Saying that the ‘buck stops with me,’ California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses the failure of his ballot initatives in Tuesday’s special election, during a news conference held at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005. Schwarzenegger met with the press for the first time since his ballot intiatives were rejected by voters.

The ASSociated Press has Schwarzenegger Takes the Blame in Vote

Two days after voters rejected each of his four initiatives, Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger took responsibility for the stinging failures and said he learned that he needs more patience in seeking government reform.

“The buck stops with me,” he told reporters Thursday during a Capitol news conference, referring to Tuesday’s special election. “I take full responsibility for this election. I take full responsibility for its failure.”

“If I would do another ‘Terminator’ movie, I would have Terminator travel back in time to tell Arnold not to have a special election.” He also said his wife, Maria Shriver, had warned him not to go ahead with the election.

Flap bets Gale Kaufman, Don Perata and Fabian Nunez are laughing their ASSES off.

If the California Republican Party allows Arnold to be their nominee for Governor in 2006, they will have to take the MEA CULPA for the loss.

Technorati Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gale Kaufman, Maria Shriver, Don Perata, Fabian Nunez

Lou Cannon in the Los Angeles Times and Dog Trainer has What does Arnold do now?

AFTER HIS VICTORY in the 2003 recall election, Arnold Schwarzenegger was often compared to Ronald Reagan, the movie actor turned governor who parlayed his showmanship into the presidency of the United States. But after two disappointing years in Sacramento and the decisive rejection Tuesday of his package of ballot initiatives, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s reign resembles the political career of another celebrity outsider, Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.

All of these celebrities campaigned as populists against career politicians, and they disdained the Legislature. All took office burdened by inherited budget deficits. But Reagan in his first year as governor in 1967 surprised friends and foes alike by agreeing to what was then the largest tax increase ever enacted by any state, and a progressive tax at that. (Its price tag of $1 billion would be more than $5 billion in today’s dollars.)

Lou, did you read the election returns? Orange County did not turn out for Schwarzenegger. What do you think a tax increase would do for his Republican base?

Lou, Schwarzenegger is NO Ronald Reagan.

Lou, the last time we met (in the 1980’s) you told me at the Los Angeles Biltmore that Mayor of San Diego Pete Wilson would not be elected dog-catcher (before he upset Jerry Brown for a United States Senate seat – 1982).

Lou, since when are you a fan of the Meathead, Rob Reiner, class warfare and socialist redistribution schemes for universal pre-school – not kindergarten as reported in the L.A. Dog Trainer.

Lou, despite your advice, Schwarzenegger is a dead duck in November 2006.

Has Arnold’s agent called yet?

Technorati Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Cannon, Jesse Ventura, Rob Reiner

Governor and First Lady Schwarzenegger voting at polls, November 8, 2005.

The Los Angeles Times and Dog Trainer has Results Unsettle Gov.’s Supporters.

On a day of fierce recriminations, Republican allies and friends of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared shaken Wednesday by the collapse of his agenda in this week’s special election, saying he needs to recapture the confidence of voters by jettisoning some of his political advisors.

Among those distressed by the direction of the governor’s administration is First Lady Maria Shriver, who is interviewing potential candidates for senior staff jobs in the governor’s office, according to people familiar with the matter.

As rumors swirled, names surfaced of people who might be asked to join Schwarzenegger in high-level jobs. They included Democrats; one was Susan Kennedy, a California Public Utilities Commission member who had been a top aide to former Gov. Gray Davis. She declined to comment.

The Governor needs to reflect upon the words of sage and blogger Hugh Hewitt:

1. Clear out the left from inside the “horseshoe,” the Governor’s offices inside the Capitol.

2. Bring in some senior advisors with pedigrees on the right and listen to them. Ask Bruce Herchensohn to spend a couple of days a week in the offices, as a “minsiter without portfolio.” You don’t have to do a thing he recommends, but there is no more respected figure on the California right than Bruce. Associated with Bruce, but also with Reagan, is Ken Khachigian. Ask Ken to take up a post somewhere on the battlements. And raid Hoover –get Peter Robinson to convene a three day idea-fest with the folks who haven’t spent their lives trading quarter percents with Sacramento’s lobbyists.

If you are going to appoint Democrats to the bench –even one–don’t ask me to get excited about your re-election.

Governor has your agent called yet?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks to supporters at his election night party in a Los Angeles file photo from Nov. 8, 2005. The across-the-board collapse of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ballot propositions came down to this: They were ideas with narrow appeal, further damaged by a flat-footed campaign and an unpopular messenger, the governor himself.

The ASSociated Press has GOP: Poor Campaign Doomed Schwarzenegger

The across-the-board collapse of Gov.Ar nold Schwarzenegger’s ballot propositions came down to this: They were ideas with narrow appeal, further damaged by a flat-footed campaign and an unpopular messenger, the governor himself.

And that’s just what his fellow Republicans said.

Ok, here comes the SPIN:

Kevin Spillane:

“What was defeated yesterday was a caricature of Arnold Schwarzenegger, not the reality of Arnold Schwarzenegger,” Republican consultant Kevin Spillane said Wednesday.

Despite his moderate views on social and environmental issues, “that’s not the tone and style and implicit message that came through in this campaign, and it played right into the hands of his opponents who depicted him as an ultraconservative Republican,” Spillane said.

Allen Hoffenblum:

“They ran a Republican campaign in a Democratic state, and they saw that yesterday in the results,” Republican analyst Allan Hoffenblum said.

“Why did they wait several months to respond to attacks from unions?” Hoffenblum asked. “They made bad political decisions all the way through.”

John Pitney:

Schwarzenegger, who has famously called some political opponents “girlie men” and said he was always kicking the butts of others, saw such remarks come back to haunt him, said John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College who once worked as an analyst for House Republicans.

“His rhetoric put off a lot of voters, Pitney said. “‘Girlie men’ was a very expensive laugh line.”

And then some anti-pundit rehetoric from Todd Harris, the Governor’s spokesman:

“We had to weather the beating that we took,” said campaign spokesman Todd Harris, who also complained of second-guessing by people he said weren’t directly involved.

“There were people who didn’t lift a finger to help in the fight for reform who will now take great joy in pointing out what we should have done differently,” Harris said.

Flap sees the Governors winning a disastrous defeat from the jaws of certain victory as something deeper.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, and National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue talk during a photo session before their meeting at the governor’s office in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday evening, Nov. 9, 2005. They and their staffs met to discuss professional football and the prospects of Southern California getting an NFL team.

The Sacramento Bee has Union leaders want apology; governor silent after election defeat

Union leaders demanded an “apology to the people of California.” Democrats in the Legislature insisted he stop insulting them. Quit being a bully, they said at Capitol press conferences Wednesday, and finally work together on issues affecting people’s day-to-day lives. For his part, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remained behind closed doors in Los Angeles, holding a private meeting with Paul Tagliabue, commissioner of the National Football League, about a possible franchise there.

“The business of government continues immediately,” said Rob Stutzman, Schwarzenegger’s communications director. “There is no pause and important work to be done and important cooperation as we forge into next year.”

Damn! The unions are really a “CLASS ACT” – just like Bulworth and his Ball Bening.

But one day after an embarassing special election defeat that U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein called “the most significant ‘no vote’ in modern political California history,” everyone around the Capitol seemed to be wondering: exactly what will Schwarzenegger do next?

Flap suggests he call his agent and book some movie deals.

AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Martin Ludlow, left, Patrick McOsker, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, center, and UTLA President A.J. Duffy raise their hands in victory Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005 in Los Angeles. The group was victorious in its opposition of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘year of reform’ propositions. All four ballot proposals in Tuesday’s special election failed.

Todd Warden of Fullerton, California demonstrates in the street near the polling place where California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger voted in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles November 8, 2005.

Everyone has an opinion as to last night’s debacle of the California Special Election 2005.

Flap has some of the better pieces below:

Hugh Hewitt has Dear Governor:

Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee has A setback, yes – but Schwarzenegger must redouble reform effort

Ken Masugi at Local Liberty Blog, Post-Mortem or Pre-Mortem? UPDATED X2

Dan Schnur of the Flashreport.com, GOVERNOR, YOU WIN CALIFORNIA BY BEING…YOU!

Dan Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee has Public says no thanks to Schwarzenegger’s ideas

Interesting reading and please read them all.

So, has the Fat Lady Sung on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Governorship?

You betcha.

The Governator had a win-win situation even in the defeat of all of his reform measures and he still LOST.

Why?

He lost touch with the average California voter.

Can he regain his popularity and win re-relection anyway?

NOPE!

Two quotes aptly apply here:

From Hugh Hewitt:

As Nixon often remarked: You can’t win with just the conservatives, but you cannot win without them.

Arnold will never have the full support of California conservatives. He is not a conservative – plain and simple. Even Orange County did NOT turn out for him last night.

John Burton put the same thought slightly differently.

“Once people start not liking you in politics or show biz, then forget it,” Burton said. “It happened to Gray Davis. The day they wrote checks for the recall, he was f—ed .”

With all

of the protests

of the missteps

of the misquotes and poor quotes (Kick THEIR Butts, indeed)

of the leftie appointments to California government

of the unanswered televison ads directly attacking you

of the staged media events (instead of live debates) because your consultants though you were an empty suit

of the rich movie star luxuries

of the unsupportive wife and her family

of the perceived Conflicts of Interests in business dealings and fundraising…..

for these and more…….

Arnold, you should seek out some film deals and let the California Republican Party recruit another candidate for California Governor in 2006.