Well, the newspapers tomorrow will have the details about Arnie's supposed pro-Hitler feelings back in the 70s. I wonder if his wife is going to come to his defense by admitting her grandfather's and her uncle Joe's anti-semitic, pro-Hitler feelngs in the period just preceding WWII?
Don't get me wrong, I don't think views Arnie held in the 70s should be a matter for this campaign, unless they can be shown to be his CURRENT views. We all change our opinons about things. Sometimes we are impressed by someone's accomplishments without understanding what those accomplishments cost others. I just think it is tremendously hypocrital of democrats to criticize Arnie, or Arnie's father, when the royal family of the democratic party held similar views, and were in a much better position to aid Hitler than Arnie and his father ever were.
I think the Kennedy's changed their minds about Hitler, too. At least I hope that they did. And Joe did go to war against Germany. But if the New York Times and other liberal papers are going to use Arnie's pro-Hitler statements against him, they ought to at least make honorable mention of his wife's pro-Hitler heritage.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (New Testament, King James version)
Arnold Schwarzenegger was ready to put his California gubernatorial campaign into high gear with five days left before the election, but after facing allegations of sexual harassment he is now trying to explain claims that he praised Adolf Hitler.
ABCNEWS obtained a copy of an unpublished book proposal with quotes from what was called a "verbatim transcript" of an interview Schwarzenegger gave in 1975 while making the film Pumping Iron.
Asked who his heroes are, he is quoted as saying, "I admired Hitler, for instance, because he came from being a little man with almost no formal education, up to power. I admire him for being such a good public speaker and for what he did with it."
He is also quoted as saying he wished he could have an experience, "like Hitler in the Nuremberg stadium. And have all those people scream at you and just being total agreement whatever you say."
The story broke just as Schwarzenegger was kicking off his bus tour of California — an event that was supposed to be the crescendo of his campaign.
The author of the book proposal, Pumping Iron's director, George Butler, told ABCNEWS that the quotes needed to be seen in the context of Schwarzenegger's admiration of powerful men, and that he never said anything anti-Semitic.
In an interview with ABCNEWS, Schwarzenegger said he didn't recall making the remarks, but said he has no admiration for Hitler or the Nazis.
"I cannot remember any of this, all I can tell you is that I despise anything that Hitler stood for," he said. "I despise anything what the Nazis stood for … anything that the Third Reich stood for. Anything that they've done, the atrocities that they've created … and this is why for many many years I've been fighting against prejudice.
He said he has given "millions of dollars" to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and called Wiesenthal "one of my heroes … because he always preaches justice."
Later Thursday evening, at a news conference with wife Maria Shriver at his side, he repeated the denial.
"I don't remember any of those comments because I always despise everything that Hitler stood for," Schwarzenegger said, calling the Nazi leader a "disgusting villain."
This is not the first time Schwarzenegger has had apparently pro-Nazi remarks come back to haunt him. Last week he was reminded of a toast he gave to Austrian President Kurt Waldheim at his wedding. At the time Schwarzenegger gave the toast, it had just been exposed that Waldheim had committed Nazi war crimes.
"That was a mistake, and I know but we can grow and it's always easy to be smart in hindsight," the actor-turned-candidate said.
Sexual Indiscretions
There have also been a growing number of allegations about Schwarzenegger mistreating women.
A front-page story in Thursday's Los Angeles Times, California's largest newspaper, quoted six women who claim Schwarzenegger groped or made sexually offensive remarks to them. One woman told ABCNEWS she encountered Schwarzenegger in the 1970s when he was a bodybuilder.
"The gym was quite full and Arnold was there and I remember him passing by me and groping my breast," Elaine Stockon told ABCNEWS. "And I was just in sheer shock."
Of the six women who spoke to the newspaper, four would not give their names. One claimed that 20 years ago, Schwarzenegger "grabbed and squeezed" her left breast. She told the Los Angeles Times she "just started crying and crying." She said he did not rape her, but he humiliated her.
The Los Angeles Times also quoted a woman, who asked not to be named, and worked on the movie Terminator 2, who claimed Schwarzenegger "would pin me against the corner of the elevator" and try to pull off the straps of her bathing suit.
He confronted the allegations directly Thursday. "I have done things that at the time I thought then was playful but now I recognize that I have offended people. And those people that I have offended, I want to say to them I am deeply sorry about that and I apologize."
Gov. Gray Davis, the man Schwarzenegger is hoping to replace as governor, told ABCNEWS he did not feel comfortable commenting on the allegations against Schwarzenegger of sexual misconduct that have appeared in the media because they have not been substantiated, but he said that the former bodybuilder's remarks about Hitler shocked him.
"I don't see how anyone can admire Adolf Hitler. Any decent American has to be offended by that phrase," Davis said. "I am prepared to say that anyone who says they admire Hitler shocks the public conscience, because there's nothing about Hitler that warrants admiration, nothing at all."
Emphasis and commentary in the quotes below is mine.
quote:
Gov. Gray Davis, the man Schwarzenegger is hoping to replace as governor, told ABCNEWS he did not feel comfortable commenting on the allegations against Schwarzenegger of sexual misconduct that have appeared in the media because they have not been substantiated, but he said that the former bodybuilder's remarks about Hitler shocked him.
To the best of my knowledge, the remarks about Hitler haven't been substantiated either, so why is he shocked? Check out the quote below (full text here ):
quote:
Other allegations may be refloated, like the one Charles Fleming included in a March 1992 Spy magazine article -- confirmed, he wrote, by "a businessman and longtime friend of Schwarzenegger's" (so, basically by no one who can be identified - splamunge) -- that in the '70s Arnold "enjoyed playing and giving away records of Hitler's speeches." There is also the allegation of Arnold's having said on-camera, during the filming of "Pumping Iron" (1977) by director George Butler, that he "admired" Hitler. This last allegation was included in a 1991 Schwarzenegger biography by Wendy Leigh, who quoted Mr. Butler as her main source. In the summer of 1992 Mr. Schwarzeneger won a libel suit against Ms. Leigh, not regarding her book but a 1988 article she helped write for the British tabloid News of the World that included other allegations. Part of that settlement was an apology from Ms. Leigh, which read, "Mr. Schwarzenegger has never espoused Nazi or anti-Semitic views, has never been an admirer of Hitler's evil regime, and he did not admire or approve of his father's alleged conduct." (Either he said it, or he didn't. Results suggest that he didn't)
In an interview last summer, Mr. Butler did not dispute Ms. Leigh's reporting about Mr. Schwarzenegger's Hitler remark except to say that "the context was power." In the "Pumping Iron" interview in question (an outtake that was never included in the film and lost for all eternity? Come on! Outtakes are around longer than the movie. Let's see the outtake. If it exists, we should be seeing it in a couple of days, though we'll have to roam the web to find the entire outtake. News outlets, being liberal, will almost certainly edit it in the worst possible light), Mr. Butler recalls that Mr. Schwarzenegger "said he admired Jesus Christ for the same reason. He was basically saying that he admired famous people and that he wanted to be famous as well."
I see a lot of "he said, she said", but no authoritive documentation. I also don't see any reporting about the Jesus Christ remark. Don't liberals realize they can now bash Arnold as anti-Islamic, anti-Buddist, anti-Satanist ... OK, I'll give you the last one. Give it a rest, people; this horse is dead.
Splatted and munged
quote:
Call the church,
Call the police,
Call the church police.
...THE CHURCH POLICE
He was right, it was amazing how Hitler went from being a homeless loser to the brink of conquering Europe. He was evil, but at the same time impressive, a one of a kind character. Only a PC loving idiot can't see that and openly comment on it.
Also, what's the use of being a box office smash hit, action movie super hero if you can't grab some tities and get laid over and over again along the way? I'l bett Ronald reagan never grabbed any a$$? BS!
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."— George Bush Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
I can remember some of my peers in school commenting on how much of a powerful leader Hitler was, he certainly was. If he didn't invade Russia the map of the world may be different today, he is too recent (and evil in memories) to admire, but in 1-2 thousand years people might see him as a great warrior depending on the culture of the time. Would it be worrying if Arnie commented positively on the generals of the genocide of the native American people by the Spanish and current rulers of Northern America?
But, still no mention in the press about the Kennedy support of Adolf Hitler, which went much further than Arnie's supposed statements. I wonder why? Oh, of course, the Kennedy's are democrats! Duh!
Is there anyone else out there that thinks this race is so dirty precisely because it is GREY DAVIS who is about to be ousted?
I'm sure some of those women were offended by Arnie's actions. But, I wonder how many were flattered by his attention? What happened to the good ole slap across the face when a male jerk crosses the line? Or the kick in the groin? Always worked for me?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (New Testament, King James version)
10-03-2003 04:54 AM
