Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: “What Does Arnold Schwarzenegger Believe in?”

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger views a portion of the levee along the Sacramento River while getting a tour of the levees in a California National Guard Helicopter, near Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006. Schwarzenegger, who has announced that he wants to spend $2.5 billion over the next 10 years to strengthen levees and improve the flood managment system, called on the federal government to provide federal funds to help cover the costs.

ASSociated Press: Voters Start to Ask Who Schwarzenegger Is

Atoning for a year in which California voters turned against him, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger confessed to a litany of political sins last month but took solace in a few words, “I led from my heart.” A lot of voters might wonder what that means.

Well, he certainly didn’t lead California with his BRAIN. The California Special Election last November was a disaster.

Arnold actually LOST that election when he had already WON it.

As he begins his pursuit of a second term in Sacramento, the twists and lurches of recent months have left a residual question about his leadership: What does Arnold Schwarzenegger believe in?

This is a difficult question to answer. During the recall of failed Democrat Governor Gray Davis, Arnold was a fiscal conservative and anti-tax.

After the election he immediately campaigned for a bond measure to write down debt accrued by profligate spending of Davis and his cohorts in the California legislature. The measure passed but did the Governor restrain future spending? Did he cut spending even with unprecedented and one time uber California tax receipts? NOPERS…….

Now, he proposes a massive infrastructure bond.

TAX AND SPEND – SPEND AND TAX…………..

He arrives at an early marker in the campaign Friday â€” a keynote speech at the state Republican Party winter convention â€” with conservatives openly questioning why they should support him.

Is he the governor who sought new power to choke off state spending in 2005, or the one who this year called for record borrowing and submitted a budget that doles out $6 billion more than the state will collect in taxes?

“When you look at the gyrations in his policies, it appears he’s plagued by an absence of core values,” said longtime Republican strategist Arnold Steinberg. “He comes across as a caricature, where energy and enthusiasm are confused with core values.”

Flap has to agree with Arnie Steinberg. Arnold does not have core convictions or an ideology. He is a movie star who is used to pleasing folks to buy movie tickets or receive an autograph. A policy WONK he is NOT.

The California governor may survive this weekend’s California Republican convention in San Jose.

However, Schwarzenegger will be very very lucky to survive against Phil Angelides or Steve Westly in November.