According to WorldNetDaily, Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraged opponents of the Proposition 8 not to give up until the measure is overturned.
“It is unfortunate, obviously, but it’s not the end,” vowed the governor in yesterday’s interview, referring to Proposition 8’s passage, “because this will go back to the courts.”
He later said of the voter-approved state constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman, “We will undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward.”
Has this guy totally lost it? Not only is he going against his own Catholicism and his own party but now he’s going against the will of the people.
I know what he’s thinking. He’s thinking that he could earn himself a slice of the liberal vote by kow-towing to their desires on social issues. This guy is one of my worst fears. Because I’ve already heard rumblings from the Republican Party that they’re taking the exactly wrong lessons from the past two elections. I’ve heard from a few people that Republicans need to “moderate” their stances on the social issues in order to woo the moderates and liberals. This is the exact wrong lesson. I fear the Schwarzanegger-ing of the Republican Party. If the party follows the path of the former movie star I will be without a party and so will many people I know.
The Republican Party will either be led by the Sarah Palin/Bobby Jindal wing of the party or the Ahh-nuld/Rudy Giuliani wing. Let’s pray they make the right choice.
November 11, 2008 at 4:09 am
Those rumblings come everytime a moderate Republican loses because of having the personality of a Matzo and the ideas of a dried fig.
It was the same in 1992 and 1996. And the same culprits in the media and among the talking heads (Krauthammer, Parker, Will, et al) blame the conservatives in the Party till we bail them out of the mess that they cause. If you want so see what moderate Republicans have done to destroy the Party…look to Illinois…it’s a disaster under their control. We have RINOs here that are cabana boys for the Democrats.
November 11, 2008 at 11:34 am
If the party betrays us, we will simply have to make our own, no?
November 11, 2008 at 11:46 am
If they betray us, I’m out. What shall we call it. The Creative Minority Party, eh?
November 11, 2008 at 11:54 am
Sarah in ’12, You Bet’cha!
— Mack
November 11, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Let’s bring back the Federalist Party.
I’m serious.
November 11, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Even crazier is that he thinks their court can override a constitutional amendment. I guess it is another one of those “living constitutions” – someone get a gun and kill it.
November 11, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Sarah and Bobby.
As for leaving or staying . . . I’ll stay and work hard until it is clear that the prolife has been wrung out of the party. Then I’ll need someplace else to lay my head.
November 11, 2008 at 2:22 pm
With the lack of support Rudy received in the primaries, hopefully the party realizes that isn’t the right direction to go.
November 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm
This is not a new battle, but an old one, dating to the Reagan Revolution of 1980, when social conservatives led the charge over the objections of “country club Republicans” in the East Coast establishment. Nixon, Rockefeller, even Ford to some extent, all were liberal on the social issues, including abortion. One thing to watch is who takes over as chairman of the Republican National Committee, Newt Gingrich or Michael Steele. Newt is well-respected among most conservatives, but lacks the resolve needed to win the socially conservative base of the Party, while Steele doesn’t have this problem. Steele also represents a growing number of conservative people of color, who have been speaking out in greater numbers this year.
2012 is definitely within reach, but as even Governor Palin has said, it is a wonder we did as well as we did in 2008.
November 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm
actually, i’m pretty anti-federalist. not quite libertarian, but anti-federalist. the central government has too much power and we are getting away from what our country was founded on. i’m registered republican, but i vote whoever is more align with my morals and consciousness.
i’m all for palin in ’12 though! bring her on!
November 11, 2008 at 2:26 pm
“[T]he lack of support Rudy received in the primaries…
…was much less than the media coverage he got, even as he was going down. Ron Paul did better than Rudy in Iowa. Then they went to New Hampshire, and guess who got more coverage. Yep, the loser.
This brings up another problem, the embarrassingly obvious bias of the mainstream media. If they ever expect to be taken seriously again, they gotta straighten up and fly right.
You betcha.
November 11, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I can’t wait for the courts to rule a constitutional amendment unconstitutional… Will be very interesting to see how they handle it.
Of course, if Prop 8 had failed and there were Christians demonstrating peacefully, what do you think the winners would be saying? “You lost. Get over it.”
November 11, 2008 at 3:01 pm
daddio, that’s the convenience of having no standards… one can blame those with them for not following them, without the messy obligation of having to follow any oneself. I almost MISS moral relativism, because at least then the morals were still in the picture.
November 11, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Frusciante Maria Portman,
I suggested the Federalist Party for the exact reasons you opposed it. Originally, federalism meant letting the central government handle defense and a few other things and letting the states handle the rest. That’s what I’m all about.
November 11, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Well,
I’m going to say some things here that will probably get me trounced. America has not been a Protestant Christian nation in a very long time. We are a conglomeration of very diverse beliefs, Catholics, Mormons, Islamics, Jews, Atheists, Wiccans, various types of Protestants of both liberal and conservative varieties. How does that bode for the future of the Republican party? Not very well. We are NOT the same world in which Reagan and his “3 legged stool” of conservatism came into power. Our world has changed and, for better or worse, so have the people in it. If the party is to be in play in the future, the power’s that be must accept that. The Republicans NEED to focus primarily on fiscal conservatism and libertarianism. All the initiative on the ballot this year that regarded limiting abortion FAILED. All the initiatives on the ballot that limited gay marriage PASSED. Why? Because most Americans view these two issues in the same light: Believe and do what you want, but don’t FORCE me to have to deal with it. In other words, people who want abortions should be able to have one. If you don’t won’t one, don’t get it. If you don’t want to perform one, then don’t do it. But don’t force other people who might see things differently to be forced to do so. Have a relationship with whomever you want, just don’t force me to accept it as normal or teach about it to my children. These ideas are very similar and fundamental, in many Americans view, to freedom. FWIW, Homosexuality is more contrary to natural law than any other issue and probably a more uniting issue across all religious backgrounds. Traditional religious teachings have always condemned homosexuality or in the case of Buddhism, discouraged sex altogether. Abortion, however, is a different story. Different religious beliefs regard abortion as acceptable at certain times, hense the idea that one religious belief doesn’t trump another. These views are true for a host of other issues–feminism and birth control just to name two. What I’m suggesting is the Republican party has got to find a better path–and libertarianism might be a better alternative. Our Churches should go back to taking social and moral issues seriously–so should the congregants. At that time we MIGHT just have some politicians, both Republican and Democrat, who actually have America’s best interest at heart.
November 11, 2008 at 3:53 pm
As a lifelong resident of California, my frustration over having voted for our current governor twice is only equalled by the similar disappointment over investing my trust in our current president. (Hence, a re-registration as independent last year. The only regret there, I didn’t get my souvenir letter from Sarah Palin that my wife received.)
Our infrastructure is shot; there is no real budget in place as he’s failed to muscle up and manage our state legislature/kindergarten. We, the citizens, are constantly pulled into the political pingpong game because of legistors who prefer to hoard political capital like marbles, state and federal judges who want to legislate so they can have their moment in the footlights, and because the entrenched interests of those with business or social issue agendae keep forcing ineffectual propositions onto ballot after ballot so the barking dogs of contradiction can howl on.
Arnold is the bizarro mirror image of Mel Gibson (both whom I enjoy as actor/director/producer types) who mistakely think that a Hollywood resume with just their first name on it provides them with the wherewithall to lead both “the people” and their government.
Total shame.
November 11, 2008 at 3:53 pm
As a lifelong resident of California, my frustration over having voted for our current governor twice is only equalled by the similar disappointment over investing my trust in our current president. (Hence, a re-registration as independent last year. The only regret there, I didn’t get my souvenir letter from Sarah Palin that my wife received.)
Our infrastructure is shot; there is no real budget in place as he’s failed to muscle up and manage our state legislature/kindergarten. We, the citizens, are constantly pulled into the political pingpong game because of legistors who prefer to hoard political capital like marbles, state and federal judges who want to legislate so they can have their moment in the footlights, and because the entrenched interests of those with business or social issue agendae keep forcing ineffectual propositions onto ballot after ballot so the barking dogs of contradiction can howl on.
Arnold is the bizarro mirror image of Mel Gibson (both whom I enjoy as actor/director/producer types) who mistakely think that a Hollywood resume with just their first name on it provides them with the wherewithall to lead both “the people” and their government.
Total shame.
November 11, 2008 at 4:23 pm
“The Republicans NEED to focus primarily on fiscal conservatism and libertarianism. All the initiative on the ballot this year that regarded limiting abortion FAILED. All the initiatives on the ballot that limited gay marriage PASSED. Why? Because most Americans view these two issues in the same light: Believe and do what you want, but don’t FORCE me to have to deal with it. In other words, people who want abortions should be able to have one. If you don’t won’t one, don’t get it.”
Okay, genius, then why do I still have to PAY for them with my tax dollars? Is that one of the “initiatives” that the GOP has to throw out to move to the “center”? And if moving there is such a great idea, why did choosing Palin do so much to energize the ticket?
November 11, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I want a party with strong conservative principles based upon a grounding philosophy that understands the dangers of moral relativism.
At present, I am closely watching Bobby Jindal, Michael Steele and Sarah Palin.
November 11, 2008 at 7:45 pm
“At present, I am closely watching Bobby Jindal, Michael Steele and Sarah Palin.”
Wow, your short list is exactly the same as mine. If you like Steele, you love reading THIS from today’s Wall Street Journal.