Behind Fame, Actor's Policies Are a Mystery
Schwarzenegger Has 60 Days to Define Self
washingtonpost.com
By Rene Sanchez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 8, 2003; Page A01
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7 -- The famed bodybuilder whom film director George Butler became friends with more than two decades ago never would have had a prayer as a political figure in today's California.
"When I first got to know him, his politics were to the right of Genghis Khan," said Butler, whose 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron" launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's long, lucrative celebrity career.
That was before Schwarzenegger joined Hollywood's elite. Or married journalist Maria Shriver, a member of America's Democratic royal family, the Kennedys. Or saw Los Angeles engulfed in rioting. Or knew that his father belonged to the Nazi party during World War II.
"His thinking has definitely evolved over the years," Butler said. "I would call him a kind of Shriver Republican now. His views on many issues have been tempered by Maria and her family."
Schwarzenegger instantly became a dominant figure in California's historic recall election when he declared his candidacy on national television Wednesday night. But for all his global fame as a screen action hero, his positions on almost every issue that he would confront if elected governor of the nation's most populous state this fall are still a mystery.
Until now, Schwarzenegger's political profile has been all shorthand: Moderate Republican. Fiscal conservative. Supports public education and abortion rights.
Even some of the film star's friends say they are not sure where he stands on the kind of divisive political issues that regularly rock California -- not just taxes and spending, but school vouchers and gay marriage, smog and sprawl, drug laws and water rights.
Many California voters, fed up with the crises that have swamped the state in the past few years, may not care. "What Arnold offers most is that he could come in as a political outsider of the purest sort," said Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution who was a senior aide to then-California Gov. Pete Wilson (R).
If they do, Schwarzenegger has just two months to define himself politically and to show, in Whalen's words, that "a thick accent and thick muscles do not equal a thick head."
Schwarzenegger remained cheerfully vague today when he picked up papers for his candidacy in the Oct. 7 recall election that will decide the fate of Gov. Gray Davis (D) and allow voters to choose Davis's successor if a majority decides to remove him from office.
The film star told a crowd of reporters and supporters that he had entered the race because he wanted to make sure every Californian had a "fantastic" job, and he responded to a question about environmental regulation in the state by saying, "I will fight for the environment. Nothing to worry about."
But as Schwarzenegger's ambition to run for governor has become ever more apparent in recent years, he has offered subtle and at times contradictory clues about his political views.
He is a Republican who loathed the GOP's campaign to impeach then-President Bill Clinton, telling George magazine in 1999 that he would "never forgive" his party for that. "We spent one year wasting time because there was a human failure," he told the magazine. "I was ashamed to call myself a Republican during that period."
Last year, he led the campaign in California for Proposition 49, which calls for about a half-billion dollars in state spending on after-school programs. The state's leading newspapers editorialized against the measure, warning that it could rob the treasury of funds badly needed for health care and public safety, but Schwarzenegger fought vigorously for it. The measure won with 57 percent of the vote.
When he announced his candidacy Wednesday, Schwarzenegger said that one of the first steps he would take if elected governor would be to repeal the tripling of state car taxes that Davis recently ordered and that has stoked the movement to throw him out. But political aides to Schwarzenegger said earlier this summer that, unlike many Republican leaders in California, he believes some form of tax increase may be needed to help restore the state's financial health.
Around Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger has come to be known almost as much for his philanthropy as his film roles -- and some associates say his charitable projects offer insight into his political priorities.
After riots here a decade ago, Schwarzenegger began pumping millions of dollars into a nonprofit organization called Inner-City Games, which offers recreational opportunities to disadvantaged youth. With his financial backing, the program has spread to 15 cities across the country.
Danny Fernandez, who founded the Los Angeles chapter, said that Schwarzenegger's work for the group has in some ways changed his views on the poor.
"When Arnold first got involved, it was mostly just about him writing checks or stopping by for a few handshakes," Fernandez said. "It took him a while to understand that people also need hope, not just money, that when TV cameras leave with him, the kids go back to misery, and that he had to get more into the action. It's helped that he has a strong Democratic wife pushing him in that direction."
Schwarzenegger also has been a major financial contributor to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a prominent Jewish institution in Los Angeles. Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the center, which promotes human rights, said that his relationship with the film star began with an unusual phone call more than a decade ago.
"It came from out of the blue," Hier said. "He wanted to know if we could research his father's background. We did, and we showed him that his father had been a member of the Nazi party. Since then, Arnold has taken great interest in what we do. And it has definitely had an impact on him."
Last year, Schwarzenegger strongly backed the gubernatorial campaign of former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican deeply disliked by many GOP conservatives. Riordan's campaign fizzled in the party's primary.
Schwarzenegger could face similar struggles as a candidate. Some conservative activists say they do not like his views on social issues and have questioned his family values ever since allegations were raised in the entertainment press a few years ago that he is womanizer. And many other voters know him only as the Terminator robot of the big screen.
But Schwarzenegger has spent the summer assembling an experienced campaign team. It consists mostly of the brain trust that guided Wilson through two terms as governor. Aides have conducted polls, listened to voter focus groups about Schwarzenegger's strengths and weaknesses as a candidate, and prepared policy stands on many issues.
"All he has to do now is turn the key," one of his advisers said.
Butler, the filmmaker, said he believes Schwarzenegger's politics soon will captivate many voters. "In the old days, I guess you could say that he was not a big civil rights fan, and he was against things like any kind of Democratic legislation for inner cities," Butler said. "But he has really evolved from that thinking.
"I think he will dazzle people. He's a lot smarter than Ronald Reagan, and he's going to be very determined to win."
Special correspondent Kimberly Edds contributed to this report.
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