Arnold Schwarzenegger has published an interesting opinion piece, where he stands up for Republican values (free enterprise and small government), while decrying the small-mindedness of the current GOP orthodoxy.
in the current climate, the extreme right wing of the party is targeting anyone who doesn’t meet its strict criteria. Its new and narrow litmus test for party membership doesn’t allow compromise.
He says that many previous Republicans, including Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Nixon, and even Reagan would not pass this test.
Then he points out the irony of the current Republican party:
Republicans love the free market, so it should seem like a no-brainer that the more views we have at the table, the better our final product will be.
I agree. Why is it that the party that claims to be for individualism and competition, acts more like a totalitarian regime bent on total thought control of its members?
I know this won’t make me popular with either liberals or conservatives, but I still like Schwarzenegger. I think he made an honest effort to be a good governor of California, and I wish there were more moderates like him.
4 Comments
I have been reading your site for over a year and it has replaced the paper as my first stop in the morning,thank you.
Moderates are getting rare and I am reminded of a conversation with Sen. Hank Brown (CO) a few years back and asking what was happening to the Republican party. I feel he and Mickey Edwards are great examples of the moderate Republicans who have been shouldered to the sidelines and it is a shame if not an outright danger.
>I think he made an honest effort to be a good governor of California,
Having experienced his Administration at close range, I must say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
You might be interested in how current California GOP orthodoxy responds to Arnold’s op-ed in an article entitled “Governor Arnolds Latest Bout With Amnesia”
http://bit.ly/KOGxty
The article may prove Arnold’s point. It’s clear to me that if you dare step away from the Party line, you should expect to be treated to a struggle session. The GOP really is in the throes of its own Cultural Revolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session
George, excellent comment. I may have to help advance the meme that the Republican Party is in the throes of its own Cultural Revolution.
Oh, and you had a typo in the link to your blog. I fixed it and heartily recommend readers visit it — http://www.foothillpost.org/
Amen to Arnold deserving more respect than he gets for the job he did here in California. He inherited a totally dysfunctional government in which special interest propositions have been the tail wagging the dog all over the place. Top that with a legislature composed of amateurs who have no vested interest in doing anything but feathering their own short-term nests (thank you term limits) and what could anyone do? Arnold didn’t need money and he didn’t need fame. He came in an genuinely tried to do the best job he could AND he was a moderate which earned him no love from either side of the aisle. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying liberal but I respect Arnold as one of the better governors I’ve seen in this state in recent years.