Anyone worried about the crowds Arnold is getting?

[CMT]

I just read that Arnold is getting crowds at rallies like 5,000 in Sacramento and several thousand in Fresno and so on, while Bustamante and Davis draw "several hundred".

Do you think the Arnold crowds are more interested in seeing a candidate and potential governor or a big time movie star in the flesh?

And to think Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a woman I truly admire, came out today and appeared at a rally with the Groper giving him a kiss and a hug. Well, he is family.

[blondeatlast]

1. I suspect they are mostly starving actors; not to hard to find

them, of course. A meal, $50 and a bus ride is a nice way to spend a couple of days.

[eleny]

yop! bussed in ! n/t

[Girlfriday]

2. Nope...

He's a movie star, probably most of them won't vote. I have a feeling that the recall will fail, I don't know why, I just do. :)

[Kanola]

16. I hope your intuition is right!

I live here. I do not want robot as Governor.

[tridim]

3. How many screaming fans show up at the Academy Awards?

Or a big movie premiere? I think that probably answers your question.

He definately has the 'Access Hollywood' and 'Entertainment Tonight' crowd.

[glarius]

4. He's a movie star...people are curious to see him in person....doesn't

mean they will vote for him!

[LeftCoast]

5. They did the "Central Valley Tour"

Fresno (aka, home-base of the Freeper-ville servers) is very conservative as is most of the central valley. Large crowds there aren't terribly surprising. He's also drawing good sized crowds in SoCal proper which is more conservative than the Bay Area, but less so than the CV.

The latest allegations have hurt Arnie, but the question is, has it hurt enough so that the recall itself loses. It may have, but this thing is so up in the air, it's really impossible to judge. If the recall passes, I think it's pretty likely that we'll have Arnie as the new Gov. At least till HE gets recalled. :evilgrin:

[CMT]

8. which he might very quickly

he has said he won't speak out any more on the sexual assault charges until "after the election" well if he wins and more and more women come forward and an investigation is launched he may end up being recalled quickly if he isn't forced to resign.

[LeftCoast]

12. I strongly believe

there are MANY more women out there who will be coming forward in the weeks and months ahead. Democrats are going to need to put up a strong candidate to oppose Ahnuld, but if we get our butts in gear we could potentially get recall 2 on the March ballot which will also be the presidential primary ballot! That plus the ongoing gropenator scandals give us a chance if Arnold does pull off a win.

[CMT]

13. I think Loretta Sanchez would be a great candidate

for Governor.

[LeftCoast]

20. She probably has higher favorables than Cruz

I don't know if she has enough state-wide recognition. I've seen Tom Haydn's name thrown around but he might be too left for the 'mushy middle'. :)

[Le Taz Hot]

35. Fresno is also the home of

thousands of Democratic activists that have worked their asses off for the last 8 weeks AND voted for Bill Clinton in '92 and '96. Thanks for completely ignoring millions of hours of volunteer efforts. And remember, WE didn't get paid to do it. :mad:

[ewagner]

6. I'm a little uneasy about it

He has very successfully created the desired "bandwagon effect" in the media.

I'm a little bit suspicious about the signs in the crowds...like

"Democrat Women" for Arnold (note DEMOCRAT and not DEMOCRATIC)

Those crowds have to be bussed in, they just have to be....either that or California has the highest per capita idiot quotient in the world...........

no offense to our California DUers

[uhhuh]

34. Nope

He didn't create anything in the media. The California media has been on a non-stop ahnold lovefast since he drooled his announcement on the Tonight Show.
Even after the reports of his offensive behavior,(which usually the media loves to dig into), they spent more time giving ahnold and his supporters the opportunity to answer than they did the allegations, and definately left the impression that these were partisan Democratic dirty tricks. Local news and Extra! have virtually become indistinguishable lately.

[madrchsod]

7. earlier today there was

a thread about how bad his wife looks,she looks like she`s dying. i have no idea how to post threads...

[w13rd0]

9. I'm concerned that...

...the Arnold Army is a bunch of modern brownshirts, and he wants a cheering crowd "agreeing with everything he says". I'm also troubled that we are talking about a man that thinks people are stupid, and need to be told what to do, and is under the delusion that he is the man to tell them what to do. I'm dismayed that his supporters seem to blame the victims of his sexual predation, and excuse this melding of hollywood-politics that they'd previously bellowed against.

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. If you are looking at something to worry about -- absentee ballots

There are a record number of people voting by absentee ballot. Most of these people voted before the sexual allegations about Arnold arose. Davis was also doing worse in polls at that time.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

14. But a lot of the absentees were Democrats and union voters

The unions advised people to get absentee ballots so as to avoid mistakes on the ballots at the box.

[Piperay]

32. I voted absentee and so did

my family so at least those ballots are Democratic. I have gotten several letters from the Democrats encouraging fellow Democrats that they should vote absentee to lessen the chances of fraud, so I took their advice. :-)

[Cha]

11. A caller said on the Mike Malloy Show that JFK would be spinning

in his grave if he saw what eunice was doing. After the witch ann coulter ..one of the right wingers buddies calls JKF all the names she does and then for eunice to go out in public for arnie..blech!

[Kanola]

15. Here in the Central Valley of the bimbos.. Whoops I missed it

The robot is getting these crowds because he is a CELEBRITY. That is all. Some people have an unhealthy preoccupation with celebrity and think celebrities have the power to heal and are like some God. Celebrity worship is so prevalent in our culture it borders on sickness or some sort psychological malady that will be sure to make it's entrance into the new DSM.

I am more impressed with crowds Dean is turning out. Woo Hoo! He is getting some big crowds also, and is not a Hollywood Celeb.

[CMT]

17. that's true

Dean got 5,000 people here in Madison yesterday without being a movie star and talking about real issues like Iraq, the economy, healthcare, and The Tyson workers strike.

[Kanola]

23. I think Dean has true starpower

Whoops getting off topic. But Dean has been mesmerizing as far as gaining some big crowds. I am impressed. With Robot it was predictable and to be expected.

[JI7]

18. britney spears could get more

if britney announced run for governor and had appearances she would get a far higher turnout since those crowds are mostly about people wanting to see the "star" or "terminator" . they know almost nothing about politics and only make empty statements like "arnold is amazing and will do an amazing job as govenor" without giving info on his past accomplishments in politics of policy to back it up.

[pruner]

21. so true

my favorite comments from Arnold supporters are ones like "I love all his movies and know he'll make a great governor."

[pruner]

19. did she give him the hug & kiss…

or he did he just take them?

[jiacinto]

22. Fresno is a Republican stronghold

So keep that in mind.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

24. Not true according to the LA Times

In San Francisco, Davis stayed on the offense at a Union Square rally, telling 3,000 cheering firefighters and other supporters that Schwarzenegger was "pulling the wool over your eyes."

"He can't produce a balanced budget," said Davis, standing alongside Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. "That's why he says we'll talk about this after the election. You may remember last night he said we'll talk about a few other things after the election."
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/recall/la-me-recall7oct07,1,7133343.story?coll=la-home-headlines

One thing people have to realize is Davis FIRMLY has cops and firefighters in his court...a group one CANNOT win elections without in this state.

[LibDemAlways]

25. I'm not worried at all.

Arnold's bus tour went straight up the Central Valley, where thousands of blue collar types came out to see him because he's a celebrity. Many of these people, I suspect, have little interest in politics and aren't even registered to vote. The media is creating the illusion of a lot of support for Ahnold on this bus tour, when the turnout is probably more curiosity driven. Note that Arnold stayed away from the central and northern coast where his reception, like the weather, would have been a lot chillier.

[stickdog]

26. Whoa! So he's getting Dean-sized crowds? (NT)

[CMT]

37. yes

but Dean does it without being a movie star and by the substance of his campaign.

[RichM]

27. Anyone who's NOT worried by it is in deep denial.

I think it plainly means that he is an enormously popular, enormously dangerous rightwing faux-populist demagogue. The crowds ADORE him. They probably love him even more now that the nasty stories have come out.

[NJCher]

28. I always get suspicious

About the support of the crowd when I see signs that are mass printed. In one picture, every single sign looked the same--all red, white and blue, all with the same message.


Cher

[FDRrocks]

29. Nah!

McClintock is ultimately going to split the Republican vote. Maybe not to the point where Arnie will get less than 20%, but he will split it bad.

McClintock appeals to the core conservatives and has credentials. I really, on this, the day of the recall election, believe the republicans chose Arnie over McClintock.

I would predict either a No vote coming out of the majority, or a Bustamante win.

Of course, the fix might be in. Then the crowds are there to show that the results might be 'slightly wrong', show dogs, basically.

[farmboxer]

30. Rent-A-Crowd?

Who knows, but the election is most likely fixed.

[Kucinich04]

31. I think the Recall will go to the Supreme Court...

I believe that if Davis has more "No on Recall" votes than Arnold has "Yes" votes, the Democratic Party will file suit against the recall, claiming the mechanism is unconstitutional. AFAIK, the California Recall law has never been constitutionally tested. The notion that someone could win with what amounts to LESS votes just doesn't sound right to me. This could be tied up in the courts for quite awhile, and the Dem's might just win it...

[VOX]

33. Not only is Arnold a celebrity, he is a *specific* type of celebrity...

He is not a particularly good actor, but he is an action movie star who has honed an image of massive physical strength, and he mows the bad guys down by the bushel-basketful.

This type of guns-and-explosions hero would certainly appeal to people of a simplistic mentality. He's got most of these folks convinced that he's "for the people."

I'm hoping that smarter Californians, who can see through all this utter b.s., will turn out at the polls in big numbers tomorrow.

[in_cog_ni_to]

36. No

I'm sure his sheeple went to the local YWCA (groping material) to round up some supporters and the rest were just celebrity worshipers. When I saw Eunice today?...my thought...JFK, Bobby and JFK Jr. are turning over in their graves! I don't care if you are family. THIS is too IMPORTANT! NOT the time to show "family" unity! JMO

[tlb]

38. With approval in the 20's, what crowds do you expect for Davis.

If Arnold is elected it won't be an endorsement for him, it will be a rejection of Davis and the machine politics he represents.

The California party should have listened better to the people.