California Conservative

Just don’t call ‘em “Girlie-men,” or else they’ll get really angry — and issue a press release.

SF Chronicle reports: “The political reform plans backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose own popularity is plummeting, are in trouble with voters, according to a Field Poll released today.”

In truth, the paper’s reporting of Schwarzenegger is more like short-selling a stock: They’re rooting for a significant drop in value. True pessimists.

Two of the three ballot initiatives the governor backs in the Nov. 8 special election — a measure to impose stricter budget controls and one to change the way legislative boundaries are drawn — are running behind in the new survey. Schwarzenegger shouldered some of the responsibility for his political woes Tuesday, saying in a Sacramento news conference that people make mistakes.

“Some of the responsibility, ” indeed. Funny. That’s not what the online headline suggests.

No bias, though.

“I guarantee you that all of us in this building can share the blame, including myself,” he said, responding to a Field Poll on Monday that shows that only 31 percent of California adults are pleased with the way he’s running the state.

He’s being very gracious. There’s widespread negative publicity being waged on all fronts by special interest groups determined to see Schwarzenegger’s initiatives fail. It’s about keeping power. Democrats don’t want changes affecting how they “run” California.

We’re more impressed with how Schwarzenegger candidly answered Bill O’Reilly during an interview recently, when he was asked if he’s enjoying his job as California Governor:

“I did not go into this to win a popularity contest.”

That’s exactly the kind of leadership the voters should expect. Getting things done, changing the system, is always going to ruffle feathers. It’s politicians that run for office with the sole purpose of staying in office that create the problems.

In related news…

L.A. Times reports: “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger mocked his opponents in the California Legislature on Saturday as ‘girlie-men’ and called upon voters to ‘terminate’ them at the polls in November if they don’t pass his $103 billion budget.

Using tough rhetoric that he borrowed from his days as a body-builder and movie actor, the governor said lawmakers are telling lies and are “back to their old habits” after a post-recall burst of bipartisan collaboration.”

Tough rhetoric? Calling Dick Durbin…

Legislators, he said at a rally in the food court of the Ontario Mills Mall, are “part of a bureaucracy that is out of shape, that is out of date, that is out of touch and that is definitely out of control in Sacramento.”

He also said: “They cannot have the guts to come out there in front of you and say, ‘I don’t want to represent you. I want to represent those special interests: the unions, the trial lawyers.’ … I call them girlie-men. They should get back to the table and they should finish the budget.”

Wow. That kind of language is liable to start a riot, for sure — in the soft minds of special interests.

“Democratic lawmakers, gay and lesbian advocates, and feminist groups bristled over the governor’s comments, which were greeted with sustained applause by hundreds of people who were invited to the rally through automated phone calls put out by Schwarzenegger’s camp.”

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said: “Those are the kinds of statements that ought not to come out of the mouth” of the governor. “He says he’s going to ‘terminate’ members in November? I really don’t know what he means by that. That’s not funny anymore.”

Oh, puhhhleeez. Fabio, so sensitive. He knows exactly what Schwarzenegger means: It’s a word play on his movies, as usual.

With such touchy sensibilities, wonder what Nunez thinks of the ongoing Hitler/Nazi references being used by liberals against the U.S. military and the administration in Washington? Haven’t heard any outrage about that.

But leave it to the L.A. Times to load the story with more negative bias:

The governor’s pugnacious turn raised objections Saturday, with the “girlie-man” reference becoming the focus.

“It’s really painful to hear the governor resort to such blatant homophobia,” said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, who chairs the Senate’s Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee. “It’s an old-fashioned way of talking about gay men as to indicate they’re not as strong. So that part is really painful. And I have to say it’s really surprising. It’s like he can’t get his way so he resorts to some kind of name-calling.”

“Pugnacious?” That’s some kind of editorializing. And now the Guv is being accused of homophobia?

What’s really painful is to hear California Democrats grasping at straws in their unabashed effort to malign Schwarzenegger. How about taking some “initiative” of their own? In doing so, they might actually demonstrate a hint of leadership.

Other than that, it’s all just noise.

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Forecast: Sluggish California economy through 2006

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 23rd, 2005 at 11:59 am and is filed under Arnold, California, Elections, Liberals, Sacramento. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.