April 8

This day in sketchtory, Clint Eastwood was elected mayor in April 1986 of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California (population 4,000), a wealthy small town and artist community on the Monterey Peninsula. He served one term. A focal point of Eastwood's campaign was to overturn a law that banned eating ice cream in public.

In general, Eastwood has favoured less governmental interference in both the private economy and the private lives of individuals. He has disapproved of a reliance on welfare, feeling that the government should help citizens make something of themselves via education and incentives. He has, however, approved of unemployment insurance, bail-outs for homeowners saddled with unaffordable mortgages, a continued American automobile industry, electric and hybrid cars, environmental conservation, land preservation, alternative energy, and gun control measures such as California's Brady Bill. A longtime liberal on civil rights, Eastwood has stated that he has always been pro-choice on abortion. He has endorsed the notion of allowing gays to marry, and he contributed to groups supporting the Equal Rights Amendment for women.

To me it just furthers the proof that moderate, sane republicans can only be elected if they are also movie stars.