[quote author="skek" date=1226065718][quote author="EvaLSeraphim" date=1226062127]I'm kinda surprised you didn't vote for Schwarzie. You kind of struck me as a <a href="http://oc.thenewmajority.com/">New Majority</a> type.</blockquote>
Nope, I was leery of Arnold, even when it was clear that it was him or Cruz. (Eva, you have my eternal respect for at least drawing the line at voting for Cruz "I'm qualified to be insurance commissioner because I lost weight" Bustamante.) Funny that WINEX mentioned Gary Coleman. During the recall campaign, I asked a fellow Republican to explain to me the substantive differences in their qualifications such that one was getting millions in PAC money and the other was a bad punchline. In return, I got "married to Maria Shriver" and "President's Council on Physical Fitness." I also got "he's our only chance." Be careful what you wish for.
Republicans are conservatives, and conservatism is based on certain ideals. When someone doesn't understand or embrace those ideals and yet governs as a Republican, he or she can do great damage to the party's perception in the public. See, e.g., George W. Bush, Republican Congress (2000-2006) and Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneger.
Nothing against New Majority, though. A fine organization. But they have adopted a "do what we can to win" mentality in California, and that means supporting RINOs from time to time. I'd rather lose on principle. And in the end, I don't think conservative ideals necessarily have to lose in California.</blockquote>
On a more serious note, while Schwarzenegger's life story is compelling, there is a disturbing note in that life story. When asked about how he became a Republican, he traced his political belief system to a speech that Richard Nixon gave during the RNC. Forget Watergate. I can't think of anyone who I consider Republican that traces that belief system to Nixon. He certainly wasn't what I would consider to be a conservative.