Schwarzenegger Takes the Blame in Vote

[superconnected]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051110/ap_on_re_us/schwarzenegger_6;_ylt=AjrBUPuHHo_yvXOxneZMm5jtPRYi;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

SACRAMENTO - Two days after suffering a stinging election defeat, a conciliatory Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took responsibility for the failure of his initiatives and said he learned that he needs more patience in seeking government reform.

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"The buck stops with me," he told reporters Thursday during a Capitol news conference, referring to the clean sweep against his proposals in Tuesday's special election. "I take full responsibility for this election. I take full responsibility for its failure."

Voters rejected each of the initiatives Schwarzenegger was pushing on the ballot. He sought to implement a state spending cap and give the governor authority to make midyear budget cuts, change the way legislative districts are drawn, lengthen the probationary period for teachers and restrict the ability of public employee unions to raise money for political campaigns.

Asked if there was anything he would do differently, Schwarzenegger said, "If I was to make another Terminator movie, I would tell Terminator to travel back in time to tell Arnold not to have another special election."

....more

[superconnected]

1. I'm surprised about anyone accepting responsibility and taking the blame

from that party. At least he has more spine then GW.

[neuvocat]

3. The GOP is abandoning him over this

so he might as well abandon the GOP in turn.

[liberalnurse]

10. So, since I am in Ohio and work all the time,

could you confirm my speculation that all of his issues failed.

[sojourner]

17. confirmed

:)

[neuvocat]

22. Yes, absolutely.

Especially with those two proposals that tried to punish teachers and nurses by undermining their job security and ability to lobby congress. Prop 77 was just a ploy to bring gerrymandering to the state.

[liberalnurse]

50. Once he drew blood with the nurses, I knew he'd

be in for one hell of a regrettable fight! Then, he arrogantly went after teachers.....So, so stupid! The California nurses were here in Ohio getting lots of support. You see, they have set the standard we pray for, staff ratio limits. This was a battle to the death and WE WON!

[movonne]

14. I think someone gave him some good advice...good way to distance

himself from bush, who never, never takes responsibility for his messes. Don't let him fool you that he will be the good guy.

[msongs]

2. so did he say his right wing corporate power grab was WRONG and

he will not do it again because the voters in California do NOT like his political and business views?

and did he apologize?

Msongs
www.msongs.com/chinamart.htm

[Dem Agog]

4. I Must Say it's the WISE Thing to Do

In an era where No Republican Takes Responsibility Arnold stands out for simply saying "the buck stops with me". I respect a man who says that, even if I don't like his politics.

* would do well to learn from Arnold. I must say, it's refreshing to see a trounced Republican shoulder the blame. I don't like him as a governor, and I've hated the way he's composed himself as a governor (girly men? Oh Freakin PUHLEEZE.) But he's taken the beating like a man.

The administration in the White House needs to learn from him.

[Cha]

45. You as opposed to scotty calling

the losses "wins"?

[madmom]

5. So he's taking responsibility, does that mean since it was his..

special election boondoggle, he'll pay for it, so tax payers won't have to.

[yorkiemommie1]

23. my question too

n/t

[OnionPatch]

43. Yeah, I think he needs to

take the profit from his next movie and give it to the state of California. Except that it will probably blow and be a big money-loser anyway.

[Mz Pip]

6. Seems to be the new talking point

How many times in the past few weeks have we heard "I take responsibility..." Georgie did it with Katrina, Jeb with Wilma and now Arnie with the CA election fiasco.

I would love to ask all three of them to explain exactly what taking responsibility looks like. Coming from that crowd it is nothing more than empty words. Kind of like all the rest of their words.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[LisaM]

8. EGG-zactly

It's a meme. They all say it now and it is just empty rhetoric.

[Dem Agog]

9. I hear you about the "new talking point" ... but...

The difference is the * admin had to be cajoled into pretending to take responsibility. Arnold came out and just did it.

There's a difference in perception by the voters, I think. In one way it's bad, because stepping up just might give him a fighting chance since he earns respect by doing that. And I think Arnold is best as a one term mistake by California...

But in another way, at least it sounds sincere, because it didn't take so long for the words to come from his mouth.

[Mountainman]

7. Arnold was put there by the right wing to try to steal away the state.

It didn't work. They are out of money and ideas. They can't win in an honest election. So will Arnold continue to be the Right's butt lick or will he be his own man? Will he continue to screw the working class or will he do something to help them out?

Only the Shadow knows.

[calimary]

52. Part of that is in error - unfortunately. Unfortunately, they will likely

NEVER run out of money. They're VERY rich, these wrong-wingers. They don't hesitate to spend like drunks when it's time to contribute to campaigns or fund wrong-wing think tanks and speakers' bureaus or underwrite extensive hatchet jobs like the "Arkansas Project." They ALWAYS seem to have more than enough money to fund all kinds of dirty shit. Dear God, I wish you were correct. It'd be nice to see them genuinely pleading poverty for a change.

They're morally and spiritually bankrupt already. It'd be nice, and well-deserved, if they were financially bankrupt, also.

But you're quite correct. Arnold WAS put in place in an ambitious scheme to take over California and turn it into a red state. I'm just glad the liberal vote is so overwhelming as to be virtually unassailable. We just have to remain vigilant so it stays that way.

[BlueManDude]

11. How big of him - who else would be to blame?

Does this make him straight shooter.

[ElectroPrincess]

12. It's no wonder these morally bankrupt Republicans are quick to take

the blame. There is NO price to pay for screwing up. Hell, if they're National Scale Players, they are honored the "Medal of Freedom" from Dear Leader. :puke:

What's up is down in Bush-World.

Silly Rabbit! Rules and Consequences are ONLY for the Democrats.

[depakid]

67. Ah- the first one to get it!

Yes, indeed. There is a big difference between saying "I take responsibility" and actually doing something to remedy the situation you created- or God forbid some sort of "pennance."

Talk is cheap-

[Book Lover]

13. Then I have a check for you to sign, Arnie,

on the *front* to repay California for this waste of public funds.

[VegasWolf]

15. Love it when a politican says he will take "full responsibility" for a

disaster. Does this mean Arnie will resign? Will he lose one of his H2s? Will he be docked $10.00 from his pay? What the fuck does it mean?

[Innoma]

16. Words. And Nothing But...

Sure sounds great, doesn't it? Easy to be apologetic when it costs absolutely nothing and you have nothing to lose. How about backing up the empty promises with action?

I have a suggestion: Resign. Now THAT'S accountability.

[calimary]

61. Welcome to DU! What you said! He SHOULD resign.

I think he's going to do for Gray Davis what bushie-boy has already done, for many Americans, with Bill Clinton: make them look frickin' SPECTACULAR.

Glad you're here! Help us GET RID OF THESE BASTARDS. bush and arnie BOTH!!!

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!
Then go DO something about it.

[zanne]

18. He's setting a good example for the others.

I'm no Schwarzenegger fan by a long shot, but taking responsibility for his bonehead moves is an admirable thing to do. Now, if he could change the rest of his ideas.....

[VegasWolf]

20. Err, why exactly is this a "good" thing other than he has absolutely no

downside to breathing these syllables out into the atmosphere?

[twaddler01]

19. * needs to take after him

that would be the day....

[meti57b]

21. OK, I get it, arnold's propositions were good ones, but he used the wrong

technique to deceive the public.

[sendero]

24. Gee...

... it seems that many here think Arnuld did the wrong thing by verbally accepting responsibility.

Since that was the wrong thing, should he have said nothing, or blamed it on everyone else?

I'm sorry, I'm no Arnold fan, but while his words accomplish nothing they are akin to an apology and that's worth something.

[VegasWolf]

25. Really, why? nt

[sendero]

26. If words are worth nothing..

... why are you reading or posting here?

[VegasWolf]

29. That is a response? Again, why is is good that "Ahnuld" is apologizing

for having failed an attempt that was disastrous to California? Would you perhaps he succeed in his disastrous attempt? My take is that he is apologizing for it not having succeeded in winning his disastrous propositions. You believe this is good?

[sendero]

30. "Disastrous"...

... if this was "disastrous" I'd hate to see a real disaster.

I'm sorry, the dude made a power play, it failed, and he "seems" chastened - it could all be an act only time will tell.

But in any event, he could blame everyone, say nothing, or take "responsibility" and he chose the best course.

Saying stuff like he "should quit" is ludicrous. If every politician who overreached quit we'd have no one in office.

[VegasWolf]

32. If you don't believe that his proposition for limiting union power and

increasing the governor's power was disastrous to the Democratic party, then I can suggest a few more forums where you might express your ideas to a more receptive audience.

You appear to think that an attempted Republican takeover of California is a good thing. Unfortunately, many California voters do not agree with your line of thinking.

You never did answer my question as to why "Ahnolds" apology for failing in his initiatives was a good thing.

[sendero]

34. It would have been..

...disastrous had it passed, it didn't


This entire fucking argument seems to be over your head. Of the possible three verbal things he could have done, he did the best one.

If you don't think so, that is your opinion, and I'll never share it.

[VegasWolf]

35. Humm, it appears as if you have descended in incoherency. You

believe that a trivial statement has worth, I don't.

[sendero]

37. You don't appear..

... to understand the concept of relative worth.

[VegasWolf]

41. Of course I do sir! You simply

have failed to answer my question with facts other than your own subjective feelings. As I have repeatably stated, I find little
comfort in arnie's words. Those words have cost California a lot of
dollars that it could ill afford to lose.

[Patchuli]

38. He should repay our tax money!

That would mean something. Oh yeah, and he should QUIT because he's a lousy governor.

[Cha]

47. And arnie should REPAY

the teacher's fund the $2 Billion he borrowed and now has seemingly STOLE from them!

[Patchuli]

63. I'd like that too!

Because of that, I was laid off in 2004!

Thanks Arnie...

[frylock]

28. certainly not worth the colossal amount of cash wasted for this crap..

BFD. He would do it again in a heartbeat if given the chance.

[Innoma]

42. Allow me...

Suppose I back into your car in a crowded parking lot.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking. Well, see ya later, pal!"

Not to be glib, but a simple apology doesn't always do it; sometimes there are consequences to your actions that go beyond the sincerity of a few words.

Sure, maybe you're a nice guy and you accept my sincerity and give me a free ride, but whether I'm sincere or entirely unrepentent, the consequence for my action should be to pay for the damage I've caused.

Maybe Arnie *is* sincere in his apology - how would I know? - but we've had so much empty rhetoric these last few years that its time we had some real accountability.

I think what some of us might be saying here is that his apology is all smoke and mirrors until he does something about it, whether its actually trying to work with legislature or something more drastic, like resignation.

I, for one, think he embarked on his ego-fueled quest with the attitude that the people be damned, he had the answer, and it was he who would ram it down our throats whether we liked it or not.

For someone who seems that out of touch, that driven by his own agenda, and in that position of power, I say resignation is a option toward that accountability because even though elected officials are mere mortals, they should be held to a higher standard.

I'd hate to see Arnie get a pat on the head and a free pass for saying something that needs to be said. He should do something about it or pay the price, and until that happens, his apology is suspect in my book.

Your mileage may vary.

[UTUSN]

27. Words Words Words. True "responsibility" Means: I (Ahhhnuld) QUIT n/t

[Raine]

31. That's rare coming from a reTHUG...

taking responsibility and blame.:wow: That's something they usually always pass along to others, in particular to Clinton.

[joeybee12]

33. This was not about reform, this was a power grab...Dems need to

keep hammering that home. Kick him when he's down, I say!

[Cha]

48. Prescisely!

arnie's still shilling with words. Now, he's borrowing from Harry Truman's playbook only it's Empty Rhetoric.

[Patchuli]

36. If he really were to take responsibility,

then he should PAY US BACK the 40 million dollars he pissed away pushing this crap on us!

[Cha]

49. I heard it was

$53 Million or more.

[Patchuli]

64. Well since the Groper is sooooooooo good @

photo shoots and fundraisers, he can just raise it in no time and GIVE IT BACK TO CALIFORNIA if he actually gives a shit, which I don't think he does. If he had, he wouldn't have been privy to Enron 'business' here in CA.

[olddad56]

39. Failure, what failure? I thought the whole ordeal was a huge success.

[Guaranteed]

40. Arnie owes California sixty-some odd million dollars. nt

[Cleita]

44. Exactly. That's what we want to hear him tell us, how he

intends on repaying us.

[David Zephyr]

54. And union dues spent to oppose him as well.

Since he "cares" so much about their dues, he should repay them, too.

I don't give this guy one inch.

I want him recalled.

[UndergroundRadical]

46. AT LEAST HE'S MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT IT!!!!

Cheney and Company haven't admitted and/or taken the blame for **one** of their uncountable number of fuck-ups.

[VegasWolf]

56. In all seriousness, what sort of manhood does it take to be responsible

for something for which one has no accountability. Granted that Cheney and Bush are the slime of the earth, the lowest form of life on this planet, why should anybody be compared with them? It's like comparing a human with an earthworm. What exactly is the consequence of arnie's apology, except to hope to buttress his dismal support levels?

[superconnected]

58. yeah but after bush and katrinas brown the blaming everyone else

sort of seems like a republican reflex now.

at least he didn't start blaming clinton, the poor people, city govs, etc....

[VegasWolf]

59. Yes. but where is the value? I could take full responsibility for

anything that I was completely unaccountable for. He cost California taxpayers 50 million dollars and says I'm sorry? I didn't sell my very bad propositions hard enough? I'll try harder next time for the "good guy's"? I'm so sorry? I just don't get it.

He failed and he is simply trying to mollify what few supporters he has left.

I fail to see the glory. I think he is simply being duplicitous. Show me that I am wrong.

[superconnected]

60. true.

[splat@14]

51. This guy thinks everything is a script. He has no concept of reality..

Because he doesn't live in real world. "Responsibility" is easy to accept when it doesn't mean a damn thing. He has no concept of his decisions on the people he governs because he has no concept of anyones life other than his own. I can't decide if he is more incompetent than Bush - neither belong in office.

[David Zephyr]

53. Last Night Was a Political Decapitation.

Arnold had his head handed to him on a platter last night by angry Californians who have had enough.

He does not get a free pass on what he has put nurses, teachers and union workers through!

He can't "make nice" now.

Who is the nicest animal in the jungle? The lion with wounded paws.

The lion is only nice because he was wounded. He has learned no lesson. As soon as his paws heal, he will be back to his old self.

Arnold cost union workers millions of their dues to oppose his shitty special election.

No one should give this jackass one iota of credit for "taking the blame". Of course he takes the blame. There's no one on earth that he could pass the buck to.

To hell with him.

[Cha]

65. Thass right! The same as

bush did when he took "the blame" for Katrina. Was anyone fooled on this Board? I wasn't.

They get caught red handed and their advisers say.."take the blame..that will shut them up". Ha!

[regnaD kciN]

55. I think Ahnuld's done...

It was already rumored that, had his initiatives done well (thus allegedly proving his popularity among voters), he would have run for Feinstein's senate seat next year rather than a re-election run for governor. That tells me that he has little interest in continuing to run Cal-ee-for-nee-a. Given that he would have been out the door after a win this week, why would he stick around when Tuesday's results indicate that he would have a tough campaign ahead for a job in which he is no longer all that interested? I look for him to announce he's bowing out sometime in the next three months.

[VegasWolf]

57. Let's hope the clown bodybuilder has finally quit trying to think! nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

62. Taking responsibility means paying for the costs of the special

election.

Fat chance.

[VegasWolf]

66. Arnie should leave California in the hands of people with more neurons

than striated skeletal muscle cells. My opinion.

[opihimoimoi]

68. Yup, no shit...and, he had no choice but to admit the failure...

to not do it is tantamount to sulking.

[pinniped]

69. I read two articles about this and none seemed to mention...

the $50,000,000.00+ dollars of taxpayer money this monkey cost us.

Just yesterday the newZ stated Gropenfuhrer would not hesitate to call another special election in the future.

--Asked if there was anything he would do differently, Schwarzenegger said, "If I was to make another Terminator movie, I would tell Terminator to travel back in time to tell Arnold not to have another special election."--

[truthisfreedom]

70. he's finally realized that he sucks...and that saying "i suck" is the only

way he can re-connect with his constituency.

[belle]

71. well, duh.

[tanyev]

72. Must he reference the Terminator movies in EVERY

political statement he makes? Yes, Arnold, we know you were in those movies. Yes, we know they were very popular. Yes, we know you played a really bad-ass character in those movies. But we also know that they were just movies. Arnold seems to think he can convince us that they were real.