Who is We and Get a Grip, Kip

October 4, 2003

Dear Editor,

Kip Dellinger writes: "Arnold Schwarzenegger is a bright man with boundless energy and enthusiasm who legitimately wants to return California to fiscal sanity. He is intelligent enough to surround himself with advisers of the quality he will need to bring some sense of adult leadership to governing the state. We need him as Governor." ("OPINION: California is in Trouble and Arnold is the Answer," Oct. 3, 2003)

Mr. Dellinger: Who is this "we?" Haven't you noticed that Mr. Schwartzenegger is in trouble for years of perpetrating sexual harassment? How can anyone ignore the magnitude of this issue?

You state that you want a candidate with charisma. Charisma is not the sole arbiter of fitness for elected office.

We know very little about Mr. Schwartzenegger's ability to govern. We know a lot about what he calls, "playfulness," which is nothing more than sexual harassment. The women who are speaking out are NOT speaking out for the first time -- the stories recounted in the LA Times span three decades and the stories were double and triple checked before the article ran.

It is frightening in the extreme that this candidate is not held to minimum standards of decency, and that the outrage is STILL directed at the whistle-blowers rather than at the perpetrator.

Mr. Schwartzenegger, you need to apologize and make amends to your victims. Glib statements to your supporters will not suffice. Mr. Dellinger, you need higher standards of conduct for your candidates.

California, we need elected officials who understand why grabbing and groping the breasts and buttocks of mothers, sisters, and daughters is demeaning and wrong. We need elected officials who will do all in their power to advocate respect for women.

Sincerely,

Reverend Sandie Richards
Woman, Santa Monica Resident, "likely voter",
and minister of Church in Ocean Park (United Methodist)

October 3, 2003

Dear Editor,

We are so fortunate to have The Lookout online to present opposing points of view on the issues of the day. This past Friday featured two such points of view -- Denny Zane's compelling and articulate dissection of the recall ("OPINION: Partisan Recall Jeopardizes Stability, Values," Oct. 3, 2003), and Kip Kellinger's attempt to paint Arnold as our savior.

While Denny managed to show the recall in its true light in a little over a page, Kip's attempt at rationalizing it ran six pages when I printed it out. Let's face it, it's hard to build a case out of thin air, and Kip was fortunate to finish in merely six pages.

He begins by informing us that those opposed to the recall are liberaldemocrats or socialists (communists). I write liberal democrats as one word, because Kip and those of his stripe would try to convince us that all democrats are liberal.

Alas they are not. I am proudly a liberal democrat, and I find most democrats (particularly the presidential pretenders,) to be moderates at best. I have more than a few Green friends, and of course I noted parenthetically that when folks on the right say socialist they expect you to hear and think communist so your mind immediately shuts down and does not consider the rest of their "every one knows..." argument. Just to be sure, Kip throws in the totalitarian rule comment, so we subconsciously know exactly what he means. Saves him from actually having to state or make a case against the Greens.

Comically he predicts a Green victory would mean the loss of thousands of California jobs. Apparently, George Bush must be the biggest Green of them all, what with the millions of jobs that have exited the United States while he has spent but a fraction of a term in office. That's all right Kip, ignore the facts and just keep telling people what everybody knows...

Next on Kip's hit list is "a suspect educational system controlled by the monolithic teachers' union." That's interesting, Kip. As I'm a teacher and a union leader at the local and state levels I don't recall seeing you at any of our functions.

If you did bother to show up and research your writing, you might discover that there are actually two statewide teachers' unions (CTA & AFT), that they are incredibly democratic in ways most bodies could only dream of. (Full representation for both genders and all minorities, one person, one vote, an opportunity for any individual to stand and speak their mind at our state council).

The annual NEA convention with 10,000+ teachers in a single room is recognized as the largest functioning democratic body in the world. How many have you been to, Kip? Or do you just write, well, you know... what everybody knows about unions?

Like most Republicans, Kip rants about illegal aliens. I'm sure he is presently boycotting all the hotels and restaurants where these people do much of the dirty work nobody else wants, and avoiding any structure built by illegal aliens (an estimated 40 percent of all construction in our present housing boom). Thus it's pretty clear Kip doesn't get out much.

Oh, and by the way, how about a word about the very first illegal alien -- Christopher Columbus? Yes, the man who first imported slaves to the New World didn't have a Green Card. Or a
clue to where he was, where he was going, or where he had been. Sound familiar?

Speaking of Arnold, he is a... "bright man with boundless energy" according to Kip, who is "intelligent enough to surround himself with advisers of the quality he will need to bring some sense of adult leadership to governing."

Where do I start? Apparently Kip has led a sheltered life and isn't aware of what everyone knows about Arnold and his source of that boundless energy. Perception can be selective. And as far as adult leadership goes, I guess Arnold wouldn't be qualified to advise himself if recent Los Angeles Times articles about his womanizing and groping of helpless ladies is to be believed.

Nope, Kip would have us believe that article and those written over the last 30 years are gross misrepresentations of this stately gentleman. He has been wronged by the press -- he is in fact our knight in shining armor.

Wake up, Kip. Get a life. And get a grip. There is no real excuse for this coup d'etat in California. Just as there was no real reason for Dade County voting disproportionately for Pat Buchanan in the last presidential election -- except that it served your party's purpose and agenda. Ya know what I mean?

Ciao...

Marc Sanschagrin
Santa Monica