Kate Folmar posts in the Mercury News Blog about the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger’s taped comments. It’s already gotten him in trouble when a campaign dug them up during his capaign for re-election. She broke down some of the more interesting, and some cases harsher comments.
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may charm and compliment lawmakers in public, but his private assessments of them are much more biting, according to private recordings the administration released late Sunday night.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, is “a very sick man.” Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, lacks “passion” on issues, but is a real “political operator.”
Schwarzenegger made those comments during a series of sessions last spring, meant to help his chief speech writer better learn the governor’s anecdotes and manner of speaking.
At the time, the governor and lawmakers were ensnared in difficult negotiations over what Schwarzenegger planned as the crowning achievement of his re-election campaign: a massive infrastructure bond package. His salty language, and that of his aides, reveals the complex dynamics of political negotiations.
But other segments offer different windows into the governor’s thinking. Schwarzenegger talks about how fortunate he is as opposed to black South Africans sweating away in diamond mines for pennies a day. He jokes about how his wife, first lady Maria Shriver, edits and edits his big speeches ad infinitum. He also speaks at length about illegal immigration.
The administration released the tapes and transcripts, culled from more than three hours of conversation, late Sunday after the Los Angeles Times obtained them elsewhere.
The section is further broken down into a few different areas.
In Earlier hints Kate mentions the leak during the election/re-election.
In Harsh characterization Arnold flubs… or a better way to put it is generalizations are noted. In the tapes he seems pretty straightfoward is he called one lawmaker sick and another taking after mixed ancestry.
And the last section it obvious where his thoughts lie. He is taped Lashing out at ’86 law where the US Government had an Amnesty Program. I’m showing this in full because I think his thoughts are pretty on.
On the tapes, he said that the federal government’s 1986 amnesty program “has (expletive) the American people” because border protection is lax and people who hire illegal immigrants aren’t punished.
The governor later said that “now, it’s almost odd to throw them out, because you say, `Wait a minute, their kids are born here. You can’t split up families.’ So you have no choice anymore.”
Schwarzenegger also contends that “farmers have the cheap labor, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank, and then we are paying their health care. Is that the right thing to do?”
So what would the governor do about illegal immigrants? “I would find a way, a legal way so they can earn their visas, so they can work here and they can stay here, because it’s not really realistic to send them back.”
[via Kate's Blog Post]
I posted this more because I’m curious… I found his comments on Illegal Immegration to ring pretty true. I read Scott Adams blog post about Illegal Immegration just today and when I ran across this post just a few minutes later it made me stop and think.
I’ve many friends that are legal immegrants. And have made friends with a number who was illegal at the time (most became citizens). I think the biggest issue for me, is that if they want to come here and live and raise their families here. They should follow the steps to be citizens. that said, the current setup is broken in that it forces a lot of mexicans to immgrate illegally because they have a stronger chance to become a citizen doing so.
I’ve found kids born in the US of mexican parents are more disrespectful of the US then the parents themselves. They see the better life, they left a corrupt system. The same that the kids think is wonderful.
The fact you have to bribe people to get things done in Mexico is abhorent, but a standard business practice. Major business get in trouble in the news for supposedly bribing officials in other countries. But in some (I won’t say third world) countries where its common, Bribery is the only way to get a job done. You want a telephone you have to bribe the person placing the order, bribe the installer, and then hope. That’s why disposable cell phones are getting big there.
OK I’ve been pontificating long enough. Go and visit her blog post and enjoy the other comments he’s made.
Tags: Politics
