Monday, November 17, 2008

To California Republicans...

I told you so.

Back in 2003, Republicans were falling all over themselves to support and vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the recall election.

True, he was saying all the right (or maybe Populist) things. He would blow up boxes, he would cut up the Legislatures credit cards. He was a fan of Milton Friedman. He was a moderate on social issues (Gay Marriage should be between a man and a woman).

Fast forward five years. He was quoted in the LA Times last week saying

"I think the important thing for the Republican Party is now to also look at other issues that are very important for this country and not to get stuck in ideology," the governor said in an interview broadcast on CNN. "Let's go and talk about healthcare reform. Let's go and . . . fund programs if they're necessary programs and not get stuck just on the fiscal responsibility."


Five years later the state budget is $28 billion in the red. Spending under Schwarzenegger went up faster that it did when Grey Davis was governor. And our "Republican" governor, walks and talks like a Democrat.

I had a gut feeling that something like this would happen. Part of it was because he a was a big supporter of Proposition 49 in 2002 (which set aside money for after-school programs). This showed me he had a tendency to see government as a means to solving problems.

My choice was Tom McClintock, (who spoke briefly at the Rally for the Republic) a strong fiscal conservative. He is a frequent guest on local talk radio, and at the time, I was impressed by his ability to explain the complexities of the State budget, and the mess it was and is, in layman's terms.

I hope that in the future, Republicans will shy away from the personality cult that surrounds many polititians, and look more closely at the views they hold.

You can read the whole story here.



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