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November 06, 2003
Arnold Shwarzenegger interview with Oui magazineTo me, the funniest line was this one, when Arnold was talking about his then-new acting career, and where he wanted it to lead: "I realize there's only one Arnold in the world, that there's never been an Arnold before, and the one thing that won't work on the screen is my being an ass-kicker." Yeah...that would never work. ;-) Arnold's interview in Oui magazine, 1977 That links to a scanned-in bunch of pages from the magazine, courtesy of The Smoking Gun. This page here, at the same site, is a story about the article, featuring excerpts from the interview and weaving them into an article. Read It Rating: 5.5 Reason Online: Is Arnold good for the libertarians?Muscled Out Tim Cavanaugh 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. The last-minute candidate not only received more votes, both in total numbers and as a percentage of the total electorate, than Gray Davis did in his re-election less than a year ago, but did so with a split Republican ticket, against a Democratic challenger who was widely (and wrongly) expected to lock up the Latino vote. (That Schwarzenegger, the pick of the statewide and national Republican establishment, was able to get a near-majority despite Tom McClintock's drawing more than a million hard-conservative votes should scare the Democrats even more than it discourages the third parties.) ... In the longer term, Schwarzenegger's surprisingly total victory points to some interesting trends in voters' views toward governance. In a post-election dispatch, Slate columnist Mickey Kaus said of the governor-elect, "If he's going to keep our loyalty it will have to be by producing actual results: a slimmed down government, a balanced budget, better schools, a better business climate, etc." Kaus is a consistently interesting commentator on Golden State politics, but such good-government pieties seemed laughably out of place in the context of the recently concluded circus. If people had wanted good government, they'd have voted for Tom McClintock. Instead they voted for Schwarzenegger, and logic indicates that they voted for him not in spite of his lack of political experience, but because of it. On the principle that any day people turn against the government is a good day for liberty, Schwarzenegger's win was good news indeed. It also takes some of the sheen off the Republican Party. If the Republicans had not brought in a Hollywood ringer, we would almost certainly be hailing governor-elect Bustamante right now. It was only the presence of an actor/bodybuilder with a funny accent that kept the vote from splintering 135 different ways and propelling a true minority choice into office with a tiny fraction of the vote. Both parties should take note: They're selling a product fewer and fewer people want. If they want to stay in business, they should soon be reduced to bringing in some of the many co-stars Schwarzenegger has worked with over the years. As that group includes everybody from surfing legend Gerry Lopez to former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura to funnyman Sinbad to Verne "Mini Me" Troyer, the sky is definitely the limit. Read It Rating: 4.5 The Economist on Arnold: Flower power, three decades lateFlower power, three decades late Oct 9th 2003 IN 1966, Californians elected a Hollywood actor as governor of their state. Fourteen years later, he changed America as the country's 40th president and the embodiment of a conservative revolution. Is history repeating itself? Perhaps as farce? It is easy to count the reasons why Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory may be a special case, without wider significance. He won partly because of his exceptional celebrity, and partly because the recalled governor, Gray Davis, had all the popularity of a cat at a dog show. That circumstance may not repeat itself very often. He won as an outsider in a state that is peculiar anyway, in an election that was more than peculiar, when voters were uncommonly angry with elected officials. Yet the fact remains that Mr Schwarzenegger has instantly become the second-best-known Republican in the country. He has become governor of a state with 55 Electoral College votes—a state, moreover, that many Republicans had almost written off (Al Gore won California by 1.3m votes in 2000, and 44% of Californian voters now register as Democrats, compared with 35% as Republicans). He brought a disaffected cohort of voters into the electoral process and into his party. Republicans would be foolish to write this off as merely another weird consequence of Californian voters spending too much time in the sun. The key to the wider meaning of Mr Schwarzenegger's victory lies partly in his policies—much more liberal than those of most Republicans—and even more in the kind of person he is, including the sexual accusations that surfaced in the last days of the campaign. He is the first nationwide political figure to have embraced the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s (in its weaknesses as well as its strengths) and still stayed a Republican. ... ... the elected governor is a reminder that there is a strand of Republicanism which was always more in tune with the counter-culture than the Bible-thumping variety that has dominated the party for the past decade. This is the libertarian wing associated with Barry Goldwater, another western Republican. In some ways, Mr Schwarzenegger represents a return to that tradition. His victory could begin a contest, against the current dominance of southern conservatism, for the party's soul. Read It Rating: 5 |
Gary Coleman to be political analyst on comedy radio network
Gary Coleman to be political analyst on comedy radio network
Posted on Mon, Oct. 13, 2003
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Former childhood actor Gary Coleman didn't win California's recall election, but he'll still get a political platform on the new Hollywood-based All Comedy Radio network.
Coleman, 35, has been tapped to become the network's political analyst and said his experience as a candidate will come in handy in this new assignment.
Read It Rating: 3
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 90%
October 09, 2003
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
Commentary by Bill O'Reilly
August 27, 2003
Excerpt:
The polls show that even many poor people aren't buying the class warfare stuff anymore. We are all in this together. When the power went off, everybody got hosed. And when al Qaeda strikes, it doesn't matter what your tax bracket is.
As with most things in life, we have now been warned. The collapse of California's political system, the blackout, and Sept. 11, 2001, have all been signals sent. We Americans better wise up and start electing people who have a sense of urgency about protecting us and solving problems. For Americans, remaining in the dark is simply not an option anymore.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: R3
Freedom Rating: .03
Learning Percentage: 3%
October 08, 2003
Repairing California Government
Repairing California Government
By David S. Broder
Wednesday, October 8, 2003; Page A29
Now that the miserable recall experience is over, California can finally get serious about repairing the damaged structure of its government.
...
One would hope that Californians would draw the right conclusion and be less willing to sign the next recall petition. But the reality is that the Progressive-era trio of populist experiments in direct democracy -- initiative, referendum and recall -- remains wildly popular with millions in the state.
That being the case, the next two California elections are likely to feature initiatives proposing serious structural changes in the way the state government operates and the way people gain office in Sacramento.
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
Fineman: Recall Lessons for the President
The important part of this article, for me, was this:
There is a straight line of voter protest running from Ross Perot through John McCain and on to the Internet-based campaigns of Wesley Clark and even Howard Dean. To some extent, all were or are powered by a sense of voter alienation from the centers of authority in government politics—whether those center are in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. The bigger and more remote the government, the more ignored and misunderstood the voters feel.
He left out Jesse Ventura, but the point remains. That point -- that voters are super-willing to embrace the an 'outsider' candidate who has momentum -- is one of the driving factors that inspired me to run for president so long ago.
Recall Lessons for the President
Voter alienation will not stop at voting booths in California
By Howard Fineman
Newsweek
Tuesday 07 October 2003
It would be nice to think that the ending of Election Day here will bring peace to the politics of California, and to the country. It would be nice, but wrong. Don't expect an end to partisan rancor, voter anger and alienation, here or elsewhere. This state's political warfare will resume long before Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger actually takes office. And the same forces that are shaking Sacramento could materialize on the doorstep of the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
There are a lot of reasons. Starting with the winning candidate, here are some:
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 5%
Campaign on wheels
Posted on Fri, Oct. 03, 2003
ARNOLD: "LET'S START THE ENGINES"
BY MARY ANNE OSTROM & LORI ARATANI
Mercury News
SAN DIEGO - Moments after uttering regrets for having behaved like a boor over the years, Arnold Schwarzenegger declared to a crowd of 1,500 cheering, sign-waving supporters in the cavernous San Diego Convention Center that it was time to ``terminate Gray Davis.''
He then lowered his voice an octave, and said: ``Let's start the engines.''
In dramatic fashion, a curtain rose to reveal a large bus plastered with Schwarzenegger's face and the campaign event's slogan, ``California Comeback Express.'' The actor jumped on the bus as it circled the floor in the indoor convention center and the crowd ran to greet him.
...
At times, the rolling circus felt more like a tour promoting a movie than a candidate for governor. The bus carrying Schwarzenegger was named ``The Running Man,'' and featured satellite television and bunk beds. His entourage followed in a bus dubbed ``Total Recall.'' Some 200 reporters and photographers hailing from as far away as India, Japan and his native Austria followed in buses the campaign had dubbed ``Predator'' 1 through 4.
At the Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Schwarzenegger ignored protesters and repeated his campaign promise to repeal increases in the state vehicle-license fee.
``I was 25 years in show business. In the movies, if I play a character and I didn't like something, you know what I did, I destroyed it. I wiped it out, I wiped it out.''
At that instant, a 3,600-pound wrecking ball was dropped 50 feet, crushing an older-model Oldsmobile on which the words ``Davis Car Tax'' had been spray-painted.
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 35%
Recall Arnold
From Brian Flemming:
Recall Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger
October 7, 2003
Dear Scared Californian,
I know. Me too.
This site, created more than a month ago, was at first a semi-joke intended to illustrate California's chaotic future if the right-wing recall succeeded. I guess it's not so funny anymore.
Because this site gets a lot of search-engine hits on "recall Arnold" and the like, I want to make sure this traffic does not go to waste. If you're interested in joining a recall petition effort, please click on the link in the right column and send me your email address and other information.
There are many groups currently being formed to recall Arnold Schwarzenegger. I will send you notifications about these efforts as they develop, so you will know exactly how to get involved. If you give me your specific permission to do so, I will pass your information on to other Recall Governor Schwarzenegger groups.
As a lifelong Californian, I'm as shocked as you are that our state has done such a surreal, horrible thing. Please volunteer to set things right again.
Sincerely,
Brian Flemming
That's followed by a ton of messages of support that people have apparently sent in. I presume there will be future developments there as well.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 0%
It's hard to predict whether the Recall Arnold movement will have legs, politically speaking. We're deep into surreal politics now, so who's to say what might come? From a certain perspective, another recall right away makes all the sense in the world. With Arnold Schwarzenegger being governor-elect, somehow nothing seems politically weird anymore.
California Recall Election results
Updated recall election results from the CA Secretary of State office.
Here are the current results:
Shall GRAY DAVIS be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Votes Percent
Yes 3,763,848 54.2
No 3,184,259 45.8
County Returns
Leading Candidates to succeed GRAY DAVIS as Governor if he is recalled:
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Candidate Party Votes Percent
Arnold Schwarzenegger Rep 3,198,508 47.8
Cruz M. Bustamante Dem 2,181,952 32.6
Tom McClintock Rep 881,744 13.2
Peter Miguel Camejo Grn 188,479 2.9
Arianna Huffington Ind 38,936 0.6
Peter V. Ueberroth Rep 19,592 0.3
Larry Flynt Dem 13,693 0.3
Gary Coleman Ind 11,370 0.2
October 07, 2003
Arnold is no conservative
Arnold is no conservative
by David Freddoso | Oct 5, 2003
Moderates are not the only ones backing Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's gubernatorial recall election. Particularly among politicians, many true conservatives, such as Representatives Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, are taking up the Terminator's standard, as are conservative icons such as Ann Coulter.
In better times, the famous actor's social liberalism might have alone precluded such support. But California's GOP is at an historic nadir. It has drifted downward ever since 1995, when a Jeffords-style defection and clever Democratic legal maneuvering disastrously cost Republicans their hard-won State Assembly majority.
Conservatives have never recovered. Their party is now out of power and out of favor with voters, and they think the Arnold gimmick can save them.
But these "Arnold Conservatives" -- not his moderate or liberal supporters, but those reluctantly backing him as the "electable" Republican candidate -- are wrong. They underestimate the extent of Schwarzenegger's liberalism, which guarantees his leadership will fail California and further harm Republicans if he wins.
...
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R5
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Unplugged
I want to go on record as saying that the closing lines of this article --
I asked Mr. Muscle's PR people to comment on the new Enron memos -- and his strange silence on Bustamante's suit or Davis' petition. But Arnold was too busy shaving off his Hitlerian mustache to respond.
-- are really weak. Really, really weak. Palast could have appeared more mature (and just as journalistically honest) by saying "Arnold has poopie in his pants."
Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected
Friday, October 3, 2003
It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal.
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.
Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. ...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
Davis keeps the heat on Schwarzenegger over women's allegations of groping. 'A lot of these are made-up stories,' the GOP front-runner says.
By Gregg Jones, Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writers
With polls showing the recall race tightening in a last dash to Tuesday's election, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday questioned the truthfulness of Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to sexual misconduct allegations while the Republican tried to shift the focus to his rival's shortcomings as a leader.
Davis challenged the GOP candidate to respond in detail to accusations by women that he groped or humiliated them. Schwarzenegger, dogged by the allegations for the fourth day, sought to lay them to rest in two nationally televised interviews.
"A lot of these are made-up stories," Schwarzenegger told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in a campaign-bus interview on "Dateline NBC." "I never grabbed anyone and then pulled up their shirt and grabbed their breasts, and stuff like that. This is not me. So there's a lot of this stuff going on.... "
"So you deny all those stories about grabbing?" Brokaw asked.
"Not at all," said Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women. "I'm just saying this is not — this is not me."
...
TruhOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 15%
Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Calif.'s Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Sun October 5, 2003 08:14 PM ET
By Gina Keating and Adam Tanner
SAN JOSE/SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Buoyed by fresh reports of sexual misconduct by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger and a poll showing more erosion in efforts to recall him, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday renewed his attacks on the actor turned politician, who in turn rallied thousands to the capital.
Davis charged into the final stage of the wild recall battle demanding Schwarzenegger, his chief rival for the state's top job in Tuesday's recall election, explain in detail what was behind the sexual harassment charges he now faces.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Support strong to recall Davis
Support strong to recall Davis
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 06, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The latest polls show that several days of reporting on accusations of sexual harassment against Arnold Schwarzenegger have dented only slightly support for recalling Gov. Gray Davis in the vote tomorrow.
The Austrian-born actor's campaign tour of California came to a roaring conclusion at the state Capitol yesterday in front of 10,000 people buoyed by the poll figures and a live performance by 1980s rock star Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.
A poll released by the San Jose Mercury News yesterday showed that 54 percent of likely voters support the recall, and 41 percent are opposed. Mr. Schwarzenegger led the 135 replacement candidates with 36 percent, compared with 29 percent for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall, Jack Leonard and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
Four more women have come forward to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger fondled, spanked or touched them in incidents they said took place as recently as 2000 and as long ago as 1979.
In all, 15 women have now accused the Republican candidate for governor of grabbing or groping them. On the campaign trail Saturday, Schwarzenegger denounced as a "puke campaign" news reports that he has behaved abusively toward women.
The women who agreed Saturday to tell their stories publicly are:
A 51-year-old woman who said Schwarzenegger pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him at a West Los Angeles post-production studio in 2000.
Tamee Smith, 46, who said Schwarzenegger followed her into a bathroom on a studio lot and grabbed her breast during work on the movie "Predator" in 1986.
Jan Prinzmetal, 50, who said Schwarzenegger reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks outside a Venice gym in the mid-1980s.
Elizabeth Rothner, 45, who said Schwarzenegger lifted her sweatshirt at a popular Santa Monica bar in 1979, exposing her bare breasts before a crowd.
The Times provided details of each of the new allegations to Schwarzenegger's campaign Saturday. The candidate's spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Schwarzenegger had said that the accounts of three of the women were untrue. Walsh said Schwarzenegger had no recollection of the alleged Venice gym incident.
...
TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
Fight to the finish before historic vote
Fight to the finish before historic vote / Davis wants criminal investigation
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Fresno -- Gov. Gray Davis, spending the final days of the recall campaign surrounded by women and prominent Democrats, suggested Saturday that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger committed a crime of sexual battery and should be investigated by law enforcement.
The governor's comments were a significant escalation of his rhetoric against his chief Republican rival in Tuesday's recall campaign. The allegations about Schwarzenegger's conduct with women, and statements he is reported to have made about Adolf Hitler, provided the Davis campaign with a dose of optimism -- mixed with astonishment at the extraordinary events over the past couple of days.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L.4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 06, 2003
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
By Jill Stewart
Excerpts:
I couldn't have been more shocked to see the lurid stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the things several women allege he uttered or did to them. But it wasn't over the allegations, which I had read much of in a magazine before. I was most shocked at the Los Angeles Times.
Some politicos dub the Thursday before a big election "Dirty Tricks Thursday." That's the best day for an opponent to unload his bag of filth against another candidate, getting maximum headlines, while giving his stunned opponent no time to credibly investigate or respond to the charges.
It creates a Black Friday, where the candidate spends a precious business day right before the election desperately investigating the accusations, before facing a weekend in which reporters only care about further accusations that invariably spill out of the woodwork.
Dirty Tricks Thursday is not used by the media to sink a campaign.
Yet the Times managed to give every appearance of trying to do so. ...
...
If the Times were a tabloid, this would hardly matter. But the newspaper is influential at times, and claims it has high standards. In this case, the paper gave in to its bias against Schwarzenegger:
Here's my proof:
Since at least 1997, the Times has been sitting on information that Gov. Gray Davis is an "office batterer" who has attacked female members of his staff, thrown objects at subservients and launched into red-faced fits, screaming the f-word until staffers cower.
...
Weeks ago, Times editors sent two teams of reporters to dig dirt on Schwarzenegger, one on his admitted use of steroids as a bodybuilder, one on the old charges of groping women from Premiere Magazine.
Who did the editors assign, weeks ago, to investigate Davis' violence against women who work for him?
Nobody.
...
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 70%
October 05, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
October 04, 2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
California dreamin' wakes the rest of us up to reality
Commentary by Bill O'Reilly
August 27, 2003
Excerpt:
The polls show that even many poor people aren't buying the class warfare stuff anymore. We are all in this together. When the power went off, everybody got hosed. And when al Qaeda strikes, it doesn't matter what your tax bracket is.
As with most things in life, we have now been warned. The collapse of California's political system, the blackout, and Sept. 11, 2001, have all been signals sent. We Americans better wise up and start electing people who have a sense of urgency about protecting us and solving problems. For Americans, remaining in the dark is simply not an option anymore.
Read It Rating: 4
Left/Right Rating: R3
Freedom Rating: .03
Learning Percentage: 3%
Repairing California Government
Repairing California Government
By David S. Broder
Wednesday, October 8, 2003; Page A29
Now that the miserable recall experience is over, California can finally get serious about repairing the damaged structure of its government.
...
One would hope that Californians would draw the right conclusion and be less willing to sign the next recall petition. But the reality is that the Progressive-era trio of populist experiments in direct democracy -- initiative, referendum and recall -- remains wildly popular with millions in the state.
That being the case, the next two California elections are likely to feature initiatives proposing serious structural changes in the way the state government operates and the way people gain office in Sacramento.
...
Read It Rating: 4.5
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 45%
Fineman: Recall Lessons for the President
The important part of this article, for me, was this:
There is a straight line of voter protest running from Ross Perot through John McCain and on to the Internet-based campaigns of Wesley Clark and even Howard Dean. To some extent, all were or are powered by a sense of voter alienation from the centers of authority in government politics—whether those center are in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. The bigger and more remote the government, the more ignored and misunderstood the voters feel.
He left out Jesse Ventura, but the point remains. That point -- that voters are super-willing to embrace the an 'outsider' candidate who has momentum -- is one of the driving factors that inspired me to run for president so long ago.
Recall Lessons for the President
Voter alienation will not stop at voting booths in California
By Howard Fineman
Newsweek
Tuesday 07 October 2003
It would be nice to think that the ending of Election Day here will bring peace to the politics of California, and to the country. It would be nice, but wrong. Don't expect an end to partisan rancor, voter anger and alienation, here or elsewhere. This state's political warfare will resume long before Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger actually takes office. And the same forces that are shaking Sacramento could materialize on the doorstep of the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
There are a lot of reasons. Starting with the winning candidate, here are some:
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 5%
Campaign on wheels
Posted on Fri, Oct. 03, 2003
ARNOLD: "LET'S START THE ENGINES"
BY MARY ANNE OSTROM & LORI ARATANI
Mercury News
SAN DIEGO - Moments after uttering regrets for having behaved like a boor over the years, Arnold Schwarzenegger declared to a crowd of 1,500 cheering, sign-waving supporters in the cavernous San Diego Convention Center that it was time to ``terminate Gray Davis.''
He then lowered his voice an octave, and said: ``Let's start the engines.''
In dramatic fashion, a curtain rose to reveal a large bus plastered with Schwarzenegger's face and the campaign event's slogan, ``California Comeback Express.'' The actor jumped on the bus as it circled the floor in the indoor convention center and the crowd ran to greet him.
...
At times, the rolling circus felt more like a tour promoting a movie than a candidate for governor. The bus carrying Schwarzenegger was named ``The Running Man,'' and featured satellite television and bunk beds. His entourage followed in a bus dubbed ``Total Recall.'' Some 200 reporters and photographers hailing from as far away as India, Japan and his native Austria followed in buses the campaign had dubbed ``Predator'' 1 through 4.
At the Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Schwarzenegger ignored protesters and repeated his campaign promise to repeal increases in the state vehicle-license fee.
``I was 25 years in show business. In the movies, if I play a character and I didn't like something, you know what I did, I destroyed it. I wiped it out, I wiped it out.''
At that instant, a 3,600-pound wrecking ball was dropped 50 feet, crushing an older-model Oldsmobile on which the words ``Davis Car Tax'' had been spray-painted.
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -2
Learning Percentage: 35%
Recall Arnold
From Brian Flemming:
Recall Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger
October 7, 2003
Dear Scared Californian,
I know. Me too.
This site, created more than a month ago, was at first a semi-joke intended to illustrate California's chaotic future if the right-wing recall succeeded. I guess it's not so funny anymore.
Because this site gets a lot of search-engine hits on "recall Arnold" and the like, I want to make sure this traffic does not go to waste. If you're interested in joining a recall petition effort, please click on the link in the right column and send me your email address and other information.
There are many groups currently being formed to recall Arnold Schwarzenegger. I will send you notifications about these efforts as they develop, so you will know exactly how to get involved. If you give me your specific permission to do so, I will pass your information on to other Recall Governor Schwarzenegger groups.
As a lifelong Californian, I'm as shocked as you are that our state has done such a surreal, horrible thing. Please volunteer to set things right again.
Sincerely,
Brian Flemming
That's followed by a ton of messages of support that people have apparently sent in. I presume there will be future developments there as well.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 0%
It's hard to predict whether the Recall Arnold movement will have legs, politically speaking. We're deep into surreal politics now, so who's to say what might come? From a certain perspective, another recall right away makes all the sense in the world. With Arnold Schwarzenegger being governor-elect, somehow nothing seems politically weird anymore.
California Recall Election results
Updated recall election results from the CA Secretary of State office.
Here are the current results:
Shall GRAY DAVIS be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Votes Percent
Yes 3,763,848 54.2
No 3,184,259 45.8
County Returns
Leading Candidates to succeed GRAY DAVIS as Governor if he is recalled:
90.4 % ( 13777 of 15235 ) precincts reporting as of Oct 8, 2003 at 1:50 am
Candidate Party Votes Percent
Arnold Schwarzenegger Rep 3,198,508 47.8
Cruz M. Bustamante Dem 2,181,952 32.6
Tom McClintock Rep 881,744 13.2
Peter Miguel Camejo Grn 188,479 2.9
Arianna Huffington Ind 38,936 0.6
Peter V. Ueberroth Rep 19,592 0.3
Larry Flynt Dem 13,693 0.3
Gary Coleman Ind 11,370 0.2
October 07, 2003
Arnold is no conservative
Arnold is no conservative
by David Freddoso | Oct 5, 2003
Moderates are not the only ones backing Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's gubernatorial recall election. Particularly among politicians, many true conservatives, such as Representatives Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, are taking up the Terminator's standard, as are conservative icons such as Ann Coulter.
In better times, the famous actor's social liberalism might have alone precluded such support. But California's GOP is at an historic nadir. It has drifted downward ever since 1995, when a Jeffords-style defection and clever Democratic legal maneuvering disastrously cost Republicans their hard-won State Assembly majority.
Conservatives have never recovered. Their party is now out of power and out of favor with voters, and they think the Arnold gimmick can save them.
But these "Arnold Conservatives" -- not his moderate or liberal supporters, but those reluctantly backing him as the "electable" Republican candidate -- are wrong. They underestimate the extent of Schwarzenegger's liberalism, which guarantees his leadership will fail California and further harm Republicans if he wins.
...
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R5
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Unplugged
I want to go on record as saying that the closing lines of this article --
I asked Mr. Muscle's PR people to comment on the new Enron memos -- and his strange silence on Bustamante's suit or Davis' petition. But Arnold was too busy shaving off his Hitlerian mustache to respond.
-- are really weak. Really, really weak. Palast could have appeared more mature (and just as journalistically honest) by saying "Arnold has poopie in his pants."
Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected
Friday, October 3, 2003
It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal.
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.
Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. ...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
Davis keeps the heat on Schwarzenegger over women's allegations of groping. 'A lot of these are made-up stories,' the GOP front-runner says.
By Gregg Jones, Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writers
With polls showing the recall race tightening in a last dash to Tuesday's election, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday questioned the truthfulness of Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to sexual misconduct allegations while the Republican tried to shift the focus to his rival's shortcomings as a leader.
Davis challenged the GOP candidate to respond in detail to accusations by women that he groped or humiliated them. Schwarzenegger, dogged by the allegations for the fourth day, sought to lay them to rest in two nationally televised interviews.
"A lot of these are made-up stories," Schwarzenegger told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in a campaign-bus interview on "Dateline NBC." "I never grabbed anyone and then pulled up their shirt and grabbed their breasts, and stuff like that. This is not me. So there's a lot of this stuff going on.... "
"So you deny all those stories about grabbing?" Brokaw asked.
"Not at all," said Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women. "I'm just saying this is not — this is not me."
...
TruhOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 15%
Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Calif.'s Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Sun October 5, 2003 08:14 PM ET
By Gina Keating and Adam Tanner
SAN JOSE/SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Buoyed by fresh reports of sexual misconduct by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger and a poll showing more erosion in efforts to recall him, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday renewed his attacks on the actor turned politician, who in turn rallied thousands to the capital.
Davis charged into the final stage of the wild recall battle demanding Schwarzenegger, his chief rival for the state's top job in Tuesday's recall election, explain in detail what was behind the sexual harassment charges he now faces.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Support strong to recall Davis
Support strong to recall Davis
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 06, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The latest polls show that several days of reporting on accusations of sexual harassment against Arnold Schwarzenegger have dented only slightly support for recalling Gov. Gray Davis in the vote tomorrow.
The Austrian-born actor's campaign tour of California came to a roaring conclusion at the state Capitol yesterday in front of 10,000 people buoyed by the poll figures and a live performance by 1980s rock star Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.
A poll released by the San Jose Mercury News yesterday showed that 54 percent of likely voters support the recall, and 41 percent are opposed. Mr. Schwarzenegger led the 135 replacement candidates with 36 percent, compared with 29 percent for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall, Jack Leonard and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
Four more women have come forward to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger fondled, spanked or touched them in incidents they said took place as recently as 2000 and as long ago as 1979.
In all, 15 women have now accused the Republican candidate for governor of grabbing or groping them. On the campaign trail Saturday, Schwarzenegger denounced as a "puke campaign" news reports that he has behaved abusively toward women.
The women who agreed Saturday to tell their stories publicly are:
A 51-year-old woman who said Schwarzenegger pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him at a West Los Angeles post-production studio in 2000.
Tamee Smith, 46, who said Schwarzenegger followed her into a bathroom on a studio lot and grabbed her breast during work on the movie "Predator" in 1986.
Jan Prinzmetal, 50, who said Schwarzenegger reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks outside a Venice gym in the mid-1980s.
Elizabeth Rothner, 45, who said Schwarzenegger lifted her sweatshirt at a popular Santa Monica bar in 1979, exposing her bare breasts before a crowd.
The Times provided details of each of the new allegations to Schwarzenegger's campaign Saturday. The candidate's spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Schwarzenegger had said that the accounts of three of the women were untrue. Walsh said Schwarzenegger had no recollection of the alleged Venice gym incident.
...
TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
Fight to the finish before historic vote
Fight to the finish before historic vote / Davis wants criminal investigation
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Fresno -- Gov. Gray Davis, spending the final days of the recall campaign surrounded by women and prominent Democrats, suggested Saturday that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger committed a crime of sexual battery and should be investigated by law enforcement.
The governor's comments were a significant escalation of his rhetoric against his chief Republican rival in Tuesday's recall campaign. The allegations about Schwarzenegger's conduct with women, and statements he is reported to have made about Adolf Hitler, provided the Davis campaign with a dose of optimism -- mixed with astonishment at the extraordinary events over the past couple of days.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L.4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 06, 2003
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
By Jill Stewart
Excerpts:
I couldn't have been more shocked to see the lurid stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the things several women allege he uttered or did to them. But it wasn't over the allegations, which I had read much of in a magazine before. I was most shocked at the Los Angeles Times.
Some politicos dub the Thursday before a big election "Dirty Tricks Thursday." That's the best day for an opponent to unload his bag of filth against another candidate, getting maximum headlines, while giving his stunned opponent no time to credibly investigate or respond to the charges.
It creates a Black Friday, where the candidate spends a precious business day right before the election desperately investigating the accusations, before facing a weekend in which reporters only care about further accusations that invariably spill out of the woodwork.
Dirty Tricks Thursday is not used by the media to sink a campaign.
Yet the Times managed to give every appearance of trying to do so. ...
...
If the Times were a tabloid, this would hardly matter. But the newspaper is influential at times, and claims it has high standards. In this case, the paper gave in to its bias against Schwarzenegger:
Here's my proof:
Since at least 1997, the Times has been sitting on information that Gov. Gray Davis is an "office batterer" who has attacked female members of his staff, thrown objects at subservients and launched into red-faced fits, screaming the f-word until staffers cower.
...
Weeks ago, Times editors sent two teams of reporters to dig dirt on Schwarzenegger, one on his admitted use of steroids as a bodybuilder, one on the old charges of groping women from Premiere Magazine.
Who did the editors assign, weeks ago, to investigate Davis' violence against women who work for him?
Nobody.
...
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 70%
October 05, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
October 04, 2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Arnold is no conservative
Arnold is no conservative
by David Freddoso | Oct 5, 2003
Moderates are not the only ones backing Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's gubernatorial recall election. Particularly among politicians, many true conservatives, such as Representatives Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, are taking up the Terminator's standard, as are conservative icons such as Ann Coulter.
In better times, the famous actor's social liberalism might have alone precluded such support. But California's GOP is at an historic nadir. It has drifted downward ever since 1995, when a Jeffords-style defection and clever Democratic legal maneuvering disastrously cost Republicans their hard-won State Assembly majority.
Conservatives have never recovered. Their party is now out of power and out of favor with voters, and they think the Arnold gimmick can save them.
But these "Arnold Conservatives" -- not his moderate or liberal supporters, but those reluctantly backing him as the "electable" Republican candidate -- are wrong. They underestimate the extent of Schwarzenegger's liberalism, which guarantees his leadership will fail California and further harm Republicans if he wins.
...
Read It Rating: 9
Left/Right Rating: R5
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Unplugged
I want to go on record as saying that the closing lines of this article --
I asked Mr. Muscle's PR people to comment on the new Enron memos -- and his strange silence on Bustamante's suit or Davis' petition. But Arnold was too busy shaving off his Hitlerian mustache to respond.
-- are really weak. Really, really weak. Palast could have appeared more mature (and just as journalistically honest) by saying "Arnold has poopie in his pants."
Arnold Unplugged - It's hasta la vista to $9 billion if the Governator is selected
Friday, October 3, 2003
It's not what Arnold Schwarzenegger did to the girls a decade back that should raise an eyebrow. According to a series of memoranda our office obtained today, it's his dalliance with the boys in a hotel room just two years ago that's the real scandal.
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Now, thirty-four pages of internal Enron memoranda have just come through this reporter's fax machine tell all about the tryst between Maria's husband and the corporate con men. It turns out that Schwarzenegger knowingly joined the hush-hush encounter as part of a campaign to sabotage a Davis-Bustamante plan to make Enron and other power pirates then ravaging California pay back the $9 billion in illicit profits they carried off.
Here's the story Arnold doesn't want you to hear. ...
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: L4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
At Wire, Recall Race Tightens Up
Davis keeps the heat on Schwarzenegger over women's allegations of groping. 'A lot of these are made-up stories,' the GOP front-runner says.
By Gregg Jones, Peter Nicholas and Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writers
With polls showing the recall race tightening in a last dash to Tuesday's election, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday questioned the truthfulness of Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to sexual misconduct allegations while the Republican tried to shift the focus to his rival's shortcomings as a leader.
Davis challenged the GOP candidate to respond in detail to accusations by women that he groped or humiliated them. Schwarzenegger, dogged by the allegations for the fourth day, sought to lay them to rest in two nationally televised interviews.
"A lot of these are made-up stories," Schwarzenegger told NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in a campaign-bus interview on "Dateline NBC." "I never grabbed anyone and then pulled up their shirt and grabbed their breasts, and stuff like that. This is not me. So there's a lot of this stuff going on.... "
"So you deny all those stories about grabbing?" Brokaw asked.
"Not at all," said Schwarzenegger, who apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women. "I'm just saying this is not — this is not me."
...
TruhOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 15%
Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Calif.'s Davis Comes Back Swinging at Schwarzenegger
Sun October 5, 2003 08:14 PM ET
By Gina Keating and Adam Tanner
SAN JOSE/SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Buoyed by fresh reports of sexual misconduct by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger and a poll showing more erosion in efforts to recall him, Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday renewed his attacks on the actor turned politician, who in turn rallied thousands to the capital.
Davis charged into the final stage of the wild recall battle demanding Schwarzenegger, his chief rival for the state's top job in Tuesday's recall election, explain in detail what was behind the sexual harassment charges he now faces.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Support strong to recall Davis
Support strong to recall Davis
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 06, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The latest polls show that several days of reporting on accusations of sexual harassment against Arnold Schwarzenegger have dented only slightly support for recalling Gov. Gray Davis in the vote tomorrow.
The Austrian-born actor's campaign tour of California came to a roaring conclusion at the state Capitol yesterday in front of 10,000 people buoyed by the poll figures and a live performance by 1980s rock star Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.
A poll released by the San Jose Mercury News yesterday showed that 54 percent of likely voters support the recall, and 41 percent are opposed. Mr. Schwarzenegger led the 135 replacement candidates with 36 percent, compared with 29 percent for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
4 More Women Go Public Against Schwarzenegger
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall, Jack Leonard and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
Four more women have come forward to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger fondled, spanked or touched them in incidents they said took place as recently as 2000 and as long ago as 1979.
In all, 15 women have now accused the Republican candidate for governor of grabbing or groping them. On the campaign trail Saturday, Schwarzenegger denounced as a "puke campaign" news reports that he has behaved abusively toward women.
The women who agreed Saturday to tell their stories publicly are:
A 51-year-old woman who said Schwarzenegger pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him at a West Los Angeles post-production studio in 2000.
Tamee Smith, 46, who said Schwarzenegger followed her into a bathroom on a studio lot and grabbed her breast during work on the movie "Predator" in 1986.
Jan Prinzmetal, 50, who said Schwarzenegger reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks outside a Venice gym in the mid-1980s.
Elizabeth Rothner, 45, who said Schwarzenegger lifted her sweatshirt at a popular Santa Monica bar in 1979, exposing her bare breasts before a crowd.
The Times provided details of each of the new allegations to Schwarzenegger's campaign Saturday. The candidate's spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Schwarzenegger had said that the accounts of three of the women were untrue. Walsh said Schwarzenegger had no recollection of the alleged Venice gym incident.
...
TruthOut permacopy (2nd story on page)
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .5
Learning Percentage: 50%
Fight to the finish before historic vote
Fight to the finish before historic vote / Davis wants criminal investigation
Sunday, October 5, 2003
Fresno -- Gov. Gray Davis, spending the final days of the recall campaign surrounded by women and prominent Democrats, suggested Saturday that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger committed a crime of sexual battery and should be investigated by law enforcement.
The governor's comments were a significant escalation of his rhetoric against his chief Republican rival in Tuesday's recall campaign. The allegations about Schwarzenegger's conduct with women, and statements he is reported to have made about Adolf Hitler, provided the Davis campaign with a dose of optimism -- mixed with astonishment at the extraordinary events over the past couple of days.
...
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L.4
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 25%
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
Why wasn't Davis investigated too?
By Jill Stewart
Excerpts:
I couldn't have been more shocked to see the lurid stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the things several women allege he uttered or did to them. But it wasn't over the allegations, which I had read much of in a magazine before. I was most shocked at the Los Angeles Times.
Some politicos dub the Thursday before a big election "Dirty Tricks Thursday." That's the best day for an opponent to unload his bag of filth against another candidate, getting maximum headlines, while giving his stunned opponent no time to credibly investigate or respond to the charges.
It creates a Black Friday, where the candidate spends a precious business day right before the election desperately investigating the accusations, before facing a weekend in which reporters only care about further accusations that invariably spill out of the woodwork.
Dirty Tricks Thursday is not used by the media to sink a campaign.
Yet the Times managed to give every appearance of trying to do so. ...
...
If the Times were a tabloid, this would hardly matter. But the newspaper is influential at times, and claims it has high standards. In this case, the paper gave in to its bias against Schwarzenegger:
Here's my proof:
Since at least 1997, the Times has been sitting on information that Gov. Gray Davis is an "office batterer" who has attacked female members of his staff, thrown objects at subservients and launched into red-faced fits, screaming the f-word until staffers cower.
...
Weeks ago, Times editors sent two teams of reporters to dig dirt on Schwarzenegger, one on his admitted use of steroids as a bodybuilder, one on the old charges of groping women from Premiere Magazine.
Who did the editors assign, weeks ago, to investigate Davis' violence against women who work for him?
Nobody.
...
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 70%
October 05, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
October 04, 2003
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
If I'm not mistaken, this is the big story that started all the recent hoorah. (Deserved hoorah, in my opinion...though the timing is definitely suspect.)
Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them
The acts allegedly took place over three decades. A campaign aide denies the accusations.
October 2, 2003
By Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writers
Six women who came into contact with Arnold Schwarzenegger on movie sets, in studio offices and in other settings over the last three decades say he touched them in a sexual manner without their consent.
In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks.
A fifth woman said Schwarzenegger groped her and tried to remove her bathing suit in a hotel elevator. A sixth said Schwarzenegger pulled her onto his lap and asked whether a certain sexual act had ever been performed on her.
According to the women's accounts, one of the incidents occurred in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, two in the 1990s and one in 2000.
"Did he rape me? No," said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter in which she said Schwarzenegger touched her breast. "Did he humiliate me? You bet he did."
...
Read It Rating: 7.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 75%
Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
I couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a piece of the search engine pie with this one. I am going to resist actually hosting the picture here though. You can cruise over to Brian Flemming's weblog for that:
Brian Flemming's Weblog: Arnold Schwarzenegger nude photo
Beware: you will actually see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked, with his privates showing and all.
Read It Rating: ?
Left/Right Rating: ?
Freedom Rating: ?
Learning Percentage: ?%
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Schwarzenegger Sows Doubt Among State Environmentalists
Recent remark, later clarified by aides, about the possibility of scrapping Cal/EPA only bolsters skepticism.
October 3, 2003
By Miguel Bustillo And Marla Cone, Times Staff Writers
When Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested this week that he would consider eliminating the California Environmental Protection Agency to cut government waste, he cemented what has emerged as a near-universal distrust of his gubernatorial candidacy among conservationists.
Schwarzenegger has made a concerted play for the environmental vote, tapping his wife's cousin, prominent conservation attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to help fashion his platform. His campaign pronouncements more closely match the environmental views of the man he wants to replace in Tuesday's recall election, Democrat Gray Davis, than those of his fellow Republican, President Bush.
Yet he has failed to sway a single major environmental organization to his side, and most conservationists continue to view the actor, famous for driving a gas-guzzling Hummer, with deep skepticism.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 30%
California Recall Archives
I just wanted to post a more prominent link to the ever-growing California Recall Archives here at The Little Brown Reader. I'm soaking recall articles up like a sponge lately -- there were 14 recall-related entries in the past 3 days. I'm mostly watching closely to see if there's enough of a defection from Arnold to motivate the No On Recall movement, or to shift a critical mass over to support super-conservative-but-well-respected Tom McClintock.
Enjoy the archives! They may only matter for a few more days. ;-)
(I haven't decided whether I'll start new archives for the recall that's likely to start shortly after this election.)
Anthony Gregory : Last-minute notes on the California recall
Last-minute notes on the California recall
by Anthony Gregory
Now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself, and the California recall is back on, libertarians of this state have only a few days to finalize their voting strategy.
Since my last article on the subject, I have had some new thoughts on the matter. I have looked more closely at some candidates whom I did not mention in the last piece I wrote. Some friends of mine have pointed out some incompleteness in my analysis. All of these considerations -- along with the time of the election, creeping up quickly -- have inspired me to reorganize my opinions on the controversy at hand into this polemic sequel.
...
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .04
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and women - Premiere article from 2001
Lots of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women, in this article that was published before Arnold had any specific political ambitions.
March 2001 Premiere magazine story on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .8
Learning Percentage: 90%
The B-Team
We know how the contenders are spending the weekend, but what about recall's second stringers?
by Bill Whalen
10/03/2003 8:50:00 AM
Read It Rating: 2
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 3%
3 More Women Allege Arnold Misconduct
3 More Women Allege Misconduct
October 4, 2003
In all, 11 women have said Schwarzenegger touched them without their consent. The candidate denies new allegations.
By Tracy Weber, Sue Fox and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers
Three more women said Friday that Arnold Schwarzenegger had grabbed or groped them.
The new allegations against the Republican front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis came a day after he issued a blanket apology for "behaving badly" in the past.
The women who spoke Friday are:
An assistant director on the 1988 film "Twins," who said the actor had regularly undressed in front of her in his trailer. Once, she said, he pulled her down on a bed while he was wearing only underwear. His behavior on the set, said Linnea Harwell, who has since left the entertainment industry, prompted her to warn women who came to her with concerns never to be alone with Schwarzenegger.
Carla Baron, a stand-in on the same movie set, who said the actor had sandwiched her between himself and a crew member and forced his tongue into her mouth.
Collette Brooks, an intern at CNN in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, who said Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks and told her she had a "nice ass." She said the incident occurred in a stairwell when she was 23 and that it had left her scared and shaken. She spoke about her alleged encounter at an event organized by opponents to Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
Read It Rating: 8.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 70%
Effect of Arnold Allegations Is Unpredictable
Effect of Allegations Is Unpredictable
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A08
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- For two months, the focus of the California recall election has been Gov. Gray Davis's (D) performance in office. Today that focus abruptly shifted to Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women, throwing a roadblock into the path of the front-running actor and introducing a volatile and unpredictable issue into the campaign's final days.
Coming at such a late hour, the accusations against the action-film star could easily be dismissed by many voters here as political dirty tricks. But the charges, detailed in today's Los Angeles Times, were serious enough and credible enough to prompt a partial confirmation and startling apology from the candidate.
Whether that confession will push the issue to the sidelines or merely fan the flames of the controversy was the question of the day among Schwarzenegger's supporters and opponents. But no one regarded it as insignificant.
...
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 10%
Kubby: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
WorldNetDaily: Libertarians endorse GOP's McClintock!
Posted: October 4, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Steve Kubby
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A strange thing is happening in California politics: The GOP is turning its back on a popular, conservative Republican to support a Hollywood actor who opposes nearly every social issue the Republicans claim to stand for.
Meanwhile, Libertarians across the state of California are making an unprecedented exodus from the Libertarian party's candidate and instead supporting California state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican. Nothing like this has happened before in the Libertarian Party and it speaks volumes about the character and integrity of Tom McClintock.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Smashing "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
In "The Great Compromise", Anthony Gancarski attacks "The Conservative Case for Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(There is no real conservative case for Arnold Schwarzenegger, BTW.)
'The Great Compromise' by Anthony Gancarski
Read It Rating: 7
Left/Right Rating: R2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 15%
Arianna's "No On the Recall" Speech
This speech is worth listening to. It's short -- it appears she gave this statement in lieu of appearing in the debate last night, though I'm not sure about that part.
It's currently featured on the top left of her site's Video Vault page. Here is the link to the low bandwidth Windows Media Player version.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 5%
October 02, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
October 01, 2003
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Arnold grabbed breasts, admired Hitler (?)
S A N D I E G O, Calif., Oct. 2— California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his bus tour of California today amid allegations of sexual harassment and anti-Semitism.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 30%
OC Weekly: The (Progressive) Case for Governor Tom McClintock
This author hits the nail right straight on the head, in my opinion. I love it when other people say exactly what I was planning on saying, but better than I would have. It saves me time, and ultimately serves the cause of spreading the word better.
The Case for Governor Tom McClintock
Why progressives should vote for the most conservative candidate in the race to replace Gray Davis
by R. Scott Moxley
Three weeks before the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, state Senator Tom McClintock stood outside the Irvine Transportation Center and told reporters why he should replace Governor Gray Davis. Standing at a makeshift podium, his demeanor seemed, if possible, simultaneously nonchalant and stiff. He looked—there’s no other way to put it—comfortable being uncomfortable. He makes bargain-shoe salesmen look charismatic.
His words, though passionate, weren’t memorable, which isn’t really a problem: if you’ve watched any five-minute McClintock interview in the past year, you’ve likely heard everything he has to say. Yes, you were probably startled by his intense, cockeyed stare; encyclopedic knowledge of government intricacies; or social stands to the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But don’t be frightened. Despite initial appearances, McClintock is the best choice to serve as governor of California for the next three years.
***
Let me explain.
Start with character. Unlike his top competition—Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cruz Bustamante—McClintock does not lie, duck debates, accept illegal contributions, hide from reporters, flip-flop positions, defend crooks, pander to special interests, place party loyalty over principles, rely on one-liners, award no-bid contracts, surround himself with sleazy advisors or pretend good government is as simple as marketing a movie.
Let’s be blunter: even if McClintock was as ruthlessly ambitious and unprincipled as the other candidates (he isn’t), he would still deserve support in this special election.
Why?
Checks and balances.
I’m hardly a conservative, but the Democrats—rulers of all three branches of state government for the past four years—have proven themselves unwilling to control taxes, spending and bureaucratic growth. After four years of Davis, California’s $10 billion surplus became a $38 billion deficit last fiscal year. For those of you counting, that’s a $48,000,000,000 flip. Note the zeroes: it’s enough money to fund several small- and medium-sized federal agencies for the next 50 years.
Is there reason for alarm? Not, apparently, if you’re Davis or his Democratic allies in the legislature. They’ve spent like whiskey-drunk business guys on an expense-account trip to Vegas.
Read It Rating: 10
Left/Right Rating: L3
Freedom Rating: 2
Learning Percentage: 25%
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'
Count me in on that group.
McClintock Sticks to Calif. Recall Race
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
October 1, 2003, 9:36 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- With little more than a week left in California's recall race, Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to make his victory seem inevitable. But his more conservative Republican rival isn't going away.
State Sen. Tom McClintock has stuck firmly -- some say obstinately -- to his pledge to race to the end, even at the risk of splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrats to stay in power even if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
"I have never been popular in the country club wing of the Republican party," McClintock said in an interview Sunday before another full day of campaigning. "I've always drawn my strength from grassroots voters, and I'm quite content with that."
The pressure on McClintock to drop out and throw his votes to Schwarzenegger -- a political rookie whose moderate views are shared by many Democrats -- has been intense. Most high-level GOP endorsements have gone to Schwarzenegger, who has led McClintock in every poll, and Republican strategists warn that his career could suffer if he stays in.
But McClintock, a 47-year-old career politician who has earned his conservative credentials during almost 17 years in the state Legislature, refuses to bow to critics who call him the Ralph Nader of the Republican Party, referring to the Green Party's 2000 presidential candidate widely asserted to have received votes that otherwise would have gone to Democrat Al Gore.
McClintock prefers to compare himself to Seabiscuit -- the scrappy California race horse who outran the establishment. He said he believes millions of voters will embrace his anti-tax, anti-abortion, pro-gun philosophy.
"I believe in the final days of the campaign we'll see a lot of voters who prefer me but doubt I can win coming back in droves," McClintock said. "The crowds have been phenomenal. They say, 'Don't you dare drop out, we need someone to believe in.'"
Read It Rating: 9.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .4
Learning Percentage: 15%
California recall: Does one man hold key?
It's pretty glaringly obvious that Tom McClintock would be the best candidate (out of the frontrunner pack) for California to elect in the upcoming recall -- and I think that an awful lot of leftward voters, if forced to do a gut check, would tend to agree, despite his socially conservative and immigrant-unfriendly stances. He appears to be principled and straightforward to a nearly unprecendented extent for a candidate from the TwoParty.
And it speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they have all-but betrayed him in favor of the mish-mash of unknowns and government-friendliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The volumes that it speaks say, in short, "We are vote-and-power whores with no real political compass."
Barring some sort of funky development, the real race that I'm watching in this coming week is whether Tom McClintock will stand firm and refuse to bow out of the race, despite the super-heavyweight pressure that will be levied on him in the next few days. From what I've gathered about him, he's not going anywhere, no matter who pressures him. I hope that's the case.
On the other hand, if the compromisers in the state and national GOP are successful in their efforts to crush his will -- well, at least there won't be any more room for mystery about what that party stands for.
For the record, it's because of that abhorrent, immoral party which Senator McClintock chooses to align with, and not because of the laundry list of issues I disagree with him on, that he won't be getting my vote. The only way that would change is if Tom wised up and quit the foul party that is trying to befoul him. Which is to say, if he promised to switch to be an independent if elected (or just switched now), I'd vote for him. I don't think he's quite zany and frisky enough to do something like that, but I do think that if he did, there are a lot of California voters who would decide to deal with his gay-unfriendly, immigrant-unfriendly, abortion-unfriendly views, in order to vote for someone who seems to be truly honest and committed to his principles -- plus a true fiscal conservative with the knowledge and wherewithal to go to town on the budget.
He has gone from low single-digits to around twenty percent in the polls -- essentially, his poll numbers go up every time he's in a televised debate. And I get the same reaction from people whether talking to my Green friends, my Democrat friends, or my independent friends -- they all are impressed by Tom because he seems like a uniquely honest straight shooter (and they all disagree with him on pretty much the same things I do -- his social conservative views).
It's not often that I'm impressed by a candidate from one of the Bipartisan parties, but this zany recall election has brought one to light.
One bright spot, regardless of the election results, is the sliver of evidence that McClintock's ever-rising numbers provide for the premise that (at least some) voters are more interested in a principled politician they can trust than that politician's specific policy stances. At least that's what I see. Tom's numbers aren't all coming from hardcore conservative Republicans, that's for sure. And he has something like a 60% favorability rating, in a state that's only 35% Republican. That right there is pretty freakin' nutty.
California recall: Does one man hold key?
Tom McClintock, top GOP conservative, could tilt race for or against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BURBANK, CALIF. -- Republican candidate Tom McClintock laughs from deep in the belly when asked if he will be the "spoiler" in the great populist revolution/experiment/circus of California's gubernatorial recall election.
"My opponents say I'm the Ross Perot of this campaign, possibly siphoning off enough votes to hand the election to Democrats," he says, settling onto a shady park bench for an interview. "I say, 'Wait a minute.... Ross Perot was an idle millionaire, with no public-policy experience who one day on a whim entered the presidential race.' That sounds like another candidate in this race ... not me," he says, referring to muscleman/millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Once a mere asterisk in the con- fused calculus of California's 135-candidate recall election, Mr. McClintock has gradually emerged as the strong, third-place vote getter in polls - rising (at 14-to-18 points) while the two leaders - fellow Republican Schwarzenegger (26 points) and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (28 points) - tread water.
...
"He is by far the most studied and experienced of all the candidates in fiscal issues and how to implement public policy," says Jack Pitney, political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "If the election were a college SAT test, McClintock would be the next governor hands down."
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: %
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
'X' factor in recall: Who will vote?
LOS ANGELES – Laurie Benton says she has never been so aggressively glad-handed, back-slapped, and chatted up by perfect strangers in her whole life.
"I've gotten mailings from five candidates," says the San Fernando Valley homemaker, "fliers on two citizen's initiatives, driving directions to the nearest voting booths, and two guides on how to vote absentee."
Ms. Benton is part of a growing group of Californians - newly registered voters with no party affiliation - who are making it all but impossible to forecast how next week's gubernatorial recall vote will turn out.
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 0
Learning Percentage: 35%
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Shifts Campaign to Defeat the Recall, Arnold and Prop 54
Arianna Huffington delivered the following statement on September 30, 2003.
Over the last 48 hours it has become clear to me that the only way to stop a Republican takeover of our state is to vote No on the recall.
Because it's also clear that I am not going to win on October 7, I am withdrawing from the race so that I can devote all my time and energy in the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state.
Read It Rating: 5
Left/Right Rating: L5
Freedom Rating: .2
Learning Percentage: 8%
September 24, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%
September 21, 2003
Libertarian options in the California recall
Libertarian options in the California recall
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 2%