The Truth About Arnold

[kskiska]

The movie star poses as a corruption-fighting moderate. But since taking office, he's pursued a blatantly right-wing agenda while raking in big bucks from special interests -- and ignoring his own financial conflicts.

By Peter Byrne

Titillated by the star power of his populist coup in California, the national media has swooned in Arnold Schwarzenegger's muscular embrace for over a year. The New Yorker profiled him as "Supermoderate!" Wired found him to be "surprisingly effective." The editors of the New York Times proclaimed, "The last action hero can seemingly do no wrong." On the cover of its January 2005 issue, Vanity Fair featured the leather-jacketed Schwarzenegger posing atop a Harley with his silken spouse, Maria Shriver. The story, like so many others, portrayed the glam couple as the future of American politics: bipartisan, moderate, effective ... presidential.

At first, the new governor sporadically fit the role of social liberal but fiscal conservative. He endorsed stem cell research, strengthened protections for domestic partners, and supported access to public records. Conversely, he campaigned against reforming the penal law, called for setting up a DNA database for felons, and vetoed a bill allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses. But, overall, people bought into his seeming moderation -- fully two-thirds of the state's general public favored his governorship. No California governor in modern times has enjoyed such a broad-based mandate to tinker with the government of the world's fifth-largest economy.

• But with his defiantly immoderate State of the State speech in early January, when he proposed to drastically cut back education and social services in lieu of taxing the rich, Schwarzenegger blindsided liberal Californians with his nakedly Republican agenda. This week, the celebrity governor travels to Washington to mine his relationship with President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress to boost federal spending for California. Since arriving in Sacramento, Schwarzenegger has: Taken governmental actions that benefit his personal finances, in apparent violation of state law.
• Collected tens of millions of dollars from many of the same "special interests" he had sworn to kick out of town when he was elected.
• Vetoed bills that would have protected labor, the environment, workplace safety and consumers.• Sought to centralize his power by abolishing citizen-run boards that make important regulatory decisions.
• Advocated for increased deregulation of the electricity market.

more…
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/02/15/arnold/index.html

[dave502d]

1. Will they ever get enough money? n/t

[begin_within]

2. This is a surprise? Whoever voted for him is an idiot.

[rehema]

3. Send Arnold back to making movies n/t

[yurbud]

4. thank you salon! the rest of the country needs to know

before they fall for the celebrity shtick and screwed along with us.

[shantipriya]

5. AHNOLD!??

the California liberals who voted for this "piece of work" deserve whatever they get!It really amazes me that we have Repug Governors in the 3 most liberal States in the country. We Democrats and progressives need lessons in loyalty to our cause and party.

[Overseas]

6. Kick n/t