Governor calls foes 'girlie men'

Democrats are outraged over the remark directed at them, calling it sexist and anti-gay.

By Gary Delsohn -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, July 18, 2004

ONTARIO - This time he called them "girlie men up there in Sacramento."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, using fiery campaign-style rhetoric and some of the Hollywood lines that made him famous, came to the Inland Empire on Saturday afternoon to bash and threaten Democrats he said were "obstructionists" blocking the state budget and catering to special interests.

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"If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers, and I want them to make the millions of dollars - if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men," Schwarzenegger shouted at a shopping mall rally.

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The governor and his GOP allies in the Legislature have been unable to come to terms with majority Democrats over local government financing. Negotiations also are stalled over Republican calls to kill a state law that restricts school districts from hiring private groundskeepers and bus drivers, and another that grants employees broader rights to sue for labor violations.

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Schwarzenegger has been growing increasingly frustrated and angry over the stalemate, aides say. On Saturday, he said he was "outraged" by the impasse. He is scheduled to make an appearance today in Stockton.