Schwarzenegger's 'girlie-men' remark...
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| Mon, 07-19-2004 - 11:05am |
Somebody give the man a thesaurus! While I'm not 'offended' by his remark, I do think it makes him sound stupid, juvenile & embarrassing. I can just imagine what must have been going through Maria's mind when she heard that comment! LOL!
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/182682_girlie19.html
Schwarzenegger's 'girlie-men' remark draws criticism from Democrats
Monday, July 19, 2004
By TIM MOLLOY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said yesterday that the governor would not apologize for calling lawmakers "girlie men," despite criticisms from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic.
Schwarzenegger dished out the insult at a rally Saturday, claiming Democrats were delaying the budget by catering to special interests.
"If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ...' if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men," Schwarzenegger said to the cheering crowd at a mall food court in Ontario.
The governor lifted the term from a long-running "Saturday Night Live" skit in which two pompous, Schwarzenegger-worshipping weightlifters repeatedly use it to mock those who don't meet their standards of physical perfection.
Democrats said Schwarzenegger's remarks were insulting to women and gays and distracted from budget negotiations. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl said the governor had resorted to "blatant homophobia."
"It uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult. That's very troubling that he would use such a homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership," said Kuehl, one of five members of the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.
"It's ironic that the governor would try to find a metaphor for weakness when his real problem is that we're being too strong," she said.
Schwarzenegger's criticism of Democrats stems in part from their support of one bill prohibiting schools from contracting services with private companies, and another giving workers authority to sue their employers to enforce labor laws. Each side accuses the other of caving in to special interests.
At a rally yesterday in Stockton, the governor gave a speech almost identical to the one he delivered in Ontario but without the "girlie men" remark. Spokesman Rob Stutzman said the line was dropped because Schwarzenegger had already sent the message he wanted to send, not because he regretted his remarks.
"It's a forceful way of making the point to regular Californians that legislators are wimps when they let special interests push them around," Stutzman said.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, said that while he wasn't upset by the remark, his 13-year-old daughter was.
"She's a young girl who knows the governor and really likes him a lot and didn't find the term to be a positive term, and finds it to be derogatory," Nunez said. "It was no question a very, very insensitive comment to make. ... I think it really is beneath Governor Schwarzenegger."
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ROFL!
Remember the scene in Crocodile Dundee when the mugger pulls a knife on Mick and he says "that's not a knife"
Elaine
Merlins_Own
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW!
Welcome to In The News!
I'd have to disagree.
Calling people names, even in jest, doesn't open-up an avenue for mature discussion or win respect.
*sigh* I hate how we all expect our politicians never to make a comment that could even be construed as stupid. We all make stupid comments...it's part of being human. Show me a person who hasn't said something that's made them look like an imbecile to at lease one person in their lifetime, and I will gladly open my mouth and insert my own foot. Quite frankly, I like to see a politician stumble once in a while, to let me know that he/she is human, rather than some lacquered up front man (or woman) who's had their words anazlized and corrected by a bazillion people...oh wait...they were written by someone else too.
"IMVHO, he said what he said because he's frustrated that he hasn't been able to produce on his 'promises' and is getting criticized for it."
This statement (as said by many before) never fails to amaze me. Our country's so-coveted system of political "checks and balances" makes it so nothing in this country ever get's done quickly. One party hammers out a bill, only to have it torn apart by the oposing party and sent back to their doorstep...so then they revise, and it is further torn apart and sent back....and so the cycle goes. That's democracy in action.
Edited 7/21/2004 4:06 pm ET ET by merlins_own
Merlins_Own
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW!
I understand that he's human and makes mistakes...but that comment, from someone who is supposed to be a wee bit more 'polished' than most, just stands out.
LOL!
I'm assuming that you mean that he overpromised without realizing all that was involved with making those promises a reality? If that is what you meant, the I would have to say that it is totally possible he made promises that he couldn't deliver on time. Of course, all he may have known is that generally, people like promises in campaigns and went with it. I doubt that (I hope that doubt is right...lol) considering who he's married to. If anyone could have given him at least a rundown of the "office ropes" I hope someone in her family would have. lol
I can't wait till the day that a campaign speech plays out like a SNL sketch:
"You want health care reform...you want welfare reform...you want social security reform...well, you know what? I'm not going to promise any of those things. I'm going to hastily write bills that will get torn to shreds in congress. By the time you see them, they won't look anything like the original. In fact, I'm going to run a NEW kind of campaign...I'm not going to promise to do anything! That way, when I get just a couple of things done, you'll think I over-delivered and re-elect me! Thank you, I Bob Jones and I'm running for Governor."
lol...sorry, couldn't help myself.
Merlins_Own
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW!
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