How great was the Arnold

Thanks suckers folks!

I recall back in 2004, Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the darlings of conservative Republicans.  They couldn't get enough of the guy.  I took my kids to see President GW Bush when he came to Columbus that year.  I've long tried to see presidents if they are in the area.  I think it's a good experience, and I wanted my sons to see the current president in person.  Bush got applause to be sure.  FWIW, former governor Taft, a Republican in an arena filled with Republicans, got overwhelmingly booed.  But nothing compared to the rave screams of adoration that came when Arnold took the stage to introduce Bush.

Arnold has a long connection to Columbus.  His Arnold Sportsfest is one of the big events of the year in Central Ohio.  Part of the cheers could be due to that.  But overall, the praise and adulation he received here in the Buckeye State was repeated across conservative media, conservative talk shows, conservative punditry and even conservative churches.  Heck, I remember some conservatives wanting to change the Constitution so Arnold could run for president!

Why?  The guy has virtually nothing in common with any conservatives I know, religious or otherwise.  His rather explicit interview here, in which he dumps on religion and the afterlife, certainly explains his lack of moral connection to religious conservatives.  Schwarzenegger has long stood as an example for those coming from the far corners of the world to indulge in all the porn-orgy culture America has to offer.

Many of his policies are nothing close to what Conservatives endorse.  As often as not he would get along just fine with the good folks on The View.  Heck, even libertarians should shrink from him.  I recall him joining people like Chris Christie and stomping on the idea that gays are anything but forced to be gay by birth.  Therefore, all attempts to help them be anything other than flaming homosexuals must be crushed.  That's not libertarian.  It's hell and gone from conservative views.  

So what was it about him?  That he put an 'R' in front of his name?  I've often said I was ahead of the curve where Trump is concerned.  I didn't like the guy back when liberals, Democrats and Hollywood power players loved the guy.  What changed?  For me, nothing.  But for them?  He put the dreaded 'R' in front of his name.  Once you do that, to those inclusive left of center activists you become discount Hitler.  Perhaps conservatives view that from the opposite perspective?   

I don't know.  It can't be just because of the 'R'.  After all, Mitt Romney has an 'R' in front of his name and I think there are more ostrich racing fans in the world than there are conservatives who care about him.  Perhaps Romney's is a case of conservatives learning lessons about blindly following people because they have an 'R' in front of their name?  

I just can't say.  I simply know as I watch so many still rally around Donald Trump, it's a question I keep asking.  A man who spent most of his life embodying so much of what conservatives oppose.  Not to mention supporting him despite his actions in recent years: Throwing conservatives under the bus where the Covid vaccines were concerned, declaring anyone who fails to conform an enemy of the Don (and having perhaps the least loyalty among his subordinates that I have ever seen), his open support for issues we conservatives are supposed to find unacceptable, his attacks against fellow Republicans over issues we are supposed to agree upon, and his continued behavior as if he is one of the highest paid employees on the 'Keep Democrats in the White House' committee, I wonder.  It's a mystery I can't figure.