If My GrandMa Had Wheels She'd Be a Wagon

How to fix the Republican party? Move it to the left says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Über-RINO-CA).

"The Republican idea is a great idea, but we can't go and get stuck with just the right wing," Schwarzenegger said. "Let's let the party come all the way to the center. Let those people be heard as much as the right. Let it be the big tent we've talked about.

"Let's invade and let's cross over that (political) center," he said. "The issues that they're talking about? Let them be our issues, and let the party be known for that."

Well, Arnold has done that in word and in deed. As a result, California is in worse fiscal shape than it was when we voted him in to replace Gray Davis--who, unlike Schwarzenegger, apparently believed in truth in advertising and ran with a 'D' after his name.

With John McCain scheduled to visit the state this week and with the political similarities between the senator and the governor, the article focuses on Arnold desire to "re-brand" Republicanism, something he deems necessary for McCain to counteract Obama and to push away from George W. Bush.

"(Republicans) have to move away from the status quo, because the voters up for grabs are independents and Latinos. And neither of them are particularly in love with ideologists. They both move toward moderation."

On the campaign trail last week, McCain's efforts to position himself as counter to the Republican brand were keenly evident.

He spoke in Portland on what's been described as the first leg of his global warming tour; later in the week, he delivered a landmark speech, drawing some distinct contrasts to the Bush White House - whose disapproval ratings are now a whopping 71 percent - politically as well as stylistically.

On the policy front, McCain said that by 2013, the end of his first term, he envisions most U.S. troops coming home from Iraq "in victory," as well as delivering health care and restoring "economic confidence."

Ya know, whether the Democrat nominee is Obama or, by some outside chance, Clinton, the Democrats are going to waltz in November and it's because McCain will be unable to mobilize real Republicans in the manner specified: by adopting far Left policies which add to the nation's indebtedness. (One has only to take a look at California to see what this kind of fiscal decision-making can accomplish. And I expect that the president's disapproval ratings are so high because of his own RINO fiscal tendencies.) Oh sure, Clinton and Obama are worse but their supporter believe in such social programs.

Re-branding...whatever. Why is it that Arnold thinks he can build a movement from the top down?

RELATED: At the National Republican Congressional Committee's Blog, Tom Cole spells out the goals of the newly-formed American Families [RINO] Agenda:

[T]o fix government, and one solution is to update our laws so they provide America's families with more freedom in their jobs; greater healthcare and retirement security; safer communities; access to quality, affordable education...

The short post garners 1500+ responses--mostly from people who don't think that the Republican Party morphing into the Democrat Party is such a good idea. The flavor:

I've got a Republican Solution for you: Tighten the belt or lose the pants. And here's a Positive Agenda Item for you: I Positively DO NOT need a Nanny and am tired of you thinking that I do.

Here's a thought: Why don't you figure out what you stand for? You're starting to sound like you're falling for anything. I won't be following you there.

Posted: Colleen on May 16, 2008 at 1:31 PM

(Thanks to V the K)

Comments

[Wry Mouth]

California is ranked, what, #47 among states when it comes to encouraging small business... and we are a shining example on a hill if you want to know how to take the best state in the best country in the world and auger it into the ground! Hoo-rah!

It pains me to note that -- like Louisiana, and other laughably stereotypically out-of-control states -- we are run largely by the Democratic machine.

As for my Republican status? My pop, the Kennedy/Truman Democrat, drifted into the Republican camp, I feel myself drifting from the Republicans to the Constitutional Party camp. Sigh.

[Peggy U]

And I expect that the president's disapproval ratings are so high because of his own RINO fiscal tendencies.

... as well as his RINO approach to Global Wormening and border enforcement.

I voted for Bush as the lesser of two evils during his first term. His actions after 9/11 made me glad I had made that decision. But it's been mostly downhill since then. By courting the independents and moderate liberals, McCain is embracing the worst aspects of Bush's leadership. I am amazed to find that this election year I am even more discouraged with the lineup than I was in 2000.