I'll start this blog post with one very simple and direct fact: I did not vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger to be Governor of California. I have never have voted for him, and I never will.
There are several reasons for this.
The primary one being that Arnold is always about Arnold. I don't think he particularly gives a damn about anyone or anything else. Sure, he was a big movie star, but what had he done to ever indicate he could work in a job as complicated as State politics? I saw nothing in his background to indicate that he had the common sense or ability to run the State of California. Unfortunately, I was right about that.
There was also this video of him smoking a joint a few decades ago, indicating his willingness to violate California law (at the time). Never a good sign.
Schwarzenegger is married to Maria Shriver, an ultra-liberal from the Kennedy family. This shows you that his "Conservatism" never existed and was always a bunch of baloney. When your politics don't enter into your personal life, you are most likely a big hypocrite and a phony. If you marry an Obama voter, you should be ashamed to show up at GOP events. Shriver, like most liberals/dictators/phonies, also shows a remarkable willingness to break the law whenever it suits her own needs.
For all his foibles and weaknesses, the thing that bothered me the most about Schwarzenegger was that I considered him to be morally bankrupt.
Back in the 1960's, Schwarzenegger had joined the Austrian military and learned how to drive a tank. One year of military service was compulsory for young males in Austria at the time. In countries with small populations, this is still a fairly common practice.
When joining the Austrian Army, Schwarzenegger swore an oath to defend Austria. He pledged his loyalty to his native country of Austria. Then, years later, he decided to abandon this oath and his home country and become a citizen in The United States of America.
The problem with this is that when you swear an oath of loyalty, it is supposed to mean something.
Schwarzenegger defenders can never fully talk their way out of this one. Either he was lying when he took the oath, or he just decided to break that promise in search of better things in life for himself.
In the 1980's I took the an oath when I joined the US Army, and it is still active for me. I swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign or domestic. (And there are plenty of enemies around to be defending against.)
This disloyalty to his own country and his own people was the most disturbing thing about Schwarzenegger to me. A person who violates an oath for his own selfish self-interests should not be elected to public office. It shows a lack of moral clarity. A moral bankruptcy, as it were.
Maybe Arnold should look into joining this organization.... Oathkeepers. They are all about keeping those promises to their country. He could learn some valuable lessons about integrity.
