As I understand it, he's said he wouldn't rule out new taxes. He's kind of an old school Republican that way. The deficit is one of the biggest issues in California right now and he's for wiping it out and balancing the budget. He must not have gotten the memo that the parties have flipped on this and balanced budgets are now the province of Democrats. r****do (you said it; don't blame glynch): Davis and Bustamente share a party. That's basically the common thread. To say they're the same candidate because of that is absurd and suggests you'd say that about any Democrat. The recall is meant to change governors. It is not necessarily meant to change parties. Especially in a state that generally leans hard left.
Batman Jones, When I mention that they are the same candidate is not because they are from the same party. Bustamante is accepting money from the very special interest groups that Davis has. He wants to continue under the same plan that Davis is currently running. The labor union came out and publicly threatened any democrat that would run against Davis by saying that they will be sorry if they did. The labor union in CA is the most powerful lobby group. After they pledged their support for Davis thet gave him millions to help his campaign effort. Bustamante ran against their wishes but when they realized that if Davis is out they would lose everthing they have gained under Davis. Who do you think is now making large contributions to Bustamante? The labor unions. Why? Because he will keep everthing status quo. I dont really care what Bustamante calls himself , R, D, I, or G. It is his policies that make him like Davis not his party affiliation.
Tomato, tomato, rick. Democrats are pro-labor, Labor is pro-Democrat. That proves nothing. And most Democrats said they wouldn't support a challenger and later changed their tunes. It wasn't a case of hard-core Davis supporters saying "Oh, well as long as it's Bustamente... He's just like Davis, so we'll vote for him." It was a case of Democrats being loyal and then realistic. The "special interests" you speak of are from the core Democratic Party base. All that taking the same money proves is that they're both Democrats. Is every Republican who rewards the rich and screws the poor the "same person?" Or are they just all Republicans?
I underestand that each party will be faithful to their base. This is why I think California needs someone different than currently in office. I am probably living in a dream world but there is a median that can be reached between the two parties. One that helps small business and also benefits the employees. The way it is now the employees are the only ones who benefit. At some point if the business goes under because of the current regulations it does not help anyone. It is difficult in California to elect someone on the far right because the majority of CA's voter base are Dems. I believe 44% to 35% in a recent article i read. This is why Arnold is gaining popularity in CA, because he is more near the middle. I just dont believe that Davis or Bustamante are the answer. Right now I am not sure if Arnold is the answer because I just do not know enough about his platform.
I get it, rick. You're a Republican. A moderate one, probably. That's fine. Just don't pretend Bustamente and Davis are the same guy because they share a party. You haven't presented any evidence that they share anything aside from basic party principles, and yet you suggest that the recall is a referendum on the Democratic Party. It's not. It's a referendum on Davis.
You are probably correct, my point was that to the voters of CA Davis and Bustamante represent the same thing. The people are not happy with Davis and then Bustamante comes out and wants to continues with the same philosophies. The state is in desperate economic times and something different needs to be done. Who will do that job I am not sure.
Schwarzenegger's comments about the California budget mess have been asinine at best. He has thus far promised not to raise taxes, but really hasn't specified whether or not he would cut spending. In closing, with the theme of this thread, I say:
