We are barely a week after Arnie's now infamous "close the borders" comment and this guy just can't refuse to keep his mouth shut.
Governor endorses Minutemen... -SF Chronicle 5/29/05
Yes, you read that correctly. The Governor of California supports the "Minutemen" a group so off kilter that even Bush won't support.
Although President Bush has criticized the group as vigilantes, Schwarzenegger said, "They've done a terrific job. And they have cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants by a huge percentage.''
Schwarzenegger, appearing on the conservative Los Angeles KFI radio's "John and Ken'' talk show, was asked his views of the Minutemen, who are using armed volunteers along the border in Arizona. The governor endorsed the effort, saying, "It just shows that it works.''
"Our federal government is not doing their job," Schwarzenegger said. "It's a shame that the private citizen has to go in there and start patrolling our borders."
Yap away Arnie. That flushing sound you hear right now is that sound of your credibility going down the drain. And to think that back in the day I was disappointed in the recall but I said to myself "At least Arnold's a moderate." Hah! Moderate my ass.
Schwarzenegger sure pulled a snow job on us making us Californians believe he was a moderate.
Some conservative bloggers accuse us liberals of having some kind of latent institutional racisim in our ranks. They try to prove that by parading their United Colors of Bennetton cabinet and judicial nominees and when us liberals refuse to confirm them because they're out of the mainstream conservative (and not because they're not white) they accusse us of being racists. They also say we don't have to work hard for minority votes.
I don't want to sound callous, but as long as Arnie and his conservative buddies are shooting their mouths like this we won't have to work hard for the minority (at least Hispanic) vote.
Our conservative friends also forget....
Proposition 187
Sorry about the tangent, back to topic. So this latest episode of Hey Arnold! sends his minions scurrying to get a CYA statement.
Rob Stutzman, communications director with the governor, said Schwarzenegger had not been in contact with the group and had no current plans to contact them.
Schwarzenegger does not support illegal activity, Stutzman said, and he was merely "praising acts with citizens that are working diligently to solve a problem that their government is not solving.''
It's ironic that Schwarzenegger, an immigrant himself, would be so anti-immigrant. But I get it, illegal immigrants from Mexico aren't white.
But anyways, when questioned on his stance on the "Minutemen" he can't even formulate a coherent response to defend himself, especially when people point out that Bush doesn't support these people.
Asked what he would do to secure the border, the governor offered, "The most important thing is what they're doing with the Minutemen now ... have more people controlling it.''
But Schwarzenegger appeared stumped when he was asked why Bush had criticized the armed citizens as vigilantes.
"I really cannot tell you exactly what his thinking is," Schwarzenegger said of the president. "The next time I see him, I will have this conversation.''
It's clear to me why why Bush doesn't support the "Minutemen." It's because if he does, he'll lose a lot of support.
And now for the Democratic response:
"It is illegal to interfere with law enforcement, and if the governor is promoting that, then maybe we should think of bringing action against him,'' said Art Torres, state Democratic Party chairman. "When he took an oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States, that includes all of its laws. And when the president of the United States and the Border Patrol both suggest that these activities are not only not helpful, but possibly illegal, that needs to be seriously examined.'''
Nice argument, you made Arnie look like he was shirking his duties but the winner goes to...
Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-Southgate (Los Angeles County), lambasted the governor's words as "the rantings of a desperate politician'' and an effort "to scapegoat people when you're down.''
"This isn't an action movie," De La Torre said. "It isn't cool that there are people out in the desert with guns.''
Thank you Assemblyman De La Torre, keep those sound bites coming. Because the best way to beat this guy is to kill him with sound bites, just like he did during the recall with his "Hasta la vista"s and "I will Terminate..." Like the old saying goes, "You live by the sword, you die by the sword."
Arnie, if you can't take it, then don't dish it.
This guy is digging a hole so deep that he won't be able to climb out of it.