August 7, 2003

On Arnold and Experience

What is is about a sudden turn of events in the political realm that brings out the shallow stupidity in the paid pundits of our fair land?

Not 24 hours into Arnold Schwarzenegger's run for the Governorship of California, the media air-waves are full of blathering commentators bemoaning the fact that Arnold has 'no political experience,' and therefore should not hold office, or even have the temerity to run.

Read my lips: "So what?"

Yes, there's a whole clot of rabble already whining about 'upstarts' that never ran for anything. You'd think that democracy requires a person to start running for office in the second year of high school, and to keep at it all the way up the political career ladder.

Last time I looked, the rules of this democracy said that any citizen at any time in any place that met the requirements for office could run for that office.

Arnold does. Ergo he may run.

Professional politicians and pundits are cordially invited to partake of a nice hot cup of STFU.

"Experience" vs. "Inexperience" is something that that awful beast, the people, will decide. With their votes. On election day. Refreshing concept, isn't it?

You do not need "experience" to win. Experience is what you get after you win.

The inevitable comparison to Jesse Ventura is a canard and a base one.

What we have here is an extremely intelligent man who is no stranger to running numerous businesses; a man who literally "built himself up" from nothing; a man who has a deeply engaging personality; a man who has a certified track record of negotiating deals with some of the most difficult people in existence, movie people; a man who, in examining the spreadsheets from numerous films is no babe in the woods when it comes to bogus accounting; a man who has no need to raise a cent from anyone; a man who is, if not sincere, better able to fake sincerity than any one of the thousand clowns that currently compose the government of California.

And, as his secret weapon, what we have here is a man that people genuinely love.

What we have here is, in short, a winner.

Posted by Vanderleun at August 7, 2003 10:50 AM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

When I hear the "inexperience" tag I wonder how would being a congressman prepare one to be a governor. Makes no sense. What does one elective office have to do with another. It's the practical skills that count and as noted Arnold has them.

Posted by: Chad Brooks at August 8, 2003 12:58 PM

You don't need experience as an elected official to be able to perform well. All of the incumbents currently in office has shown us this! Any of us who knows how to balance a check book could run the state budget better than the rest of the Yo-Yo's in office currently. All you need is common sense, an honest and sincere desire to lead the people, and a self driven attitude that doesn't let anyone get in your way. All of which Arnold has proven time and time again to poses! My husband and I were one of the 1.6 million folks that signed the recall petition, and Arnold is right! "We are mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore!" Thank God we finally have a candidate worth voting for!
Arnold,
We are deeply concerned with the public school system in CA. The schools are poorly staffed, supplied, and maintained. Our children deserve better. We placed our kids in a private school for $500/child/month. Further research has shown us that the CA budget for the public schools is $53 billion dollars/year. There are 8,761 Schools in California and 6,050,895 Students; which means there is $8759.03/Student. Based on 20 Students/Class ($8759.03 X 20) the funds available per 20 Student Class is $175,180.69. This is a lot of money per 20 student class, yet the public school system is still unable to provide for our children. Our private school charges $3,759 less/school year, makes a profit, and provides a better education. Their class size is 12 students/class and the learning environment can not be matched by any public school. As part of their regular K-6th grade curriculum their school hours are 8:30am to 3pm, and they have Spanish, Art, Music, and P.E.
We pay our share in taxes but yet if we sent our kids to a public school they would be sadly lacking in a proper education. Does this make sense to you? Where is all the money going? Certainly it is not going towards Teachers salaries! It seems that an awful lot of money is being spent on Non-Value added items and someone is making a killing on our tax dollars while our kids continue to suffer. How can we fix this? Can you please help us to fix this! Tells us what we can do to help fix this. We are ready and willing to help!

Posted by: Kathleen S. Palumbo at August 10, 2003 5:28 PM