Terminated: Huffington withdraws from race

[patrick0brien]

-All

I'm sorry, but watching that debate, and what Arnold did to her, was funny as ******.

Huffington withdraws from governor's race (http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/30/calif.recall/index.html)

I guess she's still smarting.

[Waluigi]

It's ironic that now that she has dropped out, she is campaigning against the recall. And I thought things couldn't get crazier....

--Waluigi

[Desertrat]

"Davis said Huffington had brought "wisdom and clarity" to the recall race."

Oh? I quit paying attention to her, some years back. She must have gotten a prescription for smart pills.

:), 'Rat

[Frohickey]

I think that maybe she finally got enough campaign contributions to offset her income taxes.

[IJ Reilly]

Sent to her campaign mailing list this evening:

I am writing to let you know that I have decided to withdraw as
a candidate for governor in California's recall race.

I am doing this so that I can devote all my time and energy in
the remaining week to defeating the recall -- and to defeating
the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to
use the recall to hijack our state.

You can read my full statement here:

http://www.votearianna.com/statement

From the beginning of my campaign I have said that I opposed the
recall on principle. It was backed by a bunch of Republican sore
losers looking for a backdoor way to overturn an election they
lost. Nevertheless, once the recall was set, I felt that the
opportunity it offered to elect a truly independent and
progressive governor was too important to let pass. And so I
entered the race.

Now that it's clear that's not going to happen, my highest
priority is to issue a wake up call and bring a sense of urgency
to what is at stake.

The people of California simply cannot afford to have Arnold
Schwarzenegger as their governor.

- He has spent millions of dollars crafting and selling a
political persona that is completely contradicted by reality.

- He got into this race promising to take no special interest
money, then turned around and raised millions from special
interests.

- He painted himself as an outsider, then surrounded himself
with Pete Wilson operatives and a Who's Who of GOP insiders.

- He went on Oprah to appeal to women, but didn't include a
single woman on his team of economic advisors.

We must not vote for a fantasy leader and end up with a
nightmare: a Bush Republican who thinks the answer to all of
California's problems can be found in making life even easier
for businesses and giant corporations.

So I am encouraging all of my supporters to join me in taking
the following stand. I call it "Three NO's and a YES!"

1 -- NO on the Recall.
2 -- NO on Schwarzenegger.
3 -- NO on Prop 54.

And YES! on the Clean Elections Ballot Initiative I filed last
week, which I will be working overtime to pass in 2004. Read
more about the Initiative:

http://www.votearianna.com/cleanelections

Remember -- this campaign is not over until we defeat the GOP
takeover attempt, stop Prop 54 and drive big money interests out
of politics. We have a great deal of work left to do before
Election Day next week. We still need your great ideas, your
volunteer hours and your financial support in the days to come:

http://www.votearianna.com/donate

I am confident that we can defeat the Recall, Schwarzenegger,
and Prop 54. And next year I know that we will win the battle
for publicly financed campaigns. Let's keep working together!

We have just begun our fight to fix the broken system.

Arianna Huffington
September 30, 2003

[Sayhey]

IJ, her statement makes a whole lot of sense to me. I hope enough people will pay attention so we don't have to see what real incompetence is under Arnie.

[IJ Reilly]

Originally posted by Sayhey
IJ, her statement makes a whole lot of sense to me. I hope enough people will pay attention so we don't have to see what real incompetence is under Arnie.

At this point, I fear the worst. The LA Times ran a lengthy piece on Swartzenegger today, which wasn't very flattering, but I don't think anyone's paying much attention to the details, however sordid they may be. Swartzenegger may just skate into office with virtually no plan, few stated policies, and no experience -- in short, nothing of substance to recommend him for the job.

[zimv20]

i'll tell you how it's playing for me, in chicago.

all i've seen on the national news are very short clips, mostly of schwarzenegger. the most recent was of him at a rally, yelling "this is a war! we are in the trenches!" to some screaming masses.

i'm sorry, but from that i'm not getting the sense that he's at all competent. i wish people cared for ideas and not some ****ing war analogy.

[IJ Reilly]

Originally posted by zimv20
i'll tell you how it's playing for me, in chicago.

all i've seen on the national news are very short clips, mostly of schwarzenegger. the most recent was of him at a rally, yelling "this is a war! we are in the trenches!" to some screaming masses.

i'm sorry, but from that i'm not getting the sense that he's at all competent. i wish people cared for ideas and not some ****ing war analogy.

It isn't playing that much differently here. The state is in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis in its history, and we may be about to elect as governor a man seriously lacking the first clue. Heck, why not -- it couldn't get much worse. Right?

[zimv20]

Originally posted by IJ Reilly
it couldn't get much worse. Right?

[IJ Reilly]

Touché.

[Daveman Deluxe]

Arianna Huffington brought nothing to the race except a desire to make Schwartzenegger look like a dog at any cost.

She should have let him do that for himself, he's doing a fine job of it.

[Frohickey]

Arianna's campaign was already a joke anyway. Besides, her 'supporters' were not about to vote for a GOP candidate anyway, let alone Schwarzenegger.

But I agree with some of you here that Schwarzenegger could very well be a man without a plan other than what his handlers are telling him... Pete Wilson, Warren Buffet, etc.

[Dont Hurt Me]

arianna is and was a joke! when you read her statements it sounds like she wants california to keep getting screwed by its governor and special interest. a vote for davis is a vote for more taxes! arianna just dont get it.

[patrick0brien]

-All

After running a campaign under the recall, then withdrawing out of 'failure', then turning around to fight the very thing she was just exploiting, I feel shows that Arianna Huffington is her own special interest.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
a vote for davis is a vote for more taxes!

wasn't it davis who reduced the CA deficit from $35 billion to $8 billion? doing so required a combination of tax increases and service cuts.

[Dont Hurt Me]

zimv20 doesnt get it either, if davis did the things you claim then everyone should be happy in california and they wouldnt be having this recall, but the reality is the special interest are happy and the tax payer is getting screwed even more.

[Frohickey]

Originally posted by zimv20
wasn't it davis who reduced the CA deficit from $35 billion to $8 billion? doing so required a combination of tax increases and service cuts.

Um... no.

Huge California deficit is monster behind door (http://www.pittsburghfirst.com/pg/03250/218911.stm)
Shortly after his re-election last fall, Gov. Gray Davis was forced to announce a projected two-year budget shortfall of $38 billion -- igniting the recall-petition drive that now has Davis scrambling to avoid becoming the first California governor recalled in mid-term.
California's recently enacted $71 billion budget erased the deficit for the prior fiscal year -- after cutting spending, borrowing nearly $11 billion, counting yet-to-be-realized revenue from renegotiated Indian casino contracts and tripling the state's unpopular vehicle license fee. But it still left a projected hole of at least $8 billion for the current fiscal year.

Okay. There is a $8 billion deficit this year. It would have been $29 billion if it were not for the $11 billion that was borrowed.

So, next year, if tax revenues remain flat and spending remains flat, the budget deficit will still be $29 billion, but now, you have interest from the $11 billion that you borrow, plus part of the principal of that $11 billion. So, the deficit will be larger than $29 billion!

When you are in a hole, you stop digging! :eek:

[Dont Hurt Me]

unless you are a democrat in california who has a endless supply of tax dollars and a spending habit to match.

[patrick0brien]

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
unless you are a democrat in california who has a endless supply of tax dollars and a spending habit to match.

-Dont Hurt Me

Or rather has the spending habits of when there was an endless supply of tax dollars, but no longer.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by Frohickey

There is a $8 billion deficit this year. It would have been $29 billion if it were not for the $11 billion that was borrowed.


thanks for the clarification.

[IJ Reilly]

Originally posted by Daveman Deluxe
Arianna Huffington brought nothing to the race except a desire to make Schwartzenegger look like a dog at any cost.

She should have let him do that for himself, he's doing a fine job of it.

Says the guy from Oregon.

I thought she bought quite a bit to the race, and I'm sorry to see her out of it.