Surprise: Schwarzenegger flips, pulls support for California offshore drilling
posted at 5:40 pm on May 3, 2010 by Allahpundit
Oh well. It’s not like California needs the revenue.
The announcement assures that no new drilling will take place off the state’s coastline in the foreseeable future because Schwarzenegger would have to include the drilling proposal in his May revision of the state budget.
Speaking at a news conference near Sacramento, the governor said television images of the oil spill in the Gulf have changed his mind about the safety of ocean-based oil platforms.
“You turn on the television and see this enormous disaster, you say to yourself, ‘Why would we want to take on that kind of risk?’” Schwarzenegger said…
“If I have a choice to make up $100 million and what I see in Gulf of Mexico, I’d rather find a way to make up that $100 million.”
Translation: “Think of the otters.” You know what’s most amazing about this? He didn’t even bother with an analytical fig leaf. It’d be one thing if he’d said, “In light of the BP disaster, we’ve undertaken a new study of the probability of similar accidents happening offshore here and the potential economic damage incurred, and it turns out it’s simply not cost-effective.” Granted, that would have looked weak-willed and opportunistic too, but at least there’d be hard numbers to toss back at his critics. Instead, we’ve got policy decisions being formed based on his visceral reaction to watching the oil wash ashore in Louisiana. For two years he’s pushed this project, and it took two days of live shots to change his mind. Either he didn’t do his homework about spill risk in the first place or he’s every inch the irresolute “girly man” he likes to accuse Democrats of being. And of course, by doing this, he’s handing the left “bipartisan” political cover to shut down drilling — even though, being term-limited, there’s no electoral reason for him to do so. What a shame that he can’t run for president like he desperately wants to do, huh?
I haven’t been this annoyed since last week’s Charlie Crist press conference. Speaking of which…
Blowback
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Now everyone hates Schwarzenegger. Seriously, those steroids must have turned his balls into raisins.
andy85719 on May 3, 2010 at 5:41 PM
They call him Flipper, Flipper…
teke184 on May 3, 2010 at 5:41 PM
what a bonehead!
cmsinaz on May 3, 2010 at 5:43 PM
How do you say girly-man in Austrian?
the_nile on May 3, 2010 at 5:43 PM
The Kennedy mind control machine still has its various places.
ICBMMan on May 3, 2010 at 5:43 PM
I’ll be
backhack!profitsbeard on May 3, 2010 at 5:44 PM
damn, AP beat me to the obligatory Hans and Franz reference.
ted c on May 3, 2010 at 5:44 PM
I certainly don’t care what he thinks!
Oink on May 3, 2010 at 5:44 PM
Cali and the Repubs would have better off with Gray Davis than this clown. Total fail.
Tasha on May 3, 2010 at 5:44 PM
From “I’ll be back!”
to “I’ll back down!”
catmman on May 3, 2010 at 5:44 PM
that’s too easy….Barack Obama….mmm mmmm mmmm
ted c on May 3, 2010 at 5:45 PM
He’s the douche-a-natah!
Sugar Land on May 3, 2010 at 5:45 PM
hasta la vista…
cmsinaz on May 3, 2010 at 5:45 PM
+1000
cmsinaz on May 3, 2010 at 5:46 PM
The No Drill-Uhhh-Natahhh
ted c on May 3, 2010 at 5:46 PM
Asta-la-vista you total DOUCHE-BAG!!!
SDarchitect on May 3, 2010 at 5:47 PM
The first translation that comes to mind is “bloede kuh”-
stupid cow. The English equivalent is NOT flattering.
BillH on May 3, 2010 at 5:47 PM
I still think this is just a tad bit too coincidental. With globull warming dying a slow death, this is exactly what the sadistic and oppressive progressives and enviro-communists needed to stop the growing push to use our own damn resources.
darwin on May 3, 2010 at 5:48 PM
this spill had horrible political timing.
jp on May 3, 2010 at 5:48 PM
Semi-OT: Rumor spreading across the Internet and even onto Fox News is that the O-ministration allowed the oil to leak either out of fear of acting to aggressively or, more likely, out of a desire for a reason to foreclose on Obama’s drilling pledge. Also, guess who BP donated the most money to in 2008.
andy85719 on May 3, 2010 at 5:48 PM
So, the next time a jumbo jet taking off from, say, Omaha crashes killing everyone on board, will Arnold cancel all flights from California’s airports? It was an accident, people. Stop overreacting!
Kafir on May 3, 2010 at 5:48 PM
winner!!
cmsinaz on May 3, 2010 at 5:48 PM
Give ze people ze oil, Cohagen!
chimney sweep on May 3, 2010 at 5:49 PM
Mr Maria Arnold Kennedy ,
there is a $ 42 Bil budget deficit in CA. If you are really that capable, first find a way to make THAT up .
Lets see you produce 42 billion before you go on to 100 billion.
macncheez on May 3, 2010 at 5:51 PM
Ooh. Just on Drudge. It looks like Obama decided not to burn the oil like he promised he would. I smell a Katrina in the offing. Worse, plans for a Gulf oil spill have been on the books since 1994. Looks like O just decided to ignore them. Bad Bambi, bad.
andy85719 on May 3, 2010 at 5:51 PM
And it’s a good idea to run headlong and half-assed into another conspiracy theory why?
No proof = Art Bell stand-in audition
chimney sweep on May 3, 2010 at 5:51 PM
Schwarzenegger has become such a sad joke. Are they still putting up statues of him in Austria, or are they taking them down?
MB4 on May 3, 2010 at 5:52 PM
Arnold, just go now please.
JusDreamin on May 3, 2010 at 5:52 PM
That’s the thread winner!
catmman on May 3, 2010 at 5:52 PM
I’ll just stick with the “simple incompetence” argument on that one. I don’t think they expected to get called out by the lefty press for dropping the ball on this one.
teke184 on May 3, 2010 at 5:53 PM
He was elected to lead, not to read…
catmman on May 3, 2010 at 5:53 PM
Euro Weenie.
Cody1991 on May 3, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Per the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the federal government has full responsibility for managing oil leaks. That Obama is point his crooked finger at BP shows either ignorance or fathomless gall.
andy85719 on May 3, 2010 at 5:54 PM
On Crist and Schwarzenegger, midgets are indignant.
Schadenfreude on May 3, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Movie images of Jane Fonda performing in China Syndrome closed down nuclear power in California and the rest of the United States.
Nice to know heavyweight decisions on the left coast are driven by what’s on TV and on the silver screen.
LaLa Land.
fogw on May 3, 2010 at 5:55 PM
Help me! I have fallen and I can’t get up!
- Arnold
MB4 on May 3, 2010 at 5:55 PM
BOTH for dear leader
cmsinaz on May 3, 2010 at 5:55 PM
If they’d have burned the oil, then it wouldn’t have reached the beach. If it doesn’t coat the beach, then all the caucasians will get tans this summer. And, we all know, that being tan is baaaaaad…
ted c on May 3, 2010 at 5:56 PM
Spineless. Don’t you wonder what it takes to make people flip so easily? Absolutely NO PRINCIPLES. Arnold is now officially a “girly-man”.
pjean on May 3, 2010 at 5:57 PM
Only one single fireboom in the gulf. This even after Big Sis said they were going to burn up all the oil. She lied. This administration is blindingly incompetent, and Schwazennegar is political refuse for jumping on the bandwagon. Hasta la vista estupido.
andy85719 on May 3, 2010 at 5:57 PM
A knee-jerk reaction by a knee JERK. This is what happens to a man who tones his “bad bod” with PEDs, or finds enjoyment being 112th in line to bed a Kennedy woman.
Talk about jumping the shark!
GoldenEagle4444 on May 3, 2010 at 5:57 PM
I have heard that long term steroid use shrinks ones nuts. Does anyone know if this is universally true or is Arnold just one of the few?
MB4 on May 3, 2010 at 5:57 PM
“Aaaww–uuuhgghh-aahh!!”
“Take ma handuh!!”
“Get een dah choppah!!”
“How did I become gobuhnator of Greece!!”
Doorgunner on May 3, 2010 at 5:58 PM
And before I forget
I am ashamed I worked for recall of Davis and your election Arnold.
I wish someone spray your rocky mountain oysters with tabasco
macncheez on May 3, 2010 at 5:58 PM
My fav from Predator ….
“Vaht eez eet Biellee?”
fogw on May 3, 2010 at 6:00 PM
lolol
Midas on May 3, 2010 at 6:00 PM
He hates white people. He’ll do anything to deprive them of a tax free tan.
/
Cody1991 on May 3, 2010 at 6:01 PM
It looks like George Soros’ Moveon.org is calling for an end to all US offshore drilling while he has put a huge chunk of his money into Brazilian offshore drilling, and Obama is sending billions of taxpayer dollars to go toward that effort.
Buddahpundit on May 3, 2010 at 6:01 PM
Yes. Let’s put the ban hammer on America. Let’s cut off all of our oil and we can all bring our umbrella’s while we watch the Chinese and the Cubans drill off of the Florida coast.
Let’s all bring balloons and sammiches to the event! As a matter of fact, let’s cut off coal, natural gas and propane while we’re at it.
Praise the dems and pass the food stamps and welfare checks! Yay! America Eff Yeah!
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:01 PM
Kalifornia’s voters thought in Arnold they would get Austrian efficiency and instead they got Greek incompetence.
MB4 on May 3, 2010 at 6:02 PM
He is a hen-pecked husband. He won’t stand up to his wife, Maria Shriver, a cousin of the Kennedys. Pathetic.
mydh12 on May 3, 2010 at 6:02 PM
A few years ago he said that Hayek was his favorite economist. It didn’t take him long to get with the program and become a full fledged member of the Kennedy clan.
burt on May 3, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Ted, you’re a racist. Why can’t White peeps be tan? Ya racist.
/
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:04 PM
For a former bodybuilder turned cinematic badass Arnold the Governor sure is a P*ssy.
Chrisin206 on May 3, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Hey , when the wonders of Keynes were proven , he had to switch…
the_nile on May 3, 2010 at 6:08 PM
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:08 PM
Let’s not get started on what it is to be hen pecked, okay?
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:09 PM
Bring in his stunt double for Governor!
He did all the tough stuff while Ahnold sat in his little trailer.
profitsbeard on May 3, 2010 at 6:10 PM
Here in California we are just plain HOSED…
In our up coming election for Governor we have the choices:
Republicans
RHINO: Meg Whitman
RHINO-lite: Steve Poizner
Democrat
Burned out hippie failure: Jerry Brown
Yep, it’s official …we are just plain HOSED.
Chimp 6 on May 3, 2010 at 6:10 PM
would make a lot of differnce if Arnold actually knew what he was doing.
jeanie on May 3, 2010 at 6:11 PM
Ahnold is your basic, everyday whore. Anyone who thought he would uphold conservative principles while ingratiating himself to the Kennedys had to be on drugs.
Cody1991 on May 3, 2010 at 6:12 PM
Here in SoCal, we average 2-3 beach closures per month due to sewage spills and storm drain runoff.
The L.A. “River” (aka ditch) is one of the biggest culprits.
Offshore oil drilling is the least of our problems.
The Ugly American on May 3, 2010 at 6:15 PM
Trouble is, he has not a clue how to “find another way to make up that $100 million.”
Cicero43 on May 3, 2010 at 6:17 PM
Holy crap! He was governor when I was in the Army back in 75. He’s one of the reasons I didn’t move back to CA when my enlistment was up. Sorry, Chimp 6, you are hosed.
SKYFOX on May 3, 2010 at 6:19 PM
Too true, TUA, but Ahnold isn’t worried about SOCAL. Outside of LA County it’s full of red and purple voters anyway. He’s worried about the stomping grounds of the I-80 Mafia. The SF-Sacramento-Tahoe corridor that wants to shut down the entire rest of the world, from Tanzania to Timbuktu, in order to preserve in amber the environmental situation of, precisely, September 26, 1994 at 9:37 AM.
J.E. Dyer on May 3, 2010 at 6:23 PM
He was referring to Salma Hayek. That would explain his economic policies as well.
GnuBreed on May 3, 2010 at 6:24 PM
Obama: “How high can you jump, Ahnowld”?
Ahnowld: “How high vould u like, OoghBama”?
Obama: “I want you to jump from the top of the Chrysler building”.
Ahnowld: “Ove, Ove-Kay. Heve I goooooooh”!
/
Hero movies like these will be made in the future.
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:24 PM
Call Mexico…
… They can have California back.
Seven Percent Solution on May 3, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Arnold has become well acquainted with TeH $uck.
But just wait until Jerry Brown gets in there……
good Lord.
BigWyo on May 3, 2010 at 6:29 PM
Look, Baby Hedgehogs!
They’re adorable.
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:29 PM
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/05/01
the_nile on May 3, 2010 at 6:30 PM
Thumbs aloft!
J.E. Dyer on May 3, 2010 at 6:32 PM
Good thing that he only has to use an airplane to commute from southern California to Sacramento, huh collie?
CyberCipher on May 3, 2010 at 6:33 PM
What a waste of space old Arnold is.
Hey, does anyone know why half the population of California is driving with their lights on today? I figure it’s the lefties showing support for the crimigrants, or maybe those folks who set the bombs over the weekend.
califcon on May 3, 2010 at 6:34 PM
If I didn’t know better I’d say Arnold was playing the part of Francisco D’Anconia. Honestly, it’s the only thing I can think of.
Sarjex on May 3, 2010 at 6:34 PM
The problem was that folks confused Arnold-Shriver-Kennedy-Schwarzenegger with the tough characters he played in the movies.
In reality he is really the guy who spent his “athletic” career giving oil rub downs to his competitors and publically posing in a thong.
That just about sums up the last 7 years.
Chimp 6 on May 3, 2010 at 6:48 PM
Arnold has to be jockeying for an appointment to the Obama administration once his term is up.
albill on May 3, 2010 at 6:49 PM
How could we have voted this clown into office? Oh, yeah. He said he was a fiscal conservative, and we believed him. I love California, but it’s just a shadow of its former self. Where do I move to?
Dave in San Diego on May 3, 2010 at 6:51 PM
I don’t know – I am as conservative as anyone I know, and I’m with Arnold here. Obviously the fail safes aren’t enough to prevent a major catastrophe – and what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico right now is a major catastrophe. The oil off the coasts isn’t going anywhere, and when the cause of this horrible event is learned and rigs properly retrofitted – then drill, baby, drill.
Sheerq on May 3, 2010 at 6:51 PM
When Jerry union man Brown replaces Mr Maria Shriver
who will be replacing him as AG ?
Kamala Harris. Yes the DA of
wait…SF..
She who pokes her own PD in the eye every chance she can get .
She who fought against her PD when they wanted death penalty for a latino who shot a SFPD officer in cold blood.
She who refused to initiate any action against the sanctuary of the Bologna ‘s killer ( illegal alien).
She who is proud of her contributions to maintaining the status of SF as a hell hole of crime.
Wait till she teams up with Jerry Brown and actually starts punishing white cops if they even show up to control a SEIU or Mecha riot.
Thanx Arnold Kennedy for ruining the future of all Repubs in CA, we gave you 2 chances and you blew them.
We are hosed, and we are doomed
macncheez on May 3, 2010 at 6:51 PM
Argh… we need more drilling, and closer to land to be more safe. That’s somewhat illogical, but true.
MT on May 3, 2010 at 6:54 PM
Praise the dems and pass the food stamps and welfare checks! Yay! America Eff Yeah!
Key West Reader on May 3, 2010 at 6:01 PM
I can see the welfare office from my house.
heshtesh on May 3, 2010 at 6:54 PM
When did the guy who beat the predator and umpteen different military battalions SINGLE HANDEDLY become a girly man.
…Governor Schwarzenegger, you’re no commando.
Mojave Mark on May 3, 2010 at 6:57 PM
They’re both wrong — it’s “Goobernator”.
What a clown. And what’s up with that hair cut, speaking of clowns?
Jaibones on May 3, 2010 at 6:58 PM
It’s all about having the right tools for the job. BP failed.
the_nile on May 3, 2010 at 7:00 PM
When the headline said ‘flips’, I naturally assumed you meant from ‘R’ to ‘D’.
Vashta.Nerada on May 3, 2010 at 7:04 PM
Yes , and..
the_nile on May 3, 2010 at 7:13 PM
You’re absolutely right. My proudest votes as a CAer: For 187 and 8; and against 1a. My biggest mistakes: for the recall and Arnold.
Lou Budvis on May 3, 2010 at 7:18 PM
Arnold call Palin I think she has your balls.
In fac tthe entire GOP leadership should call her I think she cut all of them off.
unseen on May 3, 2010 at 7:21 PM
What else would you expect from
Governor Shriverneggar?
He’ll probably start advocating for off-shore wind-farms instead, having married into the Kennedy klan.
Waaaait a minute……
mrt721 on May 3, 2010 at 7:24 PM
Don’t know about Austrian, but in German, the word daemelich (sp?) comes to mind. Basically emasculated bonehead.
AH_C on May 3, 2010 at 7:26 PM
Arnold and Obuma are perfect examples of what happens when you vote for buffoons who have NO life experiences whatsoever to build on and is incapable of distinquishing between right and wrong when decisions effecting us have to be made. Arnold will bankrupt California and Obuma will bankrupt the rest of us. Both are caricatures of incompetence.
volsense on May 3, 2010 at 7:30 PM
How do you say girly-man in Austrian?
the_nile on May 3, 2010 at 5:43 PM
eunuch
unseen on May 3, 2010 at 7:31 PM
anyone that ever thought about changing the consitution to allow this halfman to run for POTUS should be doing facepalms right about now
unseen on May 3, 2010 at 7:33 PM
Mädchenmann.
Mädchen means girl and Mann means man.
Holger on May 3, 2010 at 7:45 PM
..this guy is such a girly-man now I’ll bet he’s taken to wearing his wife’s crotchless panties.
The War Planner on May 3, 2010 at 7:51 PM
Girlie man.
clearbluesky on May 3, 2010 at 7:57 PM
Ahnold; You act like John McCain.
You’ve become such a tool, from such a fine instrument of independence.
Cybergeezer on May 3, 2010 at 8:05 PM
Clearly he really is a Terminator Robot. He’s done a great job of destroying California, and he repeats whatever leftist talking point his wife programs into him.
fossten on May 3, 2010 at 8:17 PM
Remember …. he sleeps with a KENNEDY !!!
aniladesai on May 3, 2010 at 8:43 PM
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