Did Arnold miss his chance?

[Big Train]

I read an interesting piece in the WSJ yesterday that argued that the Guvernator missed his chance to become a national figure, essentially by knuckling under to his own state government.

If he had fought all the way as an unpopular reformer, when he got to this point, would he be seen as a hero cleaning up California, given the way that his reforms were batted down at the election? If he had just wielded the ax like Conan all this time, fighting the good fight?

My gut reaction is yes, but I don't know. He could just as easily be presented as ineffective.

My fellow CA voters, how say you? Would you vote for him again. How do you see him in the light of 2009?

[flappo]

arnie rules , ok ?

[GAR]

AHHnowld blew it. Fuck um!

Blow me Aahnowld.. oh yeah - you already did that's right!

- he blew the state reforms over immigration he promised
- he blew the state budget defecit spending reforms he promised
- he blew his promise to clean up the state overspending
- he blew the Caltrans funding from the Fed and threw it in the general fund.. gone! Almost 2 billion right there

I hate Schvahzienaahgooo

[sadaist]

My fellow CA voters, how say you? Would you vote for him again. How do you see him in the light of 2009?

Not a chance he will get my vote. He promised to clean up Sac and stop the crazy spending. However, taxes & spending have increased rapidly under his watch. He's been caught in several lies and just doesn't seem to know what the heck he's doing. When he campaigned, it was just another role for him, but when it came time to actually live the part & produce results he failed in epic style. Biblical proportion fail.

[hankster]

Thank god I live in NC, although we have the wonderful Bev Purdue to fuck up everything. I guess we aren't any better than CA. We are all screwed

[hideyoursheep]

Both you and your alias live in NC?

[ZahZoo]

The misconception that any one person could significantly produce wholesale change... no less at a level and size of the shit-hole California has turned into... is ridiculous!!

Arnold lacked the leadership and experience to bring in the necessary political tough guys to drive change into the CA political system. You can propose pie-in-the-sky stuff all day long from the govenor's office... but if you can't get the legislature and various entities to buy into it and make it happen... nothing goes anywhere.

The system of CA governement itself is built to resist wholesale change by it's nature alone. Then you compound that with the big money outfits competing for a piece of their lucrative pie... it's darn near impossible to get crap done.

Best bet... draw a line from Santa Barbara to Needles and sell everything south back to the Mexicans. Build a wall and a mote and shut off all access north. Let them keep Hollywood and all the nuts and fruits there... including their mascot Gar. Use the proceeds to renovate the rest of the state. Deport all the environmentalists to Oregon and annex Las Vegas & Reno from Nevada as a revenue source. Give Nevada Sacramento in trade...

Problem solved... got rid of 80% of the weirdos and that shithole LA. Increased the revenue and cleaned up the nicer part of the state.

[GAR]

NOW yer talkin'! Zahzoo for Dicktater of CA~!!


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[BITEYOASS]

I have an easy solution! Split California into 3 parts: LA Metro, Bay Area and the rest of California! :D

[Big Train]

The misconception that any one person could significantly produce wholesale change... no less at a level and size of the shit-hole California has turned into... is ridiculous!!

Arnold lacked the leadership and experience to bring in the necessary political tough guys to drive change into the CA political system. You can propose pie-in-the-sky stuff all day long from the govenor's office... but if you can't get the legislature and various entities to buy into it and make it happen... nothing goes anywhere.

The system of CA governement itself is built to resist wholesale change by it's nature alone. Then you compound that with the big money outfits competing for a piece of their lucrative pie... it's darn near impossible to get crap done.

Problem solved... got rid of 80% of the weirdos and that shithole LA. Increased the revenue and cleaned up the nicer part of the state.

Being that I live in that "shithole" you refer to, I'll take exception to that.

I agree that Arnie had no real juice when he came in to begin with, but the larger point is that the tide is turning now. IF he had stuck to his guns and campaign promises, he would have gone a long stretch looking ineffectual and weak, but now APPEAR to be correct and would have some juice. But by rolling over for years, he just appears weak and ineffectual, period.

[ZahZoo]

Being that I live in that "shithole" you refer to, I'll take exception to that.

I'm a recovering Californian... born and raised there. Left in 85 and never looked back.