Last year in California there were two non-democrat candidates for Governor: Shcwarzenegger & McClintock. I felt McClintock would have been a much better chocie for governor, but many disagreed.
One of the arguments I saw frequently on firearms related message boards was that Schwarzenegger was a "stealth pro-gun canidate". The explanation was that Schwarzanegger was pro-gun but was keeping quiet about it to win the election. Despite pointing out his numerous statements in favor of gun control many people thought & still think Schwarzenegger is pro-gun.
Perhaps this will finally put the issue at rest:
"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who became a movie star by blowing up and shooting anything that stood in his way, has reaffirmed his support of the federal assault-weapons ban.
In a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last month, Schwarzenegger called on Congress to renew the ban, which is scheduled to expire in September."
I have to admit - that's mighty damn stealthy. Hell, most people would think this means he's anti-gun. Helluva actor.
“As you are well aware, Californians overwhelmingly support the ban on these dangerous weapons,' wrote Schwarzenegger, who spoke out in favor of the ban during last year’s campaign for the governorship but has not been very vocal on the issue this year.
'The renewal of the federal ban on assault weapons is a prudent, common sense effort to limit the prevalence and availability of dangerous weapons and protect public safety,' Schwarzenegger added."
Dangerous weapons? All weapons are dangerous. Many tools are dangerous.& Californians support & oppose many things that may or may not be in a persons or the nations best interest.
What Schwarzenegger doesn't understand is that the AWB is not a common sense measure, nor is it prudent. As far as effectiveness goes it's negligeble on stopping violent criminals. It doesn't affect the availability of those dangerous weapons (as opposed to safe ones?) or their presence. & it harms public safety more than it protects it by providing a chilling effect on the exercise of a constitutionally enumerated Right. Also it conditions people to accept gun control, which is a far greater public danger than criminals using "assault weapons" in violent confrontational crimes..
Then there's that constitution thing: if an amendment says you can't stop people from owning or carrying a certain object then how the hell can a law banning people from making or owning or possessing that certain object be okey dokey?
But perhaps this is all part of his plot to be the stealth pro gun candidate?
"Feinstein is one of the ban’s strongest advocates in the Senate, where a majority voted to extend it in March. While the ban-renewal bill has some bipartisan support in the House as well, House GOP leaders are unlikely to schedule a vote on it. Some lawmakers may attempt to force a vote through a discharge position."
The possibility of this damned thing being renewed isn't as remote as some would have you think.
"While the White House supports the ban, the president has not pressured GOP leaders to act. Gun-control advocates say Schwarzenegger’s endorsement of the ban is another example of the Republican governor breaking from Bush."
How is it breaking with Bush? Bush supports the ban, Schwarzenegger supports the ban. what's there to break with? The only difference is Schwarzenegger seems more vocal about it.
"Feinstein said, ' I welcome Governor Schwarzenegger’s support in this effort to ensure than the ban is reauthorized and that military-style assault weapons aren’t allowed back on the streets of America. Assault weapons are the weapons of choice for criminals and those seeking to do the maximum damage possible in the shortest amount of time.”
Why does "lying skank" come to mind whenever I see one of her quotes? I won't bother doing a complete refutation of her...statement. I will say that the the weapon of choice for criminals seeking to do the "maximum damage possible in the shortest amount of time" is the legislature.
Much criticism of Difi has come up since she took national office. Many people wonder why the hell Californians keep electing her. The most reasonable answer to this is some suggesting that the GOP simply hasn't bothered trying to field a competitive candidate in Difi's race. But still... wasn't there anyone not completely comotose who could have run against her? Or voted in her election?
So I submit that Schwarzenegger is so stealthy a pro-gun candidate that most people would think he supports gun control.
There's occassional talk of a constitutional amendment to allow a foriegn born person to run for the office of U.S. President. The talk has grown a little louder & more frequent since Schwarzenegger entered the political arena. If that amendment passes & Schwarzenegger does run for the oval office, please remember how good he is at being a stealthy pro-gun candidate. But since he ignores the 2nd amendment I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a stretch for him to simply disregard the text of the Constitution which says that only a natural born citizen can be president (Article II Section 1).
& if a constituional impediment is cleared for Schwarzenegger to run look forward to a repeat of the same arguments used by Republicans to convince conservatives (yes, there is a difference) that Schwarzenegger was the best choice to win the California election. Arguments like "Schwarzenegger's centrist (i.e. left of center) views will garner more support from the middle than our conservative candidate" & " the other guy is too conservative in his views whereas Schwarzenegger will win the election & allow us to become more conservative because of his left lean". Hopefully we'll be spared the "he's a stealth pro gun candidate" line of bullshit, but somehow I doubt it.
Let him know what you think of his stealthiness:
Governor's Off:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
governor@governor.ca.gov
This is the first I've heard of anyone thinking Schwarzenegger was a "stealth" candidate on the gun issue. He never made any bones about his support for the Brady Act and the AW ban, both of which were disclosed on his web site and in his radio interview with Sean Hannity. The only surprise here is that he's talking about the issue publicly rather than quietly allowing it to die.
As to who would have been a better governor, I think there's no question Gov. Schwarzenegger has gotten some important reforms passed on non-gun issues which far exceeded anything Gov. Davis, Gov. Bustamante or Gov. McClintock could have pulled off. The gun issue is something of a red herring in this election. For one thing, the differences between Schwarzenegger and McClintock on the gun issue are largely technical. It's all well and good to have a governor who would sign a bill to repeal the AW ban, the "junk" gun ban and the waiting period, but fat a lot of good that will do if your Legislature won't pass that bill in the first place. For another, McClintock was never really in the running, so the real comparison is not to him, but to Bustamante (if the Real Republicans had voted for McClintock) or Davis (if the Real Republicans had stayed home in disgust). Among those three, we had a choice between a moderate Republican who interprets the Second Amendment a bit too narrowly, and two Democrats who have yet to admit out loud that it exists at all.
Posted by: Xrlq at June 4, 2004 12:42 PMXrlq,
The "stealth pro gun caondidate" thing came up quite a few times on some firearms related message boards. I was kinda surpised cause at the time there were numerous statements Schwarzenegger made in favor of gun control. But the "stealth" thing kept popping up until the election was over. It's possible the people that (as far as I could tell) started this "stealth" business actually believed it through some reality-warp. But my money was on it being a pitiful yet possibly succesful attempt to garner support for Schwarzenegger despite his views on gun control. I guess the idea was that he was better on a number of other issues & this was the only way to downplay the gun thing.
& I disagree about Schwarzenegger being the best choice. It's true that McClintock would have faced stiffer opposition on some measures, but he had his economic act together much more than Schwarzenegger ever will. True, McClintock's knowledge wouldn't have been much of a conolation if he couldn't get anything passed, but I don't think he would have had as hard a time as some appear to think.
& McClintock was in the running. What negated his chances were the republican (not conservative) pundits who talked him down & more or less said that Schwarzenegger was California's last chance. It was politics, plain & simple. A man who stood a good chance of winning got elected over a man who stood a good chance of getting things sorted out. Popularity trumps ability.
But yeah, some peole were using the "stealth" candidate line to get people to support Schwarzenegger. I never heard it in the mainstream media or on any of the talk shows (they seemed to ignore or brush off the gun control thing) but it was a hot topic on some message boards.
Posted by: Publicola at June 4, 2004 02:40 PM