Centerfield

Arnold - A Liberal Republican?

National Review has condemned Arnold Schwarzenegger as too moderate a Republican.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Tonight Show campaign announcement brought the recall to a boil, but Schwarzenegger, it seems clear, does not merit conservative support. In his multiple careers he has shown himself to be persistent and cunning. He surely believes in his Austrian-immigrant rags-to-riches story, and this seems to have prompted in him at least a curiosity about libertarian economics (he has attended functions sponsored by Reason magazine, and hobnobbed with Milton Friedman). But Schwarzenegger is pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, and pro-gun control. If he has any thoughts on illegal immigration, or the crushing rates of legal immigration from Mexico and points south, he has not revealed them. His campaign utterances so far have been bromides about California's children. (When politicians speak of children, count the spoons.) Rudy Giuliani was a liberal Republican who was a hard-core conservative on one salient issue — crime. Schwarzenegger appears to be simply a liberal Republican.

It's likely that Schwarzenegger could not win the Republican nomination in a traditional primary, where conservatives hold sway. But in a recall election, he doesn't have to. It is possible he may win this year by running up the center.

Posted by rickheller at August 18, 2003 06:01 PM