Report: Schwarzenegger urges GOP left turn

[latteromden]

(Hoping this hasn't already been posted)

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested in a German newspaper interview published Saturday that the Republican Party should move "a little to the left," a shift that he said would allow it to pick up new voters.

...

"I would like the Republican Party to cross this line, move a little further left and place more weight on the center," he was quoted as saying.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/18/schwarzenegger.ap/index.html

Interesting. Are the Republicans in danger of losing their moderates if they stay where they are? That may be the case.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Gee, Arnold. Why would you need new voters if you won the last

election...of course, unless, you really didn't?

[rwenos]

3. Schwartzy Won, But

it was a weird recall election, never happened before in California. Unfortunately for the Dem's (who have had a good long run in Cali), both Grey Davis and Cruz Bustamante were not very good candidates. But no one thought there was election fraud. And just about everybody thought Davis was a loser.

There are several better Dem's spoiling for a statewide race next time, in 2006. If Schwartzy runs again, he'll lose.

[Pirate Smile]

9. Who do you think will run against Arnie?

[rwenos]

13. Lockyer, Westley, Gavin Newsome

Lockyer's got the historical inside track, as Attorney General.

Who's on your suspect list?

[Pirate Smile]

16. I don't have a list. I'm in friggin Iowa. How are those potential

candidates viewed? Are they well known and popular?

Any polling yet(they are doing it in NY already)?

Wouldn't Newsome be too controversial for state-wide office - at least right now?

[mitchtv]

19. Lockyer voted for Ahrnold

He will have mass defections in the primary.Frontrunner now is Phil Angelidies

[rwenos]

22. Angelides Raises Money, but???

What's his record? I've lived in Cali my whole life (except 1980-1985), and he's been around a long time, but I don't know anything about him.

Except he's State Treasurer.

[shanti]

47. that's all that's important

...raising money. didn't you get the email?

/sarcasm

[mitchtv]

49. His record is competence, and

standing up to Boobengrabber openly and without the timidity of our state Dems. What kind of record can a treasurer build up? Garamendi also wants the job, I would vote for anyone besides Lockyer. He will not get my vote for anything. I'll vote peace and freedom if he wins the dem primary

[Traction]

33. Gavin's a bit too far left

To win outside SF, especially against someone like Arnie.

[Tinoire]

54. Gavin is not that far left. Do not confuse the issue of Gay Marriage

with being "that far Left". Gavin's biggest corporate backer during the elections was Bechtel. That alone should tell you something.

[idiosyncratic]

15. The recall never should have happened. Gray Davis did not deserve

to be recalled. There was no malfeasance. No valid reason to remove him from office.

The financial problems were primarily because of ENRON and other energy companies manipulating the electricity grid.

I heard a Hate Radio person taking credit for the recall.

I voted against the recall and for Cruz Bustamante.

[zann725]

39. I agree. The Recall was so obviously 'trumped up.'

Gray Davis had such integrity. And he always stood up for human rights and Dem issues...like Overtime Pay.

I miss him. Ahnnald is such an embarrassment...when he's not being downright scarey.

[Isere]

50. Amen!

This whole charade with The Gropinator should NEVER have happened!

I scratch my head in amazement when I hear him say that the GOP should turn left. This is the fellow who licked Bush's boots during the election. If he had half the cojones he pretends to have, he would have stayed home and tended to CA's many pressing problems.

What a joke! Only in California!

[Tinoire]

55. You got that one right!

The corporations needed Davis out pronto. Neither they nor the DLC ever forgave him for standing up to & going after Enron so they got him out and put a man in office who had US, the people of California, fork over more of our money to them for "unpaid bills".

I remember Davis on TV during the energy crisis bravely standing up to Enron and NO ONE coming to his aid. Not Bill Clinton. Not Al Gore. And certainly not the DLC which had pocketed money from Enron. The whole thing was disgusting!

[Merlot]

35. Davis was framed for the enron/energy crisis

and the media turned on him big time. I don't know if there was fraud in the election, but the media was merciless towards Davis. Davis/Bustamante were going to follow through with the suit to regain the money, but when arnie came into power, the lawsuit just "dissapeared."

[Tinoire]

56. Just read your post. Amen, n/t

[shanti]

46. sorry, but there were

allegations of fraud. several du'ers posted this info and were involved in the california elections. napa, riverside, orange, and san diego counties had lots of "problems".

check it out.

[susanna]

30. No kidding.

This is my feeling, especially reading about Christie T-Whitman and this story; if they're on top, and EVERYONE loves them, why would they move left? Or center?

Sounds like propaganda to me...a way to pave the way for the * to move left without looking like he wanted to. That dipshit is such a coward, it really does boggle the mind. Of course, if he does act in the way I've outlined (moving center), then his die-hard followers will have yet another reason to hate the "libruls."

Ladies and gentlemen, propaganda has reached a new height (depth?).

[GRLMGC]

2. Well he's clearly not leaving the Republican Party

So i'm not sure about other moderates leaving the party. As for the Republican Party moving to the left, I highly doubt that'll ever happen soon. Bush and his other far right cronies think everybody likes them.

[latteromden]

4. I wonder, though, if we could score some more converts in the style of

Sen. Jeffords, who switched from the Republican Party to become an independent, if the GOP stays with the course it's currently on (reference to "stay the course" not intended).

[Wapsie B]

5. Interesting he says this AFTER the election.

But yeah, these are fighting words to those in the gop who'd love to create a konservative utopia in this country. The righties hate the moderates as much as any Dem. The mods may actually work with the Left to hammer out a solution agreeable to Left & right. The flat-earth society can't have any of that.

[GRLMGC]

6. They probably DO hate moderates

I just think they tolerate them so that they won't look like the party of lunacy. Remember how they trotted out all of these moderates for the Convention?

[kineneb]

45. Losing hearts and minds

The Rs have already managed to alienate a number of "moderates" in their party, especially in CA. Most of those in CA don't care who a person marries, what religion they are, or any of that "moral" stuff. That is personal.
Of course we have our share of wingnuts as well. Especially in the Valleys and So Cal. But the Gropenator knows that they arn't enough to get him reelected next time. He may have just been gassing off for the foreign press.

[Mike Niendorff]

7. hahahahahaha :)

Looks like the fundies aren't getting everything they want after all. Now that they've served their purpose, the party can get back the business of big business.


MDN

[GetTheRightVote]

8. This is really scarcy, Arnie moving left, hmmm,

I bet the repubs really like this suggestion, lol.
Hey, neocon look at what your boy is saying now.

[hoi polloi]

11. I wish Arnold would say to Bush ...

"I'll be back."

[William Bloode]

10. I think he may actually.....

Be smart enought to see where * is leading right now, ahs the potential for serious backlash against Repubs in the long run.

But thats just a maybe, as he never struck me as brilliant.

[argyl]

12. GOP goes left, fundie candidate to be named later gets 20,000,000

votes and we win in a landslide in 2008.Sorry GOP, but you're going to have to continue your dance with the fundies. They want to be paid and they have very little patience.
But yeah, Arnie's right. Millions of moderates who voted for Smirk are going to be horrified at the demands these people will be making on their annointed one.
I'm thinking this will cripple the GOP for years unless they simply dispense with any pretense of democracy and seize power by force.

[Wapsie B]

32. That is correct.

The repugs have got to keep up appearances with the konservative fundies. The fetus lovers want what they want and they want it NOW. Yesterday would've been none too soon.

[wankawanka]

14. why would the gop move to the left they dont need more voters

i think we need to move to the center and start following the dlc

[genieroze]

17. No, I think we need to move back our roots as liberals and if people

don't like it tough! I refuse to be repugnantkin lite.

[demigoddess]

44. yes,

I think an anti war candidate would have gotten farther than kerry with his "im for the war but i'd tinker with it a bit" tactic. We need to be firmly anti war and firmly for health care and firmly for the balanced budget. That will bring in some more votes even from the right. I think some people against the war stuck with bush because they honestly believed kerry would drag it out longer than bush, so why change.

[mitchtv]

21. oh yeah , another '-2 and another '04

maybe we should run Lieberman and Breaux

[Prodemsouth]

29. Also another 92 and 96.

n/t

[mitchtv]

43. don't forget '94

contract on America

[mazzarro]

41. And where is the center?

The one that is constantly moving and being redefined by the reThuglicans, media whores and all the political nincompoops?

[regnaD kciN]

18. Yes, he feels the G.O.P. needs to move forward...

...into the nineteenth century.

;-)

[Prodemsouth]

20. Dems need to view moderate Republicans as enemies, not friends.

Including Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Lincoln Caffee if they do not switch soon. They need to make up for the lost ground in deep red states like those in the South. How to do it? Do what the Republicans did here tie moderate and conservative Dems to Liberals. In blue states tie moderate Republicans to Trent Lott or Bill Frist or Bush himself if he is that unpopular. Olympia, Susan, Arlen and other moderates vote for Trent Lott and Bill Frist as their leaders. Why do the Dems have a problem telling that to voters back home in Blue States? I hear there is some sort of blue state tax planned- beat them over the head with it.. damn it. The Repugs mentioned Ted Kennedy or other Liberals when running against a Dem in the south. Or they made overtures to certain Dems to switch parties. If that didn't work they said you either switch or we will go after your seat with gusto. No, we Dems will not do that - that would not be nice - we might even get a stain on our pink tutus. It is up to you blue state folks to make up for this lost power. You guys have got to fight- I hope Kerry is not an example of how you fight up there. This is what Arnold is fearing that they are going to tie him to the ultra conservative and unpopular Bush Admin. This is why he is saying this in a German mag- Many libs will find out and forgive him. Conservatives will not find out because they don't read esp a German newspaper - "moderate and swing voter were his target in this interview.

[Massacure]

23. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.

If you cannot take the republican party down from the outside, why not do it from within?

Of course we want 100% liberal. However, if we can't have that 50% liberal and 50% conservative is better than 100% conservative.

Befriend them now, backstab them later. :)

[Prodemsouth]

24. You mean become a Repug?- Looked at it. did the math and will not

work. If you are talking about screwing around with them in their primaries- that is another matter, all for that. But vote for the weakest or the most conservative in a Blue State, never a moderate.

[Massacure]

27. I'm not talking about becoming a repug.

Just because we as the democratic base vote for the weakest repug in primaries doesn't mean that our democrats in the government can't try to sway them to the left.

Of course you try to get a good dem in office first, but if that doesn't work, then you try to sway the other guy to the left until the next election.

[Prodemsouth]

28. Sorry but I still don't know what you are talking about here, The Repugs

are the conservative party if they won as a conservative- why move left- does not make any sense at all. Arnold knows Bush or his party are not going to move left- he is saying this to get in good graces of moderate, swing and liberals that are unhappy that Bush is President again. And who might remember that he campaigned for Bush and stood by him. That is why if CA has any hope of getting a Dem Governor, that person will have to go after Arnold with gusto- he/she has nothing to lose anyway.

[BiggJawn]

25. He'll never get the Port engine to go Astern...

This ship is veering to Starb'd, and that's all there is to it.

Perhaps AHH-nuld thinks the GOP can't sustain itself on a steady diet of RW hate?

[Just Me]

26. OKEY DOKEY,....I am IN CONTROL,...

,...I will take hands with all those who help our country gravitate towards center.

The "girlie-man" asshole who auto-demeaned the female presence of "Just Me",...is now "reaching out",...

,...okay,...

,...give me time,...

,...to get over being pissed-off,...

,...I will stick to my passion for humanity BUT I will never give up the venom I've forced myself to acquire in order to fight the likes of fascism,...EVER.

[fshrink]

31. Liebernegger.

[Senator Lamb]

34. ironic isnt it

all the major GOP stars with natinal recognition are moderate/liberal Republicans who believe in gay rights, stem cell research, and abortion rights, unlike this new philosophy of "GOP morality". Yet the people currently in power has moved so far to right and * is one of the most right wing radicals to ever grace to the office; and in fact won (though not entirely sure) either way the GOP will have to a war for the soul of the party.

[VegasWolf]

36. What's the problem, they can do what the fuck they want, Diebold!!!

He who owns the crooked voting machines will be elected.

[Bouncy Ball]

37. See?

Even the gropenator knows left is the way to go.

We're over here! Try and find us with your binoculars! :hi:

[zann725]

38. What was he doing talking to a GERMAN newspaper?

n/t:eyes:

[neweurope]

57. He is preparing. Wants to be president. First he let his wife deny

that he wants to run. So the idea is born that it's not IMPOSSIBLE that he might run for president. Next step: Interview in foreign newspaper. For us the part about changing the constitution so that he can become president was the central part of this interview. It is now established that he wants to do this. One more interview in the foreign press - then for the US papers to pick it up. Then general discussion... Well, an Austrian president for a fascist state...

[daleo]

40. I think this is just optics

He is talking about being a bit more centrist, because they sense some of the more moderate conservatives are beginning to become uncomfortable, and at times downright embarrassed about the religious fundamentalism that is now front and center in the Republican Party. But ultimately the party will go home with the ones that brought them to the dance (i.e. the far right), and the moderates will be left standing alone after a few Bushco whirls around the floor.

[Traction]

42. Hasta la vista, Arnie!

Even if you could run for president, you certainly would never make it past the primaries after that statement. Dems have NOTHING to ever worry about over you. And he says they'd gain 5% of voters by moving to the middle? Haha, they'd lose 25% of the voters (the religious-right) in the process. What an idiot...

[tanyev]

48. And let the games begin.

Three threads about this over on Free Republic, each over 50 responses, nearly all vilifying Ah-nold. }(

[Stinky The Clown]

51. As we take tactical instructions for getting elected from them, maybe they

will take lessons in circular firing squads from us.

Ya think?

[IronLionZion]

52. I'm moderate, and the GOP really hates me

I know this because they told me they hate me. Moderate views are not welcome in the GOP. You have to march in lock step or get bent.

What's interesting is that the starts of the GOP - Swarzeneggar, Giuliani, McCain, etc. are moderate or mavericks. hmm...and the Democratic stars tend to be liberals or mavericks - Obama, Newsom, Dean(moderate maverick).

hmmm...what does this say about the state of america? maybe we're not all a bunch of knuckle-dragging conservative rednecks.

In the near future, Americans will see what the corporate conservative Republicans have done to our beautiful country and throw the bums out.

[The Judged]

53. Is he finally tired of "not getting any" of his wifes "great ass?"

Remember after the convention when his wife (MARIA SHRIVER) didn't speak to him for a week?

Oh, the remark about her ass comes from Arnold himself in an interview that during which he disclosed that he told MARIA SHRIVER's mom (Eunice Kennedy), upon meeting her, that her daughter has a great ass!

[0007]

58. bttt

[GOPBasher]

59. Didn't they win this year? Why do they need new voters?

Or are they planning on having fair elections with results that can be verified?