The View From Arlen

Posted 3:52 PM by Hank
STILL NO "CONTROLLING LEGAL AUTHORITY" I GUESS

Remember how former Vice President Al Gore was caught engaging in illegal fundraising, both at a Buddhist Temple and from the White House itself? Al's defense, as you might recall, was to say that there was "no controlling legal authority" and then calling for more campaign finance reform laws. Most Democrats, and some Republicans, also called for more laws. Eventually the "McCain Feingold" law was passed.

As usual, however, no authority is "controlling" enough for the party of Clinton. It looks like the Democrats--after claiming to support campaign finance reform--are once again working over time to skirt the law. According to the Associated Press: Democratic-leaning interest groups are emerging as a "shadow party" working to raise millions of dollars to try to defeat President Bush while working around a new law designed to take big money out of politics.

Well, at least they're consistent...consistently crooked.

Posted 12:36 PM by Hank
ARNOLD TO GOP:
"COME VIT ME IF YOU VANT TO LIVE"

As nearly everyone in the free world (and even Ithaca, the City of Evil) has heard, box-office superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced he is running for California Governor in the wake of the pending recall election of incumbant Grey Davis.

Early reports have Arnold, a Republican, holding a commanding lead in the polls. Given that California is the largest state in the nation, and given that Arnold is a Republican, you would think that every Republican on earth would be wildly ecstatic right now.

Unfortunately, that isn't so. As is, sadly, too often the case, a vocal minority of the GOP is working on shooting the party in the foot again.

Rather than rejoice at the possibility of a "Terminator Juggernaut" (which would be a great title for a movie, by the way), some on the right are complaining that Arnold isn't conservative enough.

Instead of uniting behind an electable candidate, they're whining that Arnold, who is, admittedly, a moderate to liberal Republican, is not "ideologically pure" enough for them. So they are throwing support at different candidates, including Bill Simon (who lost to Davis just last year--now there's a track record) and complete unknowns like Tom McClintock and Rebecca Jackson.

The Republicans who are doing so are, in my opinion, shooting themselves, and the party, in the foot, for a number of reasons.

First off, they forget that California is not a conservative state. A Republican presidential candidate has not carried the state since 1988. They are represented in the U.S. Senate by two of the biggest liberals out there, Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and in Congress by, among others, ultra-liberal Nancy Pelosi. Their Federal Appeals Court is the infamous Ninth Circuit, that banned the Pledge of Allegience. Two of its largest cities are Los Angeles (home to every Hollywood leftie from Barbra Streisand to Susan Sarandon) and San Francisco (nuff said). In fact, in California, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 1.5 million voters.

Therefore, the only way for the Republicans to win a governorship is to win over Democrats. And a conservative candidate is not going to do that. But Arnold, a more liberal Republican married to a Kennedy, and blessed with superstar charisma, can.

In addition, an Arnold win has repercussions for the entire nation. Because of its size, California can help decide the 2004 Presidential race.

As noted in Insight magazine, "a Republican governor would do wonders for President George W. Bush's effort to win California's 55 electoral votes in the fall of next year, say GOP activists..

Furthermore, an Arnold win is not just good for President Bush. It's bad for the Clintons.

The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that "[Former President Bill] Clinton has been [to California] a couple of times and is managing the [Davis campaign] by phone. If Davis survives, he'll owe it to the Clintons. Then, if Hillary jumps into the presidential race, she'll have the California delegates locked up as well as the ones in New York." On the other hand, if and when Davis loses, and Arnold wins, that's another nail the Clinton coffin, coming on the heels of the disasterous showings for candidates he supported in last year's House and Senate races.

So, to recap, an Arnold Schwarzenegger victory would give the Republicans the governorship of the largest state in the nation (and one the most liberal). It would help cement a victory for President Bush in 2004 and embarrass Slick Willie and the Hildebeast. So what's not to like?

Politics has always been the art of compromise...and about winning elections. Arnold may not be the most conservative candidate out there, but he's certainly the most electable. For that reason alone, Republicans ought to get behind him...or resign themselves to running behind the Democrats one more time.