September 8, 2003
Calif. Gov. Stirs Anger with Schwarzenegger Quip
By REUTERS
Filed at 4:53 p.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - First Gov. Gray Davis didn't think Arnold Schwarzenegger was saying enough about California's issues. Then he didn't like the ``Terminator'' mentioning the state at all if he was going to use that funny accent.
And now amid a chorus of criticism that he was being anti-immigrant, Davis says he was only joking.
Davis, fighting to defeat a voter recall on Oct. 7 that could bring the actor to the statehouse, quipped about Schwarzenegger's Austrian-tinged accent during a campaign appearance on Saturday.
``You shouldn't be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state,'' Davis told a voter on Saturday about the way Schwarzenegger says ``Kah-lee-fohr-nyah.''
California's Republican Vice Chairman Mario Rodriguez demanded an apology. ``Gray Davis owes every Californian an apology for his insensitive remarks about immigrants who come to this country speaking with an accent,'' said Rodriguez, a Mexican-American.
``Davis's ethnic slur is an affront to the millions of immigrants in California. It is preposterous to suggest that non-native English speakers and those with accents are unqualified to lead our state.''
Asked for reaction, Davis's campaign referred to his comments to reporters on Sunday.
``We were just kidding around in a private discussion,'' Davis said. ``But it's no joke when Arnold Schwarzenegger says the first thing he wants to do is repeal the bill I signed allowing immigrants to drive to work.''
Davis signed a bill on Friday allowing illegal immigrants to receive drivers licenses, a measure seen as an effort to boost Davis's appeal to the state's Hispanic electorate.
Also on Sunday, Republican Schwarzenegger referred to comments by Davis, who recently complained that people do not always laugh at his jokes.
``He doesn't like the way I say the word California because I say Cal-ee-fornia rather than Cal-a-fornia,'' Schwarzenegger said. ``But there's many other words that he doesn't like, Lost jobs, he doesn't like that word. He doesn't like blackout. He doesn't like energy crisis. And he definitely doesn't like recall.'' |
