Can someone explain how CA elected a Republican governor, but the proud State of CA went for Kerry? I am quite surprised by the split. Yet, other states have done the same, and it is a puzzle to me! 
Any theories?
- Jinx
Could be that people there have focused more on the candidate than his party affiliation?
Take a look at Arnold’s positions on social issues. They’re not typical Republican stances.
You *cannot * assume every Republican believes in the same things, across the board. The same goes for Dems.
Not sure which way you mean that. I don’t accept Aahnold as a leader, so I don’t see him as a true candidate. So, maybe it’s the party affiliation for him? He’s just an opportunist. Hopefully, the CA Legislature will show him this isn’t scripted with Hollywood-quick solutions for ride-off-into-the-sunset endings!
Boy, when CA picks an “acting governor”, they really pick one who knows how to act (at least twice now!) - Jinx
Maryland elected a Republican governor and went for Kerry. Virginia elected a Democratic governor and went for Bush.
Party affiliation had nothing to do with Arnold’s election as Governor. He was elected on the platform of being “not Davis.” As Governor, he has so far done a very good job. He has managed to get both sides of the aisle at least talking to each other, and he isn’t afraid to bypass the Legislature completely and take issues directly to the people. I think this approach is exactly what is needed in California. And I do accept him as the leader of my fair state!
I swear I heard somewhere (probably radio) they mentioned something along the lines of how Schwarzenegger didn’t get any nookie* from Maria for 14 days after some previous legislation, so he begged them not to give him credit for some Prop he supported this week? Can anyone confirm (or deny) that he discusses his sex life with the press? Can you imagine Bush (and his supporter’s shock) were he to say, “Yeah, after I bombed Iraq Laura’s legs were clamped tight together for two weeks!”
*Maybe he was misunderstood when he just said that Maria wouldn’t let him have his Hummer?
I think you also can’t overlook the “Arnold factor”. I’m not saying it’s significant (because I really don’t know) but you KNOW there were people that went to the polls to vote for him just because he’s a famous movie star.
I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised at the job he’s done so far. I didn’t vote for him.
It was after his RNC speech.
I’ve heard that California has a tradition of electing a Governor of the party that does not have the majority in the legislature. It keeps them politicians watchin’ each other, if not cooperating. I haven’t done any research into whether that’s true, but it gets said a lot.
Our senators are currently both Dems.
So you open an IMHO thread to dump on Repulicans again but in a different forum. If you want to dump on Arnold then go Pit him. If you come to the opinion forum and ask peoples opinion, expect to get their opinion.
Quite a lot of people said the same thing when Jesse Ventura was elected Governor of Minnesota, too. Apropos of nothing.
Anyway, I think that Arnold turned out to be the most electable of all the candidates who ran in the recall election. I think that many moderate Dems find him at least tolerable because of his Kennedy-ness by association.
It is a big mistake to laugh at Arnold as a joke for governor. The people elected him because he showed signs of being an effective leader and politician. His social views were in step with California, and his personal life is actually quite Clintonesque. Objectively considering the job he has done in California so far, he has been an excellent governor. I am as suprised as the next guy, but I have to give him credit. Gray Davis was a stiff and I don’t think anyone is pining for his return.
California is a big state and its opinions are diverse and hard to pinpoint.
California has voted in favor of medical marijuana and against gay marriage.
Californians have also voted to eliminate affirmative action programs in colleges and to prohibit public agencies from providing services for illegal aliens (since declared unconstitutional)
Californians have also adopted numerous antismoking laws and stringent enivormental laws.
And we elected Ronald Reagan as governor for 8 years and followed him up with Gerry Brown for another 8 years.
And the biggest state in the country got called for Kerry almost as soon as the polls closed.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is closer to John McCain than George W. Bush.
Though I wouldn’t be so quick as to say Schwarzenegger has been doing a “great job.” It’s too early to tell, IMO.
A lot of states that are dominated by a single party tend to elect the other party to state offices because they view them as “outsiders” who will keep an eye on the other party. Mass. is a good example of this, they have been dominated by a single party for a very long time, but have a Repub (Mormon!!) mayor.
I’ll also add that, while I think Arnold is a good politician, I think the Cal. people are going to fall out of love with him hard in the next few years. He was put into office to solve the budget crisis, promising not to raise taxes but instead to “audit the gov’t” and eliminate waste. Of course, to waste enough money to have caused Cal.'s budget crisis, state employees would have had to be using gold leaf as toliet paper. So instead he just cut taxes and borrowed the difference, basically what Davis would’ve done, but more so (though Arnold of course did it with much more charisma).
What’s more, Arnold has championed the referendum process, most lately in championing the stem cell amendment (cost, 3 billion). This referendum mandated spending is what has made Cal’s fiscal difficulties so deep in the first place, and instead of solving the problem Arnold has encouraged it further.
So unless there is a major economic upturn in the near future to put Cal back in the black, Arnold will have to either raise taxes or run Cal’s credit rating into the ground.
Massachusetts has a mayor? It’s not that small, is it?
I had to reread that, but I think that was a reference to Mitt Romney.
Another example of California’s contrariness, the city of San Diego, one of California’s more conservative cities, is poised to elect a Democrat as its mayor. Donna Frye, who ran as a write-in, has just been on the City Council for 3 years and is far from being polished.
Past San Diego mayors are guys like Pete Wilson and Roger Hedgecock. The latter hosts a radio talk show in San Diego, which pretty much focuses on one topic: illegal immigrants and how they are ruining San Diego.
Even Texas had Ann Richards, a pretty popular governor until she was unseated by you-know-who.
However, the Southern states are a lot different case from California. Those states were historically Democratic and switched to the Republican side because of cultural shifts in the nation as a whole.
California is always a bit off.