LOS ANGELES, July 18 - With his frustration mounting this weekend over his inability to muscle a budget through the Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called his Democratic opponents "girlie men" and vowed to work to unseat them in November.

The "girlie men" remark was a play on a "Saturday Night Live" skit with the fictional bodybuilders Hans and Franz, who parodied Mr. Schwarzenegger's physique and accent, an aide to the governor said. But the comment resonated because of accusations that Mr. Schwarzenegger had repeatedly groped women during his Hollywood career and because of his occasionally demeaning remarks about women during his campaign for governor last fall, when his predecessor, Gray Davis, was recalled.

The target of some of those remarks, Arianna Huffington, the author and activist who ran against Mr. Schwarzenegger in that race, said in an interview on Sunday that the governor had a habit of resorting to verbal abuse when he did not get his way.

"What we've seen in Arnold is an alternation of the seducer and the bully," Ms. Huffington said. "Seduction worked for a while because he's a very charming man and the people were so relieved to be rid of Gray Davis and have someone entertaining in his place."

Ms. Huffington said the budget talks had tested the limits of Mr. Schwarzenegger's charm. "When the seduction doesn't work anymore, the bully comes out. The expression 'girlie man' is the bully speaking. It's not something you can imagine 99 percent of politicians saying."

Fabian Nuñez, the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, said that when he first heard of the governor's comment, he was incredulous. "Certainly my mom and my sister aren't happy," Mr. Nuñez said. "He lost a couple of votes there."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/19/national/19arnold.html