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10.08.2003
The Trojan Horse Candidate or Hiding Behind the Bushes Watching from a distance the candidacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger I could not help but think about the contradiction of his party allegiance. By all outward appearances he is outside of the Republican mold. Some might say that he represents the broad acceptance of all political types into the republican tent. I think that might be true but not for the same reasons some might argue. He represents a path to power. Arnold was accepted because he provided a door where one was needed. It matters less how that door was opened if it means that the party faithful will have access to the levers of power. I think the same can be said about the candidacy of Bush as well. When you look at the Presidency of George W. Bush, does it really reflect the "theme" of his candidacy where he was touted as an "outsider" that would bring change to Washington? The reality of his presidency is that once elected, many of the old Republican party faithful that had been out of power for almost a decade, waiting in the wings, drawing paychecks from private corporations or Think Tanks packed up their bags and returned to the Whitehouse. The irony of elections are that we elect individuals but what we get are administrations. Its almost like picking a dog based only on the sight of its tail. In the age of Arnold, the candidate himself may be nothing more than a vessel on which the party loyalists can ride into office. Once there than can unload and proceed with policies that have little mandate from the electorate. Picking your candidate can now be as simple as selecting a likable celebrity that voters can relate to and hiding in the bushes till inauguration day. This may have been the case for much longer than we think. One thing the recent debacle in California showed us was the dividing line in the Republican party between those who supported Arnold as a sure bet to attain a political foothold in California, and those that supported Tom McClintock, who more accurately represented the core values of the Republican party. There must be some bitter resentment felt by the more ideological members of the Republican party in California against Arnold for wrecking the party that Darrell Issa was throwing. The more pragmatic members knew that getting an (R) next to the governor's name meant giving the cold shoulder to McClintock. | |
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