Salon: George Bush*s Terminator Problem

[kskiska]

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be the GOP's best shot yet at a California comeback. But his playboy ways and pro-choice politics make him anathema to the president's allies on the Christian right

A few months after the U.S. Supreme Court called off the counting and awarded the presidency to George W. Bush, a New York Times reporter asked Republican strategist Karl Rove about the future for Republicans in California. The overall outlook was bleak. Al Gore had trounced Bush in the state without even trying; Democrats held virtually every statewide elective office and a huge lead in voter registration; and the California Republican Party was dysfunctional and in disarray. For the chief White House political strategist, there was just one bright spot in the Golden State: the hope that Arnold Schwarzenegger might someday run for governor. "That would be nice," Rove told the Times. "That would be really nice. That would be really, really nice."

Well, maybe.

(snip)

Sheldon's group has launched an anti-Arnie project called Californians for Moral Government. James Lafferty, a consultant for the group, said its work is just the first rumbling of an earthquake to come. "There's a gathering storm on the right," Lafferty told Salon Sunday. "Rush Limbaugh, Michael Reagan and, we have been told, a number of other prominent conservatives are going to come out against Schwarzenegger and say he's not a real conservative."

There is plenty of evidence to support the charge. Schwarzenegger has expressed support for abortion rights, gay adoption and gun control. During Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton, Schwarzenegger said he was "embarrassed" to be a Republican. And in an interview with Salon in 2001, he said he supported George W. Bush but that "it would have been better if he had really won, instead of through the courts."

Limbaugh and Reagan have both expressed their concerns about Schwarzenegger on their radio shows and in columns, and Lafferty predicted that other conservative Republicans, including Col. Oliver North, will soon join the chorus.

more…
http://salon.com/news/feature/2003/08/12/recall/index.html

[Gloria]

1. Problem? Seems like this would make him more appealing to the

average, non-rabid conservative voters. I think it's a clever ploy to push voters TOWARD Arnold, not away from him!

[ilpostino]

2. Let's hope...

That none of our "Arnold is a Nazi" friends at DU read this; it might destroy their current favorite fantasy. Then again, maybe not.

[Octafish]

3. Arnold's no NAZI. Michael Reagan seems to be.

Same goes for those around Duhbya, from Cheney to Rumsfeld. Haven't you noticed?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

4. Let Us Hope that all of the Right Wingers jump on Arnie and Divide the....

Republican Ticket. This could also hurt Arnie's UNDESERVED CREDIBILITY TOO and help a Dem win this thing!