Schwarzenegger Argues for White House Run

[CatWoman]

WASHINGTON - Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites), making his Sunday talk show debut as governor, said that he and other foreign-born citizens should be eligible to run for the White House and that President Bush (news - web sites) can carry California in November if he does more to help the state.


The Austrian-born former bodybuilder, in the capital for his first meeting with fellow governors, said he has not thought about running for president in the future. The Constitution says only natural-born citizens of the United States are eligible for the country's highest office.


The Republican governor said anyone who has been in America more than 20 years — as he has — should "absolutely" be able to seek the presidency. A constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, would make that possible.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=5&u=/ap/20040222/ap_on_re_us/schwarzenegger

[seabeyond]

1. so he steals a state

and now he wants to change constitution, and the repugs dont have issue with this, hm.........more hypocrisy

[Frances]

5. And he's raising millions of dollars

outside the state

Arnold sounded like he was blackmailing Bush on Meet the Press. Arnold said that if Bush gave more money to CA then CA would vote for Bush (Bush gave CA less this year than last)

I don't think the Bush family would be happy to have Arnold in the White House because Arnold might not be as easily controlled as Frist

[calimary]

49. Uh, sorry Arnie. It'll take hell freezing over for California to vote for

bush. We're STILL a blue state. Unless of course he fixes the voting machines. He's a republi-CON, so unfortunately I wouldn't put it past him.

[renegade000]

57. fortunately...

i think hypothetically, if california is won by bush...it would raise so many eyebrows that it would blow the cover off any nefarious vote-rigging or whatnot.

[loudnclear]

42. Why not just burn our Constitution and start all over?

It's almost worthless now. the folks holding dual citizenship already run the country. Can't they just be satisfied with "owning" the President instead of "being" the President?

[NWHarkness]

2. He's a Republican all right

When the rules restrict him, change the rules.

If they manage to get this through (which I doubt) then we will just have to nominate Jennifer Granholm to kick his ass.

[The Zanti Regent]

21. Reminder--Demcrats vote NO on 57 and 58!

Make Arnold raise Jay Leno's taxes!

[Emillereid]

33. Absolutely we must oppose 57 and 58 -- but most of the CA

democratic leadership including that turn-coat Feinstein are urging Dems to vote for them -- gotta support the Bond market you know.

[LiberalFighter]

39. I want Leno to lose his job!!!

[roscoeroscoe]

29. shut up and go away, arnold. you haven't done anything yet

except soak up money and run a sleazy campaign. that qualifies you for what, except having to shave without looking at yourself in the mirror?

[Sandpiper]

3. Call me crazy

But I just don't think that 2/3 of the House and Senate, and 3/4 of the states feel that we need to change the constitution for the benefit of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[DennisReveni]

20. Gee

Barney Frank proposed this around 2000.
Was he anticipating an Arnold run?
For once it would be nice if Democrats were informed before they make claims.
http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/jyinger/facfa/op-ed3.htm
Congressman Frank's proposed amendment does not give anyone the right to be President, it only gives them the right to run for President. The presidential election process the Founders devised has served this nation so well because it ensures that no presidential candidate will be successful without convincing a majority of the American people that he or she is not subject to subversive forces, whether foreign or domestic.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2079204/
But if there is a risk of undue foreign influence on the president, a proposed constitutional amendment introduced in 2001 by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., would take care of it. Under the language of House Joint Resolution 47, anybody who had been a citizen for 20 years would be eligible for the White House. Frank plans to reintroduce a version of the bill this year.

[Sandpiper]

23. Oh

And what does that have to do with my post? If you're going to try and be snide, please make some sort of coherent point.

[Wells]

60. Dumb and Dumber

A Bush/Schwartznegger team.

The problem: Which one's Dumb. Which one's Dumber?

[tabasco]

71. Bad idea then, bad idea now.

I'm sure the repugs were against it until Terminator decided he was interested. Principled Democrats were against the idea before and are still against it. The difference is the repugs change their principles based on the situation.

[twilight]

25. if you read ...

If you read the message thread on that story you will soon see that ahnuld's nazi plan is doomed for failure. AMERICA AND THE AMERICA PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING FOR THIS!!! :toast:



:dem: :kick:

[kysrsoze]

53. Is this fuckin' asshole serious? I hate Schwarzenegger!

Haven't seen him do ANYTHING well so far. Why would I want to elect this stupid, right-wing, gay-bashing, womanizing prick to the White House?

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Go away, Arnie

and shut your pie-hole. The Bush Gang has done enough in 3+ years to roll back changes in our constitution and laws. Your two cents are not needed when it comes to changing the law of who is eligible to become a REAL POTUS.

[Enraged_Ape]

6. Why 20 years Arnold? Why not 30, or 35?

Hell, you have to be a natural-born citizen of 35 anyway to be President.

What a shitheel this clown is.

[Raven]

7. Actually, I thought he made some good sense.

There are many fine people who were not born in the US and who have make great contributions to this country.

[koopie57]

27. What you say is true

but that doesn't mean they need to be allowed to be president. I think there are many fine citizens born in the US who are qualified to be president and who would do a great job and I think we would be better served to chose one of these folks. On a side note, I have enough trouble with nepotism in this country, let alone a bunch of relatives from the president's birth country becoming people holding high positions here.

[DK666]

8. But remember

He didn't want to be Governor he just wanted to fix California. That was in one of his very first campaign speeches.

[seabeyond]

9. he just didnt want to grab the breasts

the women just put them in his hand

[havocmom]

12. So, has he fixed California yet?

Or are there still some problems to be addressed?

Arnie, one miracle at time... this isn't Hollywood. You actually have to do something and not just make it look like you did like on flim.

[calimary]

50. He's still waiting for the special effects department to step in.

That's all he knows.

[Bluzmann57]

10. Well damn we've already had one bad actor as president

but at least he was born in America. I think thats a pretty good deal that the AMERICAN president be born in AMERICA. Nothing against immigrants, they have(for the most part) contributed a lot to American life, but after all, the line has to be drawn somewhere. And besides that, if a person has been here for 20 years and be eligible for the presidency, how about a person of the Muslim faith? I'm sure that there are several thousand of them here, yet not one person is clamoring for a Muslim to be president. For that matter, there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiam for a black president, and Sharpton, Jackon, etc. were actually born here in America.

[shanti]

34. exactly

ahnold wants foreign born allowed to become prez, but only if it's a white male!

[rock]

11. So Arnie doesn't believe in following the Constitution?

What is he, a Republican?

[leesa]

13. Perfect Republican candidate...a brainless twit actor

Are their ANY Republicans with intelligence? Even a rudimentary kind?

[Robin Hood]

14. Change constitution to appease ahnold, Ignore constitution to discriminate

against gays. WTF are you talking about you stupid fucking weinerschnitzel!!!?

[smirkymonkey]

30. LOL...

Arnold ist einer grosser Scheissekopf :)

[jmowreader]

45. I was thinking...

Arnold ist eine grosse Schwanzkopf ohne Gehim oder Wuerde. Amerika ist in grosse Gefahr mit der Dummkopf im Regierung Service, im Kalifornien oder Washington.

Sehr Gut?

[nuxvomica]

15. Shouldn't he at least renounce his Austrian citizenship first?

He gives Kissinger as a good example and that just sent a chill up my spine. I remember back in the Nixon/Ford years there was talk of amending the native-birth requirement for him. Imagine Kissinger as president?

[JCMach1]

16. Hell no, there are very few countries that allow naturalized citizens

to rise to the highest office.

Sorry, I strongly disagree with his assertion.

[warrior1]

17. f that sh!t

don't see how he can be a Gov of our state, being that he's a citizen of another country.

A very pissed off Californian

[twilight]

18. GO away Ahnuld you gropenazi!!!!!

Go far far away - go back to Austria and be certain to take you two-bit wife and kids with you. We don't want you here in California and America certainly doesn't want you nor will they ever allow a foreign born person to be THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES as it should be!

btw Ahnuld ...



:dem: :kick:

[R Hickey]

19. This was the Bush plan from the beginning

The Bushovics staged the California recall election to put Arnold on the path to the White House. No other reason.

Orin Hatch's proposal of "de-regulating, federal requirements for people with Arnold's duel-citizenship situation" is one part of the plan to make Arnold president.

The Bush plan is Bush/Arnold in '04, followed by Arnold/Jeb in '08, with Arnold resigning soon after, for health reasons, so that Jeb can take power.

[twilight]

22. America for the Americans!

<eom>



:dem: :kick:

[gorgan]

72. realistically

there's no way 2/3 of the senate and 3/4 of the states will approve this change--we're just way too xenophobic for it to happen.

The Hatch plan is a carrot & stick to pull Arnold to the right, plain and simple. His pronouncements on TV this weekend seem to indicate he's chump enough to think he can reach that carrot.

[dawn]

24. God, what an egomaniac.

I wish he'd go away.

[abburdlen]

26. Hurry up with those amendments

Isn't it suppose to be the 61st amendment that's suppose to pave the way for Arnolds road to the Whitehouse? You remember in the movie demolition man...

Stallone: "Hold it! The Schwarzenegger Library?"
Bullock: "Yes, the Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Wasn't he an actor?"
Stallone: "Stop! He was President?"
Bullock: "Yes. Even though he was not born in this country, his popularity at the time caused the 61st Amendment…"

[plaguepuppy]

28. See, he really is a killer cyborg from the future!

The bastages are toying with us!

[Catt03]

31. This administration is hellbent on amending the Constitution

First they want to amend it stating that only men and women are eligible for marriage. Now they want to amend it so that foreign born nationals can be president.

I remember when women wanted an amendment just to get the word "woman" in the Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment, but it was voted down.

Oh wait! If they amend it it for marriage, then the word "woman" will actually be in there.

I can't stand it anymore! Screammmmmmmm

[T Bone]

54. I noticed too Catt03 that they seem to be amendment happy

extremely amendment happy. I further suspect that they have so many amendments lined up that they will declare a 'constitutional convention' as the most efficient way to take care of all of them. If that happens we are fucked because they will stack the convention and it will most assuredly strip out the bill of rights and the separation of powers in favor of the executive. It will be our fascist nightmare writ large.

[justsam]

32. Hollywood may have made him

governor, but they don't have enough pull to make him president

[Nashyra]

35. 2008 candidate for the repukes

if we want to see a constitutional amendment for allowing foreigners to run, vote 3rd party and see Arnold run in 2008, not Jebbie. This smacks as advanced planning for the more moderate repukes in the party, or better yet Jebbies running mate in 2008.

[TheWhitneyBrown]

36. L1 Visas for Presidential Candidates-Outsource the Presidency!

I guess it's only fair to give the top jobs to foreigners, too, since we give them all the others.
Imagine that! A law that's stood for 210 years should be repealed for this putz?
Plus, of all the people pitching this Amendment, doesn't Arnie have any sense of what is poor taste? Does the man have no shame? No gratitude for what America has already given him? No humility? This disgusts me.

[truthisfreedom]

37. why not just rewrite the constitution so that only criminals can be pres?

[boobooday]

38. The rule doesn't bother me

In a country this big, there ought to be somebody who was born here who can be president.

These moral tight-butts have a lot of nerve promoting the "Gropinator"

Oh, the nude photos!!!

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[2004Donkeys]

64. It's fundamentally bigoted

We don't decide where we are born.

I was born in Canada and moved to the States when I was 2 months old. Why should I be barred from being President (not that I plan on political office)?

[AlFrankenFan]

40. I would only support it if...

Schwarzenegger PROMISED not to run.

I would love for an amendment like that, because my step-father, born in Italy, would be a very good President, in my opinion.

[kskiska]

41. This issue was discussed on Faux Media Watch show last night

and what Neal Gabler said made sense. He said there should be a Constitutional amendment allowing foreign born persons to be president, but it should take effect far enough in the future so that no one on the political horizon today could benefit from it.

[bleedingheart]

43. He hasn't even done shit to prove he can actually govern

raising funds isn't governing.

Oh for christ sakes.. the GOP is making a mockery of this nation's government.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

44. To conclude: "AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!" Thank you. n/t

[maddogesq]

46. All righty then, let's have the battle of the foreign born governors.

Fighting out of the Red Corner: The Gropenator

Fighting out of the Blue Corner: Jennifer Granholm

If we are gonna do this, that gol dernit, let's do it right. (Psssst: My money is on Granholm to send Ahhnold back to Austria crying in his steroids.)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

47. Right...then we could have professional presidents...

The guy who runs Iraq one year could run the US the next.

This idea stinks. Totally.

[mike1963]

48. As much as I despise the Gropinator, I do believe it's time to change that

particular requirement. There's no reason to conclude that a naturalized citizen is automatically less qualified than someone who is one by accident of birth.

The fact is that all of us who are not Native Americans are 'foreigners'...or descendants of the same.

[lostnfound]

58. So Rupert Murdoch can run too maybe?

So we can scrape the bottom of a bigger barrel to find the lowest-common-denominators to run for the job?

The law is a non-issue. What matters is not a philosophical "shouldn't anyone be eligible" question; rather, what matters is, why do we always seem to get our choices handed to us.

[Chicago Democrat]

51. Go Away Arnold,

I dont like Arnold.

I dont Like Hummers. (the metal kind)

[Karenina]

52. Ich kann nicht mehr...

Meine FICKEN FRESSE!

[fortyfeetunder]

55. send Ahnold's @$$ back to Austria

Certainly they'd like to have their famous homie back to rule their country?

[Gemini Cat]

56. Republicans need to stop

wiping their nasty boilish arses on the constitution. It is starting to look more and more that they hate the American form of government.

Wanting to change the constitution for Schwartzenegger, indeed!

:dem:

[Frangible]

59. Absolutely not.

The founding fathers knew exactly what they were doing when they placed this restriction upon the presidency. I see no reason at all to lift it for anyone, let alone a shitty governor who's broken his campaign promises.

[tabasco]

74. Agree completely.

There's something to be said for being born here.

[abracadabra]

61. not even ever in a milion years

is Ahnuld gonna take over this country of ours.
just because his Dad instilled fine SS Stormtrooper values in him doesn't make it likely that we as a country will share in these values.

The only way he'll take this country is by force--just like Flubbya did-
But 'aint no nazi's son gonna pull that off.
There are just too many patriots around here--
His little fantasy will be stopped dead.

[opihimoimoi]

62. The Gropanator will never be prez. Hell he still hasn't fixed Califooornia

Now he is waiting for Prez Bush to bail him out? Prez Bush cannot bail HIMSELF out, bwahahahahaha

[uhhuh]

63. Gotta love the Repukes.

Remember when the idea was raised of removing the restriction on how many terms a president could serve? They were apopleptic with visions of Clinton for twenty years in their heads. They couldn't talk enough about how important it is to keep that restriction in place.
Now the Sacramento Shnitzel wants the job, and it's all about fairness and equality. Makes you laugh, no?

[arwalden]

65. Seriously... Did Anyone NOT See This Coming? My First Words Upon Hearing..

this story were "See? I told you!"

-- Allen

[private_ryan]

66. f him

go back to Australia and run over there. Under the White is Right Party banner.

[pacifictiger]

73. He's

from Austria - not Australia! As different as black and white. Please, learn your geography.

[private_ryan]

81. I know geography

I made a mistake in typing it. Thanks for the tip anyway.

[Ganja Ninja]

67. Am I the only one who noticed how much...

Arnold is beginning to look like the Gipper? I think it's his hair. He's dyed it to a reddish brown and is combing it like Reagan. It's really creeping me out.

[tom_paine]

76. You know how much Busheviks love their Phony Backdrops

He has been psychoengineered like any other Bushevik Lie.

Psychoengineering indicates that a more reddish-hue to Gropenfuhrer's Hair will give a subliminal connotation of raygun to reinforce the other circumstances of that former Imperial Puppet for the Busheviks.

Ahnold is gunning to be Emperor "I'm-a-Bushevik-but-My-Name-Aint-Bush-So-Stop-saying-we're-a-hereditary-Empire".

The Imperial Family will have need of him and his New Hair around 2016.

[Carolina]

80. I thought the same thing

although the reddish-brown color reminded me of the late Sperm Thurmond. The Gipper made no bones about his jet black dye job.

BTW, please keep the Gropinator in CA. We've already had Nixon and Reagan. No offense my CA DUers, but we do not need another California reject in DC, same goes for Texas since the Kennedy assassination and W have destroyed that state's image for me. }(

[emad]

68. Just watched a rerun of Demolition Man last night.....

always love the look on his face when Sandra Bullock says 'Schwarzenegger Presidential Library'.....

[PROGRESSIVE1]

69. I doubt Americans would want "The Son of an SS man" as....

their leader, or should I say, Fuhrer!

:puke: "Gropenazi"

Achtung, California's "fuhrer" has spoken!

.....again, :puke:

[Fenris]

70. Another Austrian expatriate who sought power in a foreign country...

[Sgt. Peppers]

75. Kinda makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside right,

NOT!

[damnyankee2601]

77. Sorry Ahnuld...

...the law exists so that inbred European royalty can't buy their way into the Presidecy. Unfortunately, it does nothing about inbred American royaly.

If you want to hold the highest office in the land, first you have to grow up in the land. Too bad Bush never grew up.

[Loonman]

78. The last time an Austrian wanted to rule a whole foreign country

We got Hitler.

D'oh!

[truthbetold]

79. Oh please.

I'm sure he'd love to be President and make sure gay marriage is "between a man and a woman."
:eyes: