Reason No. 1 to defeat Arnold:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

President Bush with Governor-elect Schwarzenegger

This hurts me just to think about, which is why I spent an hour putting this together.

[NYC]

1. Keep telling people about the connection between Schwarz. & Ken Lay.

Simple to understand.

[DS1]

2. Ken who?

will be the given reply.

[maxsolomon]

9. i think californians remember ken lay

its president moron that can't seem to remember this "mr. lay".

[DBoon]

8. Links?

I don't doubt this - but do you have links, preferable from "reputable" mainstream news orgs (ones with enough credibility to convince the skeptical)?

Also, in general what are the documented connections between the current budget crises and the energy crises? How much $$$ of the state surplus was whittled away to keep energy affordable?

Lastly, while I'm on a roll, anyone know where I can get a breakdown of the state budget, and what items have changed while Davis was gov? I'm trying to refute the Repub claim that he allowed the budget to grow by 30% on irresponsible frivilous luxuries. My gut instinct is that the growth was to compensate for years of REpub neglect of common public services, but some real numbers would be nice.

[w4rma]

10. Arnold's secret meeting with Kenny Boy

Joe Conason's Journal
When Arnold Schwarzenegger gets around to attacking Gov. Gray Davis for the state's energy fiasco, someone should ask why he appointed Pete Wilson his campaign chairman.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Aug. 11, 2003 | Arnold's secret meeting with Kenny Boy

If you're compiling a list of public figures even less popular in California than Gray Davis, one name is likely to top it: former Enron chairman Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay. Voters in the Golden State are behaving like sheep these days, but even the dimmest of them can probably remember how Enron and the other corporate vultures descended on them during the electricity "crisis" of 2001.

What California voters may no longer remember, however, is that after the third wave of rolling blackouts hit their state, Kenny Boy quietly summoned a select group to the Beverly Hills Hotel on May 11, 2001. And they may also have forgotten that one of the prominent Republicans who showed up at Lay's request was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

On June 21, 2001, the Associated Press reported that "Lay met secretly with California Republicans at the Beverly Hills Hotel and pushed a plan that called for ratepayers to pay the billions in debt racked up by the state's public utilities. The plan contended that federal investigations of price gouging are hindering the situation." According to William Bradley, the L.A. Weekly's sharp political columnist who wrote about Enron for the American Prospect, the meeting revolved around Lay's plans to "preserve deregulation" in California. The L.A. Times noted that Lay was seeking the support of Schwarzenegger and the other GOP luminaries for even greater deregulation. Apparently Lay wanted help in saving a lousy system, squeezing the unfortunate Californians even more, and avoiding accountability for their plight.
…
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2003/08/11/enron/index.html

[NewYorkerfromMass]

11. Found it here too:

Last May, Lay convened a meeting of mostly conservative Los Angeles notables in a bid to preserve deregulation in California and quash a nascent public-power movement. Among those in attendance were Arnold Schwarzenegger, former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan (now the Republican front-runner for governor), and, yes, Riordan's old business buddy, Mike Milken. Lay made the case for deregulation and predicted that prices for electricity would begin to fall from their skyrocketing levels.

http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/1/bradley-w.html

[Brian Sweat]

3. Hercules in New York

[VOX]

13. Literally! The GOP will parade Arnie at their NYC Convention in 2004...

Don't think they won't make a big public display of their new left-coast action hero, along with their phoney, star-spangled salute to 9/11, etc., making a further mockery of the victims and their families.

This bullshit needs to be mucked out NOW.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

15. an incalculable propoganda victory

which we must deny Rove.

[bryant69]

4. The upside

The traditionalist/religious base of President Bush isn't at all happy with Arnold. He's soft on drugs, on gays, on abortion. It's another sign, to them, that President Bush is more interested in being friendly with perverts (in their minds) and Democrats than in fighting them.

So that could be positive.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. An image trumps a thousand words

all the sheeple will see is that "the Terminator" is with Bush.

That is all they will think about. We cannot let this propoganda go unopposed.

[Kolesar]

6. Arnold goes "soft" on drugs?

tee hee

[yolatengo]

7. yes, but...

The prospect of forcing the Dem Party to spend boatloads of $$$ in California
in 2004 to overcome a bully-pulpit-wielding 'Governator' who will rail night
and day about how all ills in Cali are due to those 'obstructionist liberals
in Sacramento' will trump ANY reservations the right wing has about Ahnuld.

They've already GOTTEN every damn thing they WANTED from BushCo.
If Rove calls them to say "look, if we can get Arnie to f*ck with the Dems
for 60+ weeks, day in and day out, getting face time from Our Pet Press
anytime he wants, do you really CARE if he's pro-choice or smoked weed?
Party Uber Alles! Force the cash-poor Dems to spend $10million in Cali
to prevent either a GOP swing in SacMo OR handing 54 electoral votes
to Bush! You won't BELIEVE what you'll get from us in a second term!".

Plus, Arnold will do as he's told, will get a free press pass, and the
Dems won't go after him.

Bigby

[VOX]

14. Don't be fooled -- Arnie will work with *.

The GOP will take California any way they can. Check out the comments on Free Republic -- they're talking about "holding their noses" and voting for Arnie -- just like we discuss the possibility of having to vote for a candidate like Lieberman.

Putting Arnie in office allows the GOP fundraising machine to really get rolling in California.

Let's not let this thing get that far!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. kick, because...

if I have to see that picture on the front page of the Times I will :puke: