He’s a centrist from a western state who seems more comfortable with Democrats than his own party and reportedly considered leaving the GOP altogether. There’s only one thing to do with him, obviously:
Offer him the Republican presidential nomination.
A few months ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger and a few close associates discussed whether he should leave the Republican Party, according to two people familiar with the conversation. His friend Mike Bloomberg, the New York mayor, had become an independent. Maybe Schwarzenegger should, too. But the governor and his people quickly concluded that Californians already saw him as independent of the Republican Party. So what would be the point of a switch? (A spokesman for the governor declined comment.)…
How did the marriage between Schwarzenegger and his party go bad? The truth is that it was never much of a marriage. Schwarzenegger’s criticism of Republicans pre-dates his entry into political life. At first, however, many Republicans loved the actor’s image so much that they didn’t pay attention to his words. “Arnold is a very seductive individual,” said Stephen Moore, then president of the conservative Club for Growth, in 2004…
Schwarzenegger himself is responsible for many of his problems. The governor did not devote much time to building deep personal relationships with Republican lawmakers. At a rare meeting last year with the governor, some of these lawmakers wore name tags. After a marriage to a Kennedy and a long career in Hollywood, Schwarzenegger seems more personally comfortable with Democratic leaders. Worse still, Schwarzenegger in private could talk insultingly about Republican lawmakers. They were “foreheads,” “the wild bunch,” or “out there.” Such comments spread quickly in the gossipy Capitol.
Yeah, what would be the point of a switch? He can’t run for governor again in California; conceivably he might run for Senate, but he stands a better chance against Boxer or Feinstein in a general election as a nominal Republican with some party support than as an independent or a Democratic challenger in a primary. Besides, if he drops the GOP, he eliminates any chance of a presidential run in the unlikely event that the natural-born provision of the Constitution is repealed. Exit question: Admit it. Despite all your teeth-gnashing about moderates, you’ll still avidly, full-throatedly support him against any Democrat — and he knows it. See, e.g., the 2008 presidential election for comparison. Second look at RINOs?
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