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Arnold Is Not The Answer
By Tim Siggia
August 18, 2003
With the imminent recall of California governor Gray Davis and special election for his replacement less than two months away, the ever-liberal news media have taken an interesting tack: instead of backing the ultra-liberal but also ultra-unpopular Davis, whose approval rating was 23 percent at last check, they are focusing all the attention on Republican challenger Arnold Schwarzenegger. And well they might! Not only does Schwarzenegger come with instant name recognition, a macho screen image and personal charisma, but he's also a liberal -- just about as liberal as any Democrat out there, though the news media are downplaying this aspect for the time being. Did I say downplaying? The truth is, they're totally ignoring it. They're banking on the hope that Californians will vote for Arnold's on-screen persona, without any serious consideration of what Arnold the politician actually stands for.
By focusing on Schwarzenegger, and making occasional mention of also-running celebrities (Gary Coleman) and agenda-driven kooks (Ariana Huffington), the news media effectively deny public attention to the more serious challengers, two of whom are 2002 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, who lost to Davis in a close election, and newly-entered challenger Republican state senator Tom McClintock, who comes with a strong conservative platform and the endorsement of the California Republican Assembly. Hailing from Thousand Oaks, McClintock, a one-time candidate for state comptroller, addresses three main issues on which he plans to base his campaign: (1) rescinding the tripling of the car tax imposed by Gray Davis, (2) voiding the $42 billion in overpriced electricity contracts, and (3) reforming the workers' compensation system. McClintock has a clear message backed up by political experience. What he does not have, outside his own district, is name recognition, and that most important political commodity, money. He calls himself the only candidate running who is not a multi-millionaire.
In contrast, candidate Schwarzenegger offers a great-sounding, if somewhat vague, promise to "clean house" in California. Beyond that, he isn't saying much other than he's running. So what's Arnold's message? So far, nothing, other than saying he's a preferable alternative to Gray Davis. Well, right now a department store mannequin would be a preferable alternative to Gray Davis! What's Arnold's plan? We don't know. Does he even have a plan? Again, we don't know. All we have to go on are his previously-stated positions.
And what are they? Pro-abortion. Pro-gay marriage. Pro-gay adoption. Pro-gun control. Loved Ronald Reagan (but apparently disagrees with him on just about everything). Opposed Clinton's impeachment, saying he was "ashamed to be a Republican" when the House of Representatives declared an obviously out-of-control president unfit for his office. It may be recalled that while the husband of Maria Shriver was ashamed to be a Republican, which for all practical purposes he is on paper only, many more Americans were also ashamed at the idea of a lying, amoral, anything-for-money sleazeball being the living symbol of their country.
Bill Simon and Tom McClintock are both optimistic that their respective messages will carry the day in October. It just might happen, anything's possible. But right now all the attention's on Schwarzenegger, and with the media solidly behind him, it may just mean that Simon and McClintock are doing nothing more than tilting at windmills. Californians have an unfortunate tendency to vote with their emotions rather than their intellect, and when all is said and done, they could very well propel Terminator into the governor's mansion without having so much as a clue as to who Arnold Schwarzenegger really is. But those who are capable of looking dispassionately at candidate Scharzenegger cannot help but conclude that while just about anybody will in the end prove a better governor than the current one, Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the answer to California's woes.
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