I can’t wait for pundits to start complaining about Hollywood actors like Arnold should stop being so full of themselves. I’m sure it’ll be a long wait.
What am I talking about? Arnold is of course considering a serious career in politics, declaring his love for America and its history.
Only, as I caught him on C-Span he proved that he doesn’t know a damn thing about american history. Much of his speech was about the tyrrany of taxation. Okay: I’m pretty gung-ho here. But then he goes and relates the story of the Boston Tea party as an example of the founders fight against taxation: a “protest” against “high taxes” which “their favorite beverage.”
No. sorry. Buzz.
I can’t blame the guy too much, because lots of people get this wrong. But the Boston Tea party was a protest against LOWERING taxes: specifically lowering taxes on British tea: which benefitted colonists, not hurt them. The people it hurt were tea smugglers, who in any regard paid no taxes in the first place. And it was smugglers that, in what can only be described as self-interested act of industrial sabotage, destroyed competing product. Not the founders.
And “tea” was not the “favorite beverage” of colonists. The favorite beverage, drunk by man woman and child, drunk in per capita quantities that outstripped almost any other area in the world, was alcohol. It was also, as few people realize, one of the most profitable inudstries in the colonies.
The taxation without representation idea also falls a little hollow given that while the colonies demanded far more expenditures than were needed in Britian, their tax rates were actually much lower than your average UK resident. Irritation over the WAY that taxation was implemented (without input and often in rather stupid ways on stupid things) was certainly one issue among many, but things like forcible quarting of soldiers, feeling dragged into British Empire disputes that didn’t concern them, and irritation over administration nonsense generally loomed bigger.
What I find amusing is how the Usual Suspects on this board – who were complaining about Hollywood celebrities protesting the war with Iraq, on the grounds that they should just stick to acting and looking pretty – have not stepped forward to shout down Schwarzenegger’s political moves. It couldn’t possibly be because he votes Republican, could it?
Given the kind of person a politician seems to have to be to get themselves elected, I’m actually glad a few others have the opportunity to butt in from other fields. I’d be happier if some random, say, math professor managed to get themselves elected, but I’ll take retired actor any day of the week.
No. sorry. Buzz
The B.T.P. was in response of government controlled trade and no colonial repersentation in that govenment.
But you have some pieces correct:
The taxes were lowered by the crown to get the East India Tea company out of a hole, so their tea would be more attractive compaired to the smuggled tea (mainly from Holland) and maybe put some smugglers out of business.
I don’t know this for sure but I would have to say this is another strike. Water I would wag would be “The favorite beverage” - as defined by the quantity consumed. Since I really don’t know I really can’t count it against your argument.
The big issue was **without representation ** which included taxation, quartering of soldiers and whatever else.
I’m not sure about colonial America, but in Medieval Europe alcohol consumption far outstripped that of water. Potable water was a rare resource, being that most available water was too filthy for consumption. Dysentary was a huge problem. Beer, however, being basically sterilized water with preservatives, was a good way to keep hydrated, and it tasted good (Except for small beer, mostly given to children – I understand it tastes like crap).
In fact, I understand this to be the case from ancient Egypt up until just a hundred or so years ago. Just think – our entire civilization is built on a Bud commercial.
I may be wrong in my facts here, but I got this from another board where most posters pride themselves on being (and often get paid to be) Medieval historians. I’m prepared to believe them.
I’ll say this much: at least Arnie’s putting his money where his mouth is. Rather than just shout screeds from the comfortable enclave of Beverly Hills, he’d be putting the quality of his ideas before the voters to vote up or down. Throwing your hat into the ring is a gutsy move.
Or as Teddy Roosevelt put it:
I would also add that I’ve never had a particular beef with Hollywood types expressing their views per se. I do have a problem with Hollywood types who are clearly uninformed and just knee-jerk to the left – the Baldwins, Streisands, Penns and Garafalos of the world spring to mind. There are certainly respectable people of the left in Hollywood. Rob Reiner and Mike Farrell spring to mind. And over the past few years, I’ve gained an enormous amount of respect for U2’s Bono, who has taken great pains to educate himself on the issue of AIDS funding for poorer countries and has become a remarkably effective lobbyist on that issue (even gaining the favor of Jesse Helms).
It might, at the point, be important to say WHY Schwarzenegger’s a probable future GOP candidate for Governor of California.
HE’S THE BEST THAT THEY’VE GOT!!
In recent years, the Californian Republican Party has been collasping, for various reasons, such as changing demographics and a loss of support in high-income areas.
However, for various other reasons (a noticable turn to the left, the conduct of Gov. Davis), the Reps believe that they have a chance to take the Governorship.
Unfortunately, there’s no real “bench” for the Reps to draw candidates from. They have no statewide elected officials, and none of the GOP Congressmen are regarded as electable outside of their home districts.
For these reasons, we’re about to be stuck with a Governor who can’t pronounce common English words.
From the dim recesses of my memory, I seem to recall reading that the reason Superman couldn’t become POTUS was that he was a naturalized citizen, not native born. Wouldn’t this rule also apply to Ahnold?
This is so fucking ridiculous. The rest of the country thinks we’re all a bunch of fruit cakes as it is, having the Terminator as our governer is really gonna make the rest of the country take us seriously.
Also, if dear old Arnie really gave two shits about California, he’d offer to finance the recall his damn self. (I know I know, not possible). This bullshit is going to cost California millions that it cannot possibly afford right now, to push for a recall while touting that you care about California is complete and utter bullshit.
