It’s hard to stay too angry at Governor Schwarzenegger for long, even as he says remarkably maddening and inane things. Still, at least fifty percent of the time he represents a kind of moderate, sensible Republicanism that has been almost obliterated from the American scene. As one who wants to see the GOP return to the tradition of Pete McCloskey and Millicent Fenwick, I have a healthy dose of affection for my state’s governor, even as I have not forgotten his many shortcomings and liabilities.
But today’s quote from Arnold is priceless:
“I sleep with a Democrat every night. If I can do it, legislators can too. I’m not telling them to sleep together. That’s not what I’m saying, but…”
I love my state. (Cap tap to my former student and GOP politico, Brandon Powers). And I sleep with a woman with whom I share my life but not a common political outlook, so the governor and I have something in common beyond our Austrian heritage.
Can you just hear him say that in his accent? “Leedshisleetahs ken, too”?
Cracks me up. Plus, I’m German; I’m allowed to make fun of our accent, hehe.
If you need some help staying angry at the Governator, simply talk to anybody involved in the California Teacher’s Association. He had to be sued to ‘give back’ so-called ‘emergency’ funds that he borrowed from the education budget, and the CTA has had to spend oodles of money on trying to keep some of his worst idea from coming to fruition. Just as a couple of for-instances.
That’s not even bringing up the fact that he’s a sexist jerk who helps to reinforce traditional masculinity by chiding state lawmakers for being ‘girly-men’. Sheesh.
I’m no friend to CTA (our local campus union finally, blessedly, left them this past year), but I share the frustration at the mixed messages coming out of Sacramento on education funding. And the girly-men remark - along with the allegations of groping — was despicable. On the other hand, his willingness to sign remarkably progressive bills on environmental and glbtq issues (bills that Gray Davis, his Dem predecessor, said he would never have signed) redounds to Arnold’s everlasting credit. It’s a mixed bag.