Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger is a member of the Republican Party and, in September 2012, told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes that he will never leave the party.[21] On September 7, 2007, Schwarzenegger said, "I am proud to be a member of the party of Abraham Lincoln. I am proud to be a member of the party of Ronald Reagan."[22] In the documentary, Pumping Iron, Schwarzenegger said, "I was always dreaming about very powerful people—dictators and things like that. I was just always impressed by that...people could be remembered for hundreds of years, you know—even Jesus for thousands of years remembered."[23] In August 2003, Schwarzenegger indicated that he's not a cultural conservative.[24] Schwarzenegger believes that Austrian social democracy limited the horizons of many of his friends.[1]

At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Arnold spoke about the reason he became a Republican instead of a Democrat:

I finally arrived here in 1968. What a special day it was. I remember I arrived here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of determination, full of desire. The presidential campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon–Humphrey presidential race on TV. A friend of mine who spoke German and English translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism, which I had just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. Then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting the government off your back, lowering the taxes and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, I said, "What party is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a Republican." And I have been a Republican ever since.[25]

Thal mayor and longtime schoolmate Peter Urdl said that the teenage Schwarzenegger seemed to hold opinions in line with the Social Democrats and expressed admiration for Bruno Kreisky.[1] The New Yorker's Connie Bruck called Schwarzenegger "supermoderate".[26] Andrew Gumbel of The Independent wrote, "[Schwarzenegger is] a man of surprises. He mixes in the social circles of Hollywood's liberal elite...yet he has always regarded himself as a staunch Republican—among other things, an act of rebellion against the staunch social democratic values of his native Austria."[27] Los Angeles Times writer Joe Mathews wrote that Schwarzenegger routinely sides with business and asserts quasi-libertarian views on individual freedom but has crossed borders and associated with groups whose experiences seem foreign to his own.[1] Daniel Weintraub of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "[Schwarzenegger] is liberal on some issues, conservative on others and, sometimes, but not always, in the middle."[28] Rob Long, a television writer and producer, wrote on NPR that Schwarzenegger is a "Hollywood Republican, meaning he's mellow about gays and abortion and marijuana".[29]

Civil rights attorney Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights gave Schwarzenegger a B- grade on gay and lesbian issues, calling his decision not to appeal Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which struck down Proposition 8, "a really quite dramatic stand for a Republican governor to have taken."[20]

In October 2003, On The Issues rated Schwarzenegger as a "moderate liberal populist".[30] In April 2008, the organization reclassified Schwarzenegger as a "centrist".[31] In a 2010 report published by Equality California, an LGBT rights organization, Schwarzenegger received a 57 percent score.[32] On April 21, 2010, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Schwarzenegger and ten other governors as the "worst governors", accusing him of self-enrichment; cozying up with special interests, conflicts of interest, cronyism, pressuring state officials, mismanagement, and vetoing hospital transparency bills.[33][34]

In 2004, the California League of Conservation Voters, an environmental organization, released a scorecard giving Schwarzenegger a 58%.[35] Schwarzenegger would receive the same score in 2005.[36] In 2006, his score fell to 50%.[37] Schwarzenegger's score improved to 63% in 2007.[38] In 2008, Schwarzenegger received a 60% score.[39] In 2009, Schwarzenegger's score from the CLCV fell to its lowest ever, falling to 28%.[40] However, Schwarzenegger's score would recover in 2010, improving to 56%.[41] As Governor of California, Schwarzenegger's lifetime score from the CLCV is 53%.[42]

In March 2005, the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank, issued a "fiscal policy report card" for 2004 in which it assigned an A grade to Schwarzenegger's performance as governor.[43] Schwarzenegger was given a D grade in the 2006 report card from the Cato Institute.[44] In the 2008 report card, Schwarzenegger was given a C grade.[45] In 2010, Schwarzenegger received a D grade in the report card.[46]