[Please excuse the light posting. I changed jobs recently and not only have a longer commute but also a more time intensive job. It was also a busy family time with kids off school]
I recently watched the Arnold three episode bio series on Netflix. It was a fun walk down memory lane and I learned a lot. It also raised some interesting questions.
Arnold Schwarzenegger produced the series, so it is Arnold’s version of the story. It does include some negative points about Arnold, so it doesn't ignore issues, but it does paint a certain picture. Arnold isn't very introspective, so it is through looking at what he presents that we can see what he cares about, which is mostly shaping the world's image of Arnold.
It is divided into 3 sections: bodybuilding, movies, and politics.
The bodybuilding section shows his childhood and his introduction into the sport. It shows lots of images and videos. Arnold was born directly after WW2 in Austria. As a teenager in the 60s, he started lifting. He later started competing and had success at a young age. Bodybuilding is essentially male beauty pageants, and the judges score each contestant. Arnold lets the audience in just a bit with his struggles in bodybuilding. Arnold became the top bodybuilder outside the US and learned how to aid ballet and modeling techniques to improve in competitions. He eventually came to America and worked hard to have the same success he had in Europe in America.
Arnold freely admits steroid use but claimed it was medically administered and only done in preparation for upcoming events, not full time.
Arnold was helped to invest his winnings into real estate, so Arnold was already wealthy before finding success in the movie business.
Arnold had his first real contact with the movie industry through bodybuilding, as he appeared in a drama (Stay Hungry) and a documentary related to the sport (Pumping Iron). He steroid struggled to gain roles though, especially with his thick accent. Arnold candidly expresses his frustration with his.
Luckily, he was cast as Conan for the 1982 movie of the same name. For those who haven't seen it, he does a great job playing the role and movie actually still holds up. The poorly executed sequel in 1984 could have ruined his career, but he was cast in 1984’s The Terminator. Arnold originally didn't want to play the villain, but was talked into it. Between the two hits Arnold became one of the leading movie stars of the day.
Arnold also married into the Kennedy clan with his marriage to Maria Shriver. As his movie career slowed down, Arnold became interested in politics. He claimed his wife opposed the move.
Arnold, a staunch conservative with a strong love of America, had been in various politics adjacent roles for a decade and eventually got involved in pushing a ballot initiative. When Governor Gray Davis of California was up for a recall election, Arnold jumped into the race and wide support and even overcame a last minute attack regarding mistreatment of women.
As governor, he started as a strong conservative. He tried to schmooze the politicians and didn't get anywhere. He then tried to organize the people with a series of initiatives that would bypass the state legislature. This failed.
After the failure, he brought in a bunch of liberals including some recommended by the Kennedys and started adopting liberal policies in an effort to get things done. He cut deal after deal and one leftist is quoted on camera saying that the left advanced its agenda greatly through Arnold.
Arnold is unrepentant about pushing for action, even for action that was contrary to his previously held positions. He just wanted to get things done and be liked. The Democrats in California used Arnold to accelerate their takeover of the state and make it into the disaster it is today. And Arnold claims to be happy for his role in the present state of California.
As I watched this, I could not help thinking about Trump. Trump was a celebrity politician with strong ideas, just like Arnold. He faced a lot of opposition, but when famous people sucked up to him, he gave them what they wanted, especially his prison reform and his Covid measures.
The Democrats could have gotten a lot of stuff through with Trump if they had just flattered him. Trump would have passed student loan reform and massive infrastructure bills.
So why did they not? It is the areas from which Trump deviated from the establishment that caused that hatred.
Trump opposed the American empire and endless war.
Trump opposed open borders.
Trump opposed free trade.
Trump did not go along with the Ukraine War.
Trump favored national sovereignty over the globalism.
There are a few other areas, but those are most important. Even with that, I suspect, if they had not decided to just oppose him, they could have used the Arnold method and gotten much further along.
And it also goes to show just how important the Ukraine War was to their entire plan. If Hillary had won in 2016, this war would have started in 2017. And a whole lot of people, who now have their eyes open to the evils of the American empire and the globalists, would have had their eyes still closed, and would have jumped in full support of Ukraine, just like all the zombie NPCs.