Is Arnold invincible?

[GRLMGC]

I see that he's popular and all. I'm wondering if there's any CA Dem w/ enough starpower to boot Arnold's ass outta Sacramento. I honestly don't think Arnold has been THAT horrible a governor but anyone who backs Bush must go down. I also wanna derail his chances at a presidency. Any suggestions?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Down with Arnold! His personal popularity has not gotten his...

fellow Rethugs much. He could not deliver the state to Bush (who lost by 10 points) and he lost a few seats in the State House. Arnold's popularity is only personal.

[GregD]

2. With Diebold well-entrenched throughout the state,

anyone the power structure wants is invincible. We saw that this week.

[Helga Scow Stern]

17. Yep. Until we get rid of BBV and other vote fraud, of course he is.

I am sorry to say it, but the point is hardly worth discussing w/o framing in these terms.

[fearnobush]

3. Steroids.... He's a Steroid junky. Over masculated narcisist.

Tell the Freeps, If Arnoldt could be Pres... So could George Soros.

[bliss_eternal]

4. I don't trust him. I don't feel he is invincible....

...any ideas on how to start to take him down? I think it was a slap in the face of CA that he campaigned for B.

What can we do? We've got at least of year of work ahead of us,let's make the most of it...

[Helga Scow Stern]

18. Better start by securing the vote.

[helnwhls]

5. No

[GRLMGC]

6. Well I'm ready to take him down

We need a candidate. And someone w/ iron balls and charisma or else we WON'T be able to beat him. I think we'll be able to use his support for Bush against him w/ Dems who approve of him.

[AndyTiedye]

15. We Don't Even Need a Candidate Really. TOTAL RECALL 2

We just need to get the Enron meeting stuff out there.
The rest should take care of itself.

Yes, It is OK to take it out on the Gropenator.
Why wait until 2006 or 2008 to start geting back at them?

He probably did win Booosh a few votes in Ohio,
and that's a few too many.

We don't need a candidate yet,
they didn't have one when they started the last recall.

TOTAL RECALL 2.
This time the sequel will be much better than the original.

[bemildred]

7. Hardly. nt

[yurbud]

8. 2 things to do

1. start hammering Arnold now

Democrats should only refer to him as the "wealthy celebrity governor" and themselves as "just folks."

How many other male californians get botox, manicures, facials, face lifts, and shave their chest and bunghole? (I'm working on a "girlie man" illustration pointing this out today).

Connect him to the hardcore conservatives who support him. Although Arnold takes more moderate cultural stands, his tax, spending, regulatory, and labor positions are identical to the radical conservatives.

Arnold is AFRAID of real reporters and open press conferences. Encourage papers to keep track of the days between his press conferences and goof on any softball questions he gets.

Questions Arnold (and every politician) should be asked:

which interests do you consider "special" and which are legitimate?

Why are low taxes for the rich more important than good public schools and first rate colleges and universities that all Californians can afford to go to?

You are part of the richest 1% of the state. How would your quality of life be harmed if your state taxes were raised 2-3%?

When have you put the interests of workers or consumers AHEAD of big business?

Why do you want to deregulate energy further after their price manipulation and extortion of the state before the recall?

Would you encourage the attorney general to prosecute Ken Lay and other energy executives for racketeering in their manipulation of our electricity market?

More anti-Arnold websites like arnoldwatch.org. Put his face and the url on flyers and stickers and distribute liberally, especially where those who are religious and far right might see them. Or postcards. Who do you talk to get your postcard in those things in grocery stores where the free AOL disks are?

2. Find a likable native-born celebrity to run against him,

like Mike Farrell or Danny Glover. I've heard Rob Reiner is thinking of running, but give me a break. Meathead vs. the Terminator: how hard is that to figure which way it will break? The ideal candidate would be Tom Hanks, but I don't know if he's that interested in politics.

This might seem to contradict my earlier point about making fun of Arnold for being a celebrity, but the right works both angles at once, making fun of celebrity activists while backing Arnold, so it's not likely people will see the contradiction the other way.

A celebrity candidate could make fun of Arnold for being an empty suit who just reads a script his corporate masters give him. Our celeb will read the script of the people of California and the story is happy ending with California restored to it's former greatness not dragged further down the conservative path to Mississippi levels of misery and mediocre education and Third World wages and corporate accountability.

The choice Americans have now is not between conservatism and liberalism but two models of capitalism: european with a strong middle class, or third world with a few wealthy people living in a gated community and the rest of us living in shanties in a garbage dump

[newyawker99]

19. Hi yurbud!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[yurbud]

9. TARGET COLLEGE KIDS

many college students voted for Arnold against their own self-interests.

I took the article on his education cuts and showed it to my college students, and told them "this is how he thanks you for your vote."

The draft got kids out for the presidential election, and if you make them see how Arnold is screwing them personally, they will vote.

Again though, you have to repeat and pound this incessantly, in every way possible.

[solarspa]

10. Schwarzenegger calls Democrats 'losers'

"Two days after the worst election defeat in decades for the national Democratic Party, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger referred to leaders of the state's majority party as "losers' in response to a reporter's question about tax increases."

I've had enough of this pretend governor. He hasn't done much of anything except make wise cracks. We need to start building a case right now and keep building it. I said it during the recall election: He has no credentials at all to be governor of California--its a joke.

[bliss_eternal]

11. Great ideas! Let's do this!

I am going to start perusing the local papers for ANY thing S related, to get proof of the policies that he is endorsing that are in direct conflict with the promises he made to California. Also to get proof of where he is pushing his own agenda and not the interests of this state. Then send them to any and everyone within OUR media that may be interested in facilitatiing taking him down next Gov. election day.

Point one is the fact that he went to Ohio to stump for Bush after saying he would not. I know he did because a DU'er provided links to the article quotes (now I have to find them again). B is NOT pro-California. He denied us funds that may have prevented the devastating fires over a year ago. This state has never provided him with electoral votes, and that pisses him off. S is clearly working on his own interests in a political career, beyond CA.

He just called Dems losers (as stated in prior post). Do we really need a Gov. that thinks the main base of his constituency are losers? Granted many seemed to have voted for him here, those that live in gated communities in CA, that have money, etc. But do they make up more of this stat than we do?

[solarspa]

12. sent this off to Ahnold

Dear Mr. Schwarzenegger,

I am weary of your stupid remarks. You represent this State of California and so you should do so with some dignity. I am a democrat. You have bad mouthed me now during the worst of times. Let me remind you that you represent all of the citizens of California. You do not have the luxury of mouthing off in an undignified way with impunity.

You straighten up or you are out. I will begin working tomorrow to get you out if you do not represent all of California’s citizens. You are starting to sound like Bush…who we all know only represents half of America.

[GRLMGC]

13. ooh

great e-mail. I may send one out myself.

[George_S]

14. I don't want him to straighten up...

... just out.

Media Group Seeks Schwarznegger's Records

JIM WASSERMAN

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Days after California voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to make government records more available to the public, a media-backed group is asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to release all his appointment calendars, schedules and meeting logs since taking office last November.

The California First Amendment Coalition, a group of journalists and civic activists formed in 1988, mailed the request to Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, the day Proposition 59 became part of the state constitution.

The measure requires judges to interpret state law broadly to allow the public access to state and local government documents and meetings. With no organized opposition, it passed with 83 percent support on Tuesday.

An aide to the governor said the Schwarzenegger administration had not seen the letter Friday and had no immediate comment.

The request requires a response from the governor within 10 days. A denial of the request by the governor could lead to lawsuits.

CFAC Executive Director Peter Scheer said the request "will be of huge interest to historians, to journalists who cover politics and the governor in Sacramento. It will be suggestive of what special interests have the governor's ear and how much access they have and what issues mean most to them."

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10110588.htm?1c

[bliss_eternal]

16. This is GREAT news!

Definitely an excellent start to taking him out.

Solarspa--hope you see this, I like your letter/e-mail too. I don't want him to behave any differently than he has. I just want him out. Fired!

The suggestion that we start with the youth is a good one. His new policies are impacting them a great deal, with the increases in college costs. Anyone have suggestions of how to get the word out to them, in a 'user friendly' way?

If we start educating them now, it will fare better for all of us when it comes time to start electing and campaigning for a new guy.

Any thoughts or ideas? Info tables at jr. colleges and universities? Voter registrations that include information?

[Milo_Bloom]

20. Yes and no

Arnold isn't invicible, but he is damn close, especially if the dems make the mistake of trying to run a celebrity against a celebrity.

The dems really need to find a CEO type. NON-POLITICIAN, NON-CELEBRITY, someone who seems really interested in fixing the problems. A Ross Perot type without the wackiness.

You then run the election on the grounds of solutions vs. ego. Arnold is all ego, catch phrases and the like. That will only stand up if you run a similar candidate against him.

TAKE ARNOLD OUT OF HIS ELEMENT and you have something. Force him to answer tough policy questions. Give business like analysis to the state's financial problems and show how it can be fixed. Arnold is a celebrity and he is damn good at being one. Why give him the chance to run at what he does best????

[Merlot]

21. I DO think Arnold has been a horrible governor.

I don't think he should "go down" just because he backed bush. He's a republican, what did you think he would do? No, when you look at his record and his special interest links, it's obvious that he must go for these reasons. Had he been in a real election, instead of a (republican funded) recall election, and had to take the time and patience to actually campaign, my guess is he probably wouldn't have been elected.

I think by the time the next election rolls around people will be less enamored by his "starpower."

Now is the time for us to find a good candidate and get to work.