune from...

<p>What is it with us? How did the Bay Area become the odd man out in California politics?</p> <p>On Tuesday, while the rest of the state eagerly dumped Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Bay Area said no and not him.</p>