Arnold: Democrat lawmakers are "girlie men"

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Swear to God I just about busted my gut when I opened up my paper and see GOV. CALLS LEGISLATORS 'GIRLIE-MEN' in big bold print. Then I realized it happened. Then I had to roll my eyes.

 

Gov. Criticizes Legislators as 'Girlie Men'

In a speech in Ontario, he urges voters to 'terminate' at the polls those lawmakers who refuse to approve his state budget plan.

 

By Peter Nicholas, Times Staff Writer

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger mocked his opponents in the California Legislature on Saturday as "girlie men," and called upon voters to "terminate" them at the polls in November if they don't pass his $103-billion budget.

 

Using tough rhetoric that borrowed from his days as a bodybuilder and actor, the governor said state lawmakers are telling "lies" and are "back to their old habits" after a post-recall burst of bipartisan collaboration.

 

Legislators, he said at a rally in the food court of the Ontario Mills shopping center, are "part of a bureaucracy that is out of shape, that is out of date, that is out of touch and that is definitely out of control in Sacramento."

 

Schwarzenegger added, "They cannot have the guts to come out there 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'…. I call them girlie men. They should get back to the table, and they should finish the budget."

 

Democratic lawmakers, gay and lesbian advocates and feminist groups bristled over the governor's comments, which were greeted with sustained applause by hundreds of people who were invited to the rally through automated phone calls put out by Schwarzenegger's camp.

 

The governor used the "girlie men" reference twice in a 16-minute speech aimed at pressuring the Legislature to pass his budget, now 17 days late. The remarks were apparently references to an old "Saturday Night Live" skit parodying Schwarzenegger. Comedians Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon played "pumped-up" bodybuilders with Austrian accents who dismissed anyone without a muscled torso as a "girlie man."

 

Though the four leaders in the Senate and Assembly are men, women head some of the Legislature's most influential committees, ranging from Appropriations to Energy. The California Legislative Women's Caucus website lists 33 members — more than one-fourth of the Legislature.

 

Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) said he was "nonplused" by Schwarzenegger's comment.

 

"I don't know what the definition of 'girlie man' is. As opposed to his being a he-man?" Burton asked. "I can't think of a way to have the he-man and the girlie men join hands around the Capitol and sing 'Kum Ba Ya.' "

 

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) said, "Those are the kinds of statements that ought not to come out of the mouth" of the governor.

 

"He says he's going to 'terminate' members in November? I really don't know what he means by that. That's not funny any more," Nuñez said.

 

Frustrated by the stalemate over his budget, Schwarzenegger has been using a series of weekend public appearances to drum up calls to lawmakers demanding completion of the budget. He plans to continue his campaign today at a shopping mall in Stockton.

 

Having used his charisma and celebrity to build relationships with lawmakers over the last eight months, the governor is adopting a combative new tone. Schwarzenegger said he would strive to oust Democratic lawmakers who vote against his budget.

 

"I want each and every one of you to go the polls on Nov. 2," he said Saturday. "That will be judgment day. I want you to go to the polls…. You are the terminators, yes!"

 

Missing from his speeches are the once routine praise for Nuñez's negotiating skills, or Burton's arch humor.

 

"I'm trying to streamline the budget — make it leaner and more accountable," the governor said. "But these legislators are playing games right now in Sacramento. We want action, not games. We want action, not dialogue. We want action, not the promises. We want action and not the lies that are up there in Sacramento."

 

His habit had been to cite the Legislature's improving — if still weak — job approval rating to demonstrate voter appreciation for the new direction in Sacramento and to encourage bipartisan cooperation.

 

But on Saturday he invoked the numbers to belittle a Legislature he once described as his "partner."

 

"Their approval rating is in the 30s," he said. "My approval rating is in the 70s, because the people know why I am there. They are the obstructionists up there right now. They are stopping the budget. I am representing you, and the people know they are representing the special interests rather than the public interest."

 

The governor's pugnacious turn raised objections Saturday, with the "girlie man" reference becoming the focus.

 

"It's really painful to hear the governor resort to such blatant homophobia," said Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), chairwoman of the Senate's Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee. "It's an old-fashioned way of talking about gay men as to indicate they're not as strong. So that part is really painful. And I have to say it's really surprising. It's like he can't get his way so he resorts to some kind of name-calling."

 

Kuehl, along with Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), belongs to the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

 

"This type of third-grade insult only clarifies that the governor has lost his balance and is seemingly unable to stay focused on the issues of the budget to date," Leno said. "By playing to certain voters' discomfort with gender and sexuality, the governor has exposed himself to be a divider, not a uniter."

 

In reply, Rob Stutzman, the governor's communications director, said, "We're not going to respond to anyone looking to get their name in the paper."

 

Lawmakers and others called upon the governor to apologize.

 

"He should apologize and he should think twice before he speaks, and I would hope that his wife, Maria, would remind him of that," said Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes (D-Fresno).

 

Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority, a national women's rights organization with an office in Beverly Hills, said, "Come on. Women are strong. And to denigrate half the human race is pretty sick. But that's what he's doing. He's trying to denigrate the males by denigrating females. But I would say it's an out-of-date comment and it should be, because it's so sexist."

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics...tics-california

 

Well, I knew if he was going to eventually wind up in trouble, it would be because of his mouth. So score one right for me, I guess.

[Vyce 0]

If trying to label Arnold as a homophobe for using the term "girlie-men" is your definition of trouble, I'd hate to see what you define a serious problem.

 

This is a nothing story. I pretty much consider it fluff.

[Guest JMA]

This doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. It just seems like Arnold's political rivals are trying to (unsuccessfully) make him look bad.

 

Of course, maybe I'm biased because I really like Arnold...

[Jobber of the Week 0]

If trying to label Arnold as a homophobe for using the term "girlie-men" is your definition of trouble

I didn't mean trouble as in bankruptcy or scandalous sized trouble. I mean it in the "the honeymoon is over" sort of way. This is the sign that the bipartisan "uniter not a divider" motto is over, and it'll be interesting to see how things progress.

[Guest Brian]

I thought it was funny just imagining him saying that.

 

[NoCalMike 0]

Can someone remind me again why anyone voted for Arnold? It just becomes more embarrasing by the day.

 

I mean as far as all those groups that were "offended" well yeah they are probably just overdramatizing for effect, but as far as the comments themselves, instead of getting "offended" why not just point and laugh, and remind people this is the baffoon that the majority of this state voted in. To me the comments were stupid rather then "offensive"

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Can someone remind me again why anyone voted for Arnold?

Gray: Drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and 500 million other things.

Cruz: Illegal campaign contributions.

Camejo: Why are we calling these people illegal? They're part of our family!

McClintock: Oh holy shit, no.

Huffington: "YOU STOOPID HUMMMMAHHH!!!"

[NoCalMike 0]

Can someone remind me again why anyone voted for Arnold?

Gray: Drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and 500 million other things.

Cruz: Illegal campaign contributions.

Camejo: Why are we calling these people illegal? They're part of our family!

McClintock: Oh holy shit, no.

Huffington: "YOU STOOPID HUMMMMAHHH!!!"

Ok, well personally watching the debates, Arnold did a lot of avoiding the question, and just answering back with a joke or something nonsensical.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

So calling Bush a Nazi, Hitler, facist, is OK, but don't call Democrat regulation-makers GIRLE MEN or you'll get in trouble...

[2GOLD 0]

Can someone remind me again why anyone voted for Arnold?

Gray: Drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and 500 million other things.

Cruz: Illegal campaign contributions.

Camejo: Why are we calling these people illegal? They're part of our family!

McClintock: Oh holy shit, no.

Huffington: "YOU STOOPID HUMMMMAHHH!!!"

Ok, well personally watching the debates, Arnold did a lot of avoiding the question, and just answering back with a joke or something nonsensical.

 

By god then the man is a master politician. The best way to get elected is to never answer questions and sprout off catchphrases while pointing and looking strong.

 

Appear weak and you are screwed, try to give an answer a question you can't really answer very deep and you are screwed, answer the question too in depth then you are trying to seem better than everyone and you are screwed.

 

Arnold sprouted off stupid things and instead of reacting like normal people, everyone threw a little hissy fit over his comments. Basically he has baited them into looking like they are quick on the trigger which voters also don't like.

 

Gotta admit, the man is already a master at this game. His wife has taught him well.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Fuck it! He should have called them bitches and gone all the way!

 

 

Man I love "scandal".

[Guest Loss]

This doesn't surprise me, considering that he also believes that gay marriage should be between a man and a woman.

[Vyce 0]

So calling Bush a Nazi, Hitler, facist, is OK, but don't call Democrat regulation-makers GIRLE MEN or you'll get in trouble...

DUH. Because Bush IS all of those things.

 

Democrat lawmakers, however, are manly-men. AND they’re superpatriots too, bah gawd.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

OK, Conservative Brigade members, here's a test. Fill in the appropriate response that should come after reading this story (hint: the text in question is highlighted)...

 

Link

 

LOS ANGELES - As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrapped up a weekend of rallies with renewed calls for a budget deal, a spokesman said the governor won't apologize for calling lawmakers "girlie men" despite criticism from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic.

 

The comment came during a rally on Saturday as Schwarzenegger railed against Democrats who he said were holding up 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.

 

Democrats responded that Schwarzenegger's comments were insulting to women and gays and distracted from budget negotiations.

 

Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Santa Monica Democrat, called it "troubling" that the governor used what she termed a "homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership."

 

"It uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult," said Kuehl, one of five members of the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

 

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.

 

At a rally Sunday in Stockton, the governor gave a speech almost identical to the one he delivered in Ontario, telling a crowd that trial lawyers, unions and other "special interests" were "dug in" in Sacramento "like Alabama ticks, and we cannot get rid of them."

 

Schwarzenegger didn't repeat the "girlie men" remark, which he dropped because he had already sent the message he wanted to send, not because he regretted the line, spokesman Rob Stutzman said.

 

"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. "If they complain too much about this, I guess they're making the governor's point."

 

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said that while he wasn't upset by the remark, his 13-year-old daughter was.

 

"It was no question a very, very insensitive comment to make. I personally am not intimidated or threatened by it, but I think it really is beneath Gov. Schwarzenegger," he said.

 

Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who is chairman of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus, said the comment was "as misogynist as it is anti-gay."

 

"To disparage a group of law abiding tax paying citizens is just wrong," Leno said.

 

The governor said in his criticism of Democrats that they were working for unions and trial lawyers because of their support for two labor bills. One law prohibits schools from contracting services with private companies and the other gives workers authority to sue their employers to enforce labor laws. Democrats and the governor also disagree on local government financing issues.

 

Democrats say they back the bills because they help workers. Kuehl said Schwarzenegger, not Democrats, was giving in to special interest groups.

 

"He's the one caving into the tort reform special interests," she said.

[Guest MikeSC]

OK, Conservative Brigade members, here's a test. Fill in the appropriate response that should come after reading this story (hint: the text in question is highlighted)...

 

Link

 

LOS ANGELES - As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrapped up a weekend of rallies with renewed calls for a budget deal, a spokesman said the governor won't apologize for calling lawmakers "girlie men" despite criticism from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic.

 

The comment came during a rally on Saturday as Schwarzenegger railed against Democrats who he said were holding up 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.

 

Democrats responded that Schwarzenegger's comments were insulting to women and gays and distracted from budget negotiations.

 

Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Santa Monica Democrat, called it "troubling" that the governor used what she termed a "homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership."

 

"It uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult," said Kuehl, one of five members of the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

 

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.

 

At a rally Sunday in Stockton, the governor gave a speech almost identical to the one he delivered in Ontario, telling a crowd that trial lawyers, unions and other "special interests" were "dug in" in Sacramento "like Alabama ticks, and we cannot get rid of them."

 

Schwarzenegger didn't repeat the "girlie men" remark, which he dropped because he had already sent the message he wanted to send, not because he regretted the line, spokesman Rob Stutzman said.

 

"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. "If they complain too much about this, I guess they're making the governor's point."

 

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said that while he wasn't upset by the remark, his 13-year-old daughter was.

 

"It was no question a very, very insensitive comment to make. I personally am not intimidated or threatened by it, but I think it really is beneath Gov. Schwarzenegger," he said.

 

Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who is chairman of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus, said the comment was "as misogynist as it is anti-gay."

 

"To disparage a group of law abiding tax paying citizens is just wrong," Leno said.

 

The governor said in his criticism of Democrats that they were working for unions and trial lawyers because of their support for two labor bills. One law prohibits schools from contracting services with private companies and the other gives workers authority to sue their employers to enforce labor laws. Democrats and the governor also disagree on local government financing issues.

 

Democrats say they back the bills because they help workers. Kuehl said Schwarzenegger, not Democrats, was giving in to special interest groups.

 

"He's the one caving into the tort reform special interests," she said.

Umm, I never saw his daughter a girl ever. Ever. Ever?

-=Mike

[Guest Nelly's Bandaid]

How is this news!?!? Hanz and Franz, totally influenced by Arnold, commonly called people girlie-men. To me this is just more of that self-depricating humor that makes Arnold the man.

[Guest BDC]

OK, Conservative Brigade members, here's a test. Fill in the appropriate response that should come after reading this story (hint: the text in question is highlighted)...

 

Link

 

LOS ANGELES - As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrapped up a weekend of rallies with renewed calls for a budget deal, a spokesman said the governor won't apologize for calling lawmakers "girlie men" despite criticism from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic.

 

The comment came during a rally on Saturday as Schwarzenegger railed against Democrats who he said were holding up 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.

 

Democrats responded that Schwarzenegger's comments were insulting to women and gays and distracted from budget negotiations.

 

Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Santa Monica Democrat, called it "troubling" that the governor used what she termed a "homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership."

 

"It uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult," said Kuehl, one of five members of the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

 

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.

 

At a rally Sunday in Stockton, the governor gave a speech almost identical to the one he delivered in Ontario, telling a crowd that trial lawyers, unions and other "special interests" were "dug in" in Sacramento "like Alabama ticks, and we cannot get rid of them."

 

Schwarzenegger didn't repeat the "girlie men" remark, which he dropped because he had already sent the message he wanted to send, not because he regretted the line, spokesman Rob Stutzman said.

 

"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. "If they complain too much about this, I guess they're making the governor's point."

 

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said that while he wasn't upset by the remark, his 13-year-old daughter was.

 

"It was no question a very, very insensitive comment to make. I personally am not intimidated or threatened by it, but I think it really is beneath Gov. Schwarzenegger," he said.

 

Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who is chairman of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus, said the comment was "as misogynist as it is anti-gay."

 

"To disparage a group of law abiding tax paying citizens is just wrong," Leno said.

 

The governor said in his criticism of Democrats that they were working for unions and trial lawyers because of their support for two labor bills. One law prohibits schools from contracting services with private companies and the other gives workers authority to sue their employers to enforce labor laws. Democrats and the governor also disagree on local government financing issues.

 

Democrats say they back the bills because they help workers. Kuehl said Schwarzenegger, not Democrats, was giving in to special interest groups.

 

"He's the one caving into the tort reform special interests," she said.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH.

 

Did she want him to put NSync in Attack of the Clones, too?

[Vyce 0]

Californians are an even more fucked up people than I had previously thought if they're so goddamn sensitive that "girlie-men" is a slur as bad as "faggot" in their eyes.

[Guest GreatOne]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

Hey truth hurts

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Umm, I never saw his daughter a girl ever. Ever. Ever?

 

Keep going -- you're almost there.

 

And for the love of God, can we not re-post entire news articles via the quote function?...

[Guest thebigjig]

What a sad world we live in when THIS gets into the top headlines on CNN.com along with "Another Police Academy in the works"

 

Either way... it's a joke... and a reference to Saturday Night Live, so get the fuck over it

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

Personally, I would say Arnold's constant use of Terminator movie references is more ridiculous than this non-issue girly man comment.

 

Oh, and props to whoever posted the Junior picture.

[Guest GreatOne]

What a sad world we live in when THIS gets into the top headlines on CNN.com along with "Another Police Academy in the works"

 

Either way... it's a joke... and a reference to Saturday Night Live, so get the fuck over it

So you mean to tell me that even a diehard left-winger "gets it"? I'm shocked.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Believe it or not, bigjig does bring common sense and a clear head to a number of issues.

 

For a commie...

[Guest Nelly's Bandaid]

Hold on just one god damn second....

 

 

There making another police academy!?!

[Guest thebigjig]

What a sad world we live in when THIS gets into the top headlines on CNN.com along with "Another Police Academy in the works"

 

Either way... it's a joke... and a reference to Saturday Night Live, so get the fuck over it

So you mean to tell me that even a diehard left-winger "gets it"? I'm shocked.

I find that die hard conservatives are usually the ones that lack a sense of humor outside of dick and fart jokes, unless they belong to the religious right where jew jokes tend to be the best knee slappers

 

Either way, the bitches complaining about this will just be laughed at by anyone with reason, and of course, a love for Saturday Night Live circa 1991

 

and thank you KKK... you're the most loveable Nazi Hitler/Bush lover I know

[Guest thebigjig]

Hold on just one god damn second....

 

 

There making another police academy!?!

Yup... one morning I checked the headlines at CNN.com, and to the right where the top news stories of the hour are listed, I saw 6 or 7 headlines dealing with Iraq, Israel, Scott Peterson, John Kerry, 9/11 Commission... and the final headline... "another police academy in the works" which was topped the next day by a repeat of headlines followed by "principal calls student 'stupid dirty girl'" which I literally had to fight myself from spitting my morning coffee on the screen

[Dangerous A 0]

This is not news. This is much ado about nothing. People nowadays are too fucking sensitive. Sometimes I hate the state I live in. People should be calling Arnold on how he's flip flopped on issues rather than him calling people names. If his calling some people "girlie men" is the best his opponents are going to come up with to fight him, I now start to see how this man got into office.

 

God, California sucks.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

"That will be judgment day. I want you to go to the polls…. You are the terminators, yes!"

 

This seals it. Governor Arnold is the dorkiest man alive.

[Guest thebigjig]

"That will be judgment day. I want you to go to the polls…. You are the terminators, yes!"

 

This seals it. Governor Arnold is the dorkiest man alive.

Worse than anglesault?!