Say Anything Blog

California is out of control.

Last night I listened to the gubernatorial debate held between Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, California State Senator Tom McClintock, Arianna Huffington, and Peter Camejo. It was very entertaining.

First of all, I would have to say that Ah-nold was the strongest candidate up there last night. He was cool and collected, he didn't jump into the brawls started by Huffington but waited until the smoke cleared before delivering some well-thought-out responses. I was thoroughly impressed. He stayed calm after Huffington got personal, attacking Arnold about his treatment of women back in his body builder days. Schwarzenegger did go personal first, however, referring to Huffington's non-payment of taxes over the last two years. Perhaps the most telling moment of the night was when the moderator referred to Arnold as "Governor Schwarzenegger" drawing applause from the crowd.

McClintock did well also. I like his stands on a lot of the issues as he is clearly pretty conservative. He was the only debater to bring up the biggest problem in California, illegal immigration. He also railed against the recent Illegal License Bill which would allow illegal aliens in California to get driver's licenses without becoming citizens.

(Only in California could they be thinking about giving driving privileges to people who aren't even citizens. What's next, social security for illegal aliens? Oh wait...)

I think McClintock would make a great governor for California. Personally, I'm split between Schwarzenegger and McClintock, and that is where the problem is going to lay. McClintock may split the republican vote with Arnold to the point where neither of them will get elected. McClintock has been pressured by the GOP to drop out, but he's standing pat. I don't think he quite has it enough to win, even if Arnold wasn't running also. Plus, McClintock's staunch conservatism may be a little too much for the Californians right now, perhaps too much of a shock to the system. Better to let Arnold butter them up with a more moderate approach.

Bustamante would be a mistake. The Californians would basically be electing Davis again. His replies regarding the economy were a joke. "We spent too much," he said. No kidding, genius. Bustamante is already in power and hasn't done squat. Its time for new blood. He was not strong in last night's debate.

I'm not even going to discuss Huffington or Camejo. Camejo would simply bring in more taxes on the rich and would probably spend more time on the environment then anything else. Like California needs more environmental laws.

Huffington is a sham candidate. She spent the entire debate attacking the other candidates and talking over them to the point where she was chastised for not allowing anybody else to speak. The only reason she is being taken seriously for this election is because she is a woman. Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with a female candidate but Huffington is only here to ham it up for her next book deal. The best part of the whole night was when Arnold got her on the tax evasion. You could tell she was shaken and I don't think she ever quite recovered. How anybody could support a candidate is as rich as she is yet doesn't pay taxes.

The only real choices here are McClintock or Schwarzenegger. I'm fairly certain Arnold will win, but McClintock wouldn't be a bad choice either.

In any case, a Republican governor in California would be a great boon to the entire country.