Arnie To Bush: Bite Me. I've Got An Election Of My Own Coming Up, You Moron

Poor Arnie. Caught between the proverbial compressed carbon and silica formation and the proverbial not-so-soft place. He needs those RNC dollars, but hating on immigrants is not good politics in Ca-lee-fore-ee-ya. I hope he's not the only Republican governor who finds him/herself in this predicament.

From Comcast:

"Schwarzenegger Denies Bush Troop Request
By AARON C. DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

Sat Jun 24, 5:25 AM

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger shakes hands with California National ...
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week rejected a request from the Bush administration to send an additional 1,500 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, the governor's office confirmed Friday.

The National Guard Bureau, an arm of the Pentagon, asked for the troops to help with the border-patrol mission in New Mexico and Arizona, but Schwarzenegger said the request would stretch the California Guard too thin in case of an emergency or natural disaster.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn confirmed the governor's decision Friday after two California National Guard officials revealed it to The Associated Press.

Mendelsohn said the governor believed sending more troops would create an inappropriate burden on the state and disrupt the guard's training schedule.

The overall deployment for the border mission will remain at 6,000 soldiers.

On June 1, Schwarzenegger agreed to send the California National Guard to the Mexican border to help the federal government's effort to curb illegal immigration. That ended a 17-day standoff with the Bush administration over whether the state would join the border patrol effort and who would pay for it.

California has committed to putting 1,000 troops on the border by July 31 and has 250 there already.

Schwarzenegger initially criticized the administration's plan to deploy troops to the border, saying it was the wrong approach to dealing with illegal immigration.

The governor finally relented after the Pentagon signed a document promising to pay for the entire mission, a cost that could top $1.4 billion nationally.

Schwarzenegger also wanted the Bush administration to commit to a firm end date. It did not, but Schwarzenegger signed an executive order saying he would not authorize the deployment beyond the end of 2008.

___

Associated Press Writer Scott Lindlaw contributed to this report from Soda Springs, Calif."