As a California Democrat of long standing (except, years ago, when I registered Republican so I could vote for Pete McCloskey in the primaries), I feel I ought to state publicly why I don't plan to vote for my party's candidate for governor.
Frankly, the main reason I don't want to vote for him is the impression I've gotten from him for the last 3 years. He doesn't want to be governor to fix what's wrong with the state, or to balance the budget, or do any of the things that come up in the campaign ads. He wants to be governor because he thinks it's his turn. He's been a faithful party hack for decades, and he's worked his way up to state office, and now he wants the top state office because he deserves it for all his work. I didn't watch the debate between him and the Gubernator, but I gather Arnold accused him of being part of the Davis machine. Well, he was part of the Davis machine, and Davis had a turn as governor, and now Angelides thinks it's his. I'm sorry, Phil, that's not how the game works. It may be how you think it works.
I have very mixed feelings about Arnold. I still think he's a poseur; but he has managed to produce the only bipartisanship the disgraceful California legislature has displayed in many years. I think he's going to win in a landslide, so I may treat myself to a protest vote for the Green party candidate. But I'm not voting for Angelides.
Yeah, measles, mumps, chicken pox anyone? People who go into politics have to be compromisers where their integrity and goals are concerned. It is just part of the game. Did you ever see Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Well,...
ReplyDeleteAt least ol' Arnie really knows what it is like to work your way up from the bottom in California. He owes his success to, okay, body building, drooling women at the box office, and guys who like rough, tough, buff adventure, AND our community college system.
He knows what is it like to have to learn American English in order to get by and have a chance at success. He knows what it is like to be expected to become conversant with what people in California consider important, and how to keep a lid on the perhaps, just perhaps, wider and older culture of his homeland.
He's not perfect, and he's adopted our arrogance perhaps a bit too well upon occasion. When you get down to it, his feet are still stained from being one of the hoi polloi. As a result, he stands a chance of remembering what it means to earn your place in big, bad, who cares California, and that's not a bad piece of experience for our elected officials to have in their resume. And, I'm NOT a registered or unregistered Republican.
I just wish I had a real choice as to some one too vote for. Living in southwest Missouri doesn't really give one a lot of options. Even the distance from trouble is shrinking. Eariler this week a 13 year old boy walked into a middle school about 30 miles from my home with an AK47. What is the world coming too?
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