NY Times : Schwarzenegger Win Could Have Downside for Bush

[Manix]

<snip>

Mr. Bush's advisers have long been concerned that the pleasure of removing Mr. Davis from office would come with a cost: a wheelbarrow of fiscal and governance problems dumped into the lap of an inexperienced new Republican governor.

And now, several Republicans say, the flurry of last-minute stories about Mr. Schwarzenegger's past — including repeated accusations of improper sexual advances toward women and a report that he once expressed admiration for Hitler — suggest that a victory for the actor might prove a dubious prize for the Republican Party, while presenting complications for Mr. Bush in 2004.

Indeed, analysts and some Republicans said on Sunday that Mr. Bush might not want to be too closely associated with a Governor Schwarzenegger, particularly after two years in which the president has made an effort to fortify his standing with two groups that presumably are paying particular attention to events here: women and Jewish voters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/06/politics/06CALI.html

[Punkingal]

1. I certainly hope if Arnold gets in......

we at least get the satisfaction of it being a problem for Bush.

[bluestateguy]

2. Yep

I know it goes against conventional wisdom here, but I have always thought that the White House was rather lukewarm on the recall thing anyway. Notice * has not been to Cal. to campaign for Schwarzenegger: *'s approval ratings are in the low 40's in CA. I do think they ARE more involved in the reredistricting situation in Texas and Colorado.

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. That doesn't explain why the Carlyle group is running Arnold's campaign

You have to watch these people bery closely. A lot of what you see and read in the news is planted. Most of it, in fact.

Click Here To See Fair & Balanced Buttons, Stickers & Magnets!>

[Fight_n_back]

3. If Bush wins CA

then I will have no choice but to leave the state.

[Classical_Liberal]

4. These groping hitler allegations are so republicanlike

that I wonder if it is the repukes that are after him.

[NJCher]

6. republican-like

That may be, but look at how often we criticize the Dems for not playing hardball. It is said these allegations do not originate with Davis but if they did, wouldn't it be a plus to see a Dem who doesn't roll over for these kinds of tactics? Who returns fire with fire?

The fact of the matter is that republicans live in glass houses. There is no excuse for letting them get away with what they have with their slime politics. Once they learn that our side can roll around in the mud with them, they may have to give up these sleazeball tactics.


Cher

[Vogon_Glory]

7. Arnie Wins: Downside For Republicans

I suspect that while a Schwarzenegger win would be a blow to Democrats, it's not going to be so peaches and cream for the Republicans. Arnie gets to deal with what the Pubbies have been doing to California.

To begin with, Arnie is going to have to deal with hard-right Republican California legislators. While they're not as powerful as their counterparts here in Texas, they'll probably start pushing parts of their right-wing social and political agenda that are repellent to the rest of California's electorate.

Are the right-wing California Republicans willing to play nice with the other kids or will they insist on doing what Republicans have done in DC, Texas, and elsewhere?

I haven't even touched on what Bush and Enron have done to the Golden State, not to mention continuing budget cuts and continuing layoffs.

If the Iraqi situation explodes, and it may very well, being a Republican might be a drawback in its own right.