State GOP board backs actor
By Mary Anne Ostrom, Dawn C. Chmielewski and Dion Nissenbaum
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
LOS ANGELES - Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday solidified his status as the GOP standard-bearer in the recall, winning key endorsements from the California Republican Party and a California organization that represents corporate taxpayers, which has never before backed a candidate.
The GOP endorsement is a significant shift, departing from a tradition of remaining neutral in races with more than one Republican, but GOP leaders remain worried that conservative state Sen. Tom McClintock could spoil Schwarzenegger's chances.
McClintock, a Republican from Southern California's Thousand Oaks, who is running third in the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis, dismissed the GOP endorsement as a ``back-room'' maneuver and insisted that he will not leave the race.
Davis, who appeared with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, turned up the volume on his demand that Schwarzenegger debate him on the issues and ``set the record straight,'' hoping to shift the campaign's focus from his record to his opponent's inexperience.
The Davis campaign also accused the Schwarzenegger camp of trying to sabotage the governor's public events, a charge the actor's staff denied.
The unanimous endorsement from the California GOP board came just two weeks after the party declined to choose between Schwarzenegger and McClintock at its convention in Los Angeles. Last week, the GOP county chairs also voted to endorse Schwarzenegger.
Appealing for unity
Announcing the endorsement, GOP Chairman George ``Duf'' Sundheim said, ``Only one candidate can win, and that's why it's in the best interest of all of us to get behind one.''
Sundheim said the new tactic reflects the desire of the grass-roots Republicans, who wanted the party to throw its support to a single candidate.
He did not call on McClintock to withdraw from the race, but he had a message for McClintock's supporters: ``All I would say to them is, before they cast their ballot, to make sure that they understand that we don't want them to waste their vote.''
Citing a recent poll, McClintock said he has the highest positive ratings of any candidate, adding: ``If everybody who believes that I am the best candidate actually voted for me, we win.''
The California Taxpayers' Association also endorsed Schwarzenegger, the first time in its 77 years that the organization has backed a candidate.
``Unprecedented times require unprecedented actions,'' President Larry McCarthy said. He said the action was motivated by Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's plan to raise $8 billion in taxes, which he called ``a hostile and unwelcome message.''
The organization took no position on the recall itself.
On the stump Monday, Schwarzenegger, who has called the governor's debate demands a sign of desperation, charged that California's environmental enforcement agency was an expensive duplication of services the federal government performs. He also softened his stance on Indian tribes, which he has called ``special interests,'' hinting that he would consider letting tribes open urban casinos if they share some revenue with the state.
Ad blames politicians
The campaign also unveiled a TV ad Monday that declares ``California is in trouble because the politicians have let us down.''
McClintock, who has refrained from attacking Schwarzenegger, offered to debate Davis if the actor won't.
The Davis campaign shrugged off McClintock's offer. But Davis, campaigning in the Southern California coastal town of Santa Monica, said Schwarzenegger owes it to Californians to debate. ``I don't know what Mr. Schwarzenegger is afraid of,'' he said. ``I mean, I never participated in a Mr. Universe contest. I weigh maybe 165 pounds on a good day. I'm ready to go with him toe-to-toe. But he seems to be on the run here.''
Davis vowed to challenge Schwarzenegger each day on a different issue. ``We're going to have a long-range debate, if we can't have a real-life debate,'' he said.
Appearing at the Venice Family Clinic in Southern California, Davis accused Schwarzenegger of misrepresenting his record on providing subsidized health insurance for low-income children. Davis said enrollment in the Healthy Families program had grown from 65,000 children to 691,000 during his time in office, and now 60 percent of eligible children are enrolled. During last week's debate, Schwarzenegger had said only one-third of eligible children had signed up.
Davis appeared with Richardson, the nation's only Latino governor and the latest prominent Democrat to appear with Davis. Today, Davis is scheduled to sign worker's compensation legislation that he estimated would cut costs by $4 billion to $5 billion. Wednesday, the newest Democratic presidential contender, Wesley Clark, will campaign with Davis in Los Angeles.
Also on Monday, the Davis campaign charged that a Young Republicans group had sought Spanish-speaking Republicans to attend a Davis town-hall meeting Monday night, hosted by the Los Angeles affiliate of Univision.
But Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh said, ``We can find no one in our campaign who has been in touch with the Young Republicans.''
Vehicle tax fallout
At the meeting, one questioner who was linked to the Young Republicans group asked Davis to justify the 300 percent increase in the vehicle license fee.
Davis responded that the trigger mechanism was set in the law originally signed by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.
At a 25-minute forum in the Central Valley town of Clovis, Calif. on Monday evening with hand-picked supporters, Schwarzenegger told a local farmer who complained about onerous regulations that he might shut down California's Environmental Protection Agency as a cost-cutting move.
``We have to strip that down and get rid of some those agencies,'' he said.
After the forum, spokesman Rob Stutzman said Schwarzenegger wanted to eliminate state programs that duplicate federal agencies, and closing the state agency would not run counter to the pledge that he would bring an environmental view to the office.
The California EPA, established by Wilson, who is one of Schwarzenegger's campaign co-chairmen, brought together agencies regulating air, water and toxins. Those agencies help administer federal laws as well as California's own environmental regulations, some of which are stricter than federal laws.
On Indian gaming, Stutzman said the actor was open to allowing tribes to run casinos in cities. Schwarzenegger has called on tribal casinos to share billions of dollars in gaming revenues to help the state out of its budget mess. In exchange, the actor has said he would allow casinos to expand. |
