Is McClintock the spoiler for Schwarzenegger?

[Jobber of the Week 0]

A day of division for GOP

Schwarzenegger bid for support fails to sway McClintock

 

Invoking the words of Ronald Reagan -- another actor-turned-politician -- Arnold Schwarzenegger told divided state Republican leaders and activists Saturday at the party's convention that he is the only candidate who can unite the GOP and reclaim the governor's office from the Democrats.

 

Schwarzenegger's first major appearance before a party audience was part of an aggressive effort to demonstrate his conservative credentials and blunt support for his main Republican rival, state Sen. [Tom McClintock].

 

But McClintock, pointing to recent polls showing he is gaining momentum in the Oct. 7 recall election, blasted Schwarzenegger's lack of experience and vowed to stay in the race.

 

"California needs a governor who knows every inch of this government," said McClintock, who finished a Saturday afternoon speech to supporters in Long Beach to chants of "Drop out, Arnold" from the crowd.

 

And members of the religious right, unconvinced that Schwarzenegger is conservative enough, announced they'll run ads that will criticize his support for abortion rights and gay rights and compare him with beleaguered Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.

 

The focal point of the Republican maneuvering Saturday was Schwarzenegger's keynote speech to the convention in which referred to himself as a conservative seven times and three times invoked the name of Reagan, the former president, California governor and conservative icon.

 

"We as Republicans have a choice to make," Schwarzenegger told the crowd, borrowing the theme from Reagan's 1964 speech "A Time for Choosing" in support of conservative Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign.

 

"Are we going to be united or are we going to be divided? Are we going to win in unity with our common fiscal conservative principles or let the liberals win because we are split? Are we going to fight Davis and (Lt. Gov. Cruz) Bustamante or are we going to fight among ourselves? I say, 'Let's unite for victory.' "

 

Schwarzenegger's effort to woo the party's grassroots activists was aided when more than 40 GOP county chairmen made it clear they wanted McClintock to abandon the recall contest and leave Schwarzenegger the prime candidate against Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

 

McClintock and Schwarzenegger met with the officials Saturday afternoon, said John Duncan, the Marin County chairman.

 

"When they were asked how many thought that Tom should drop out, more than 40 or so raised their hands," he said. "No one spoke in Tom's defense."

 

 

PRESSURING THE OPPOSITION

The convention, one of two regularly scheduled party gatherings each year, served as the perfect setting for Schwarzenegger's camp to pressure McClintock.

 

It released a list of Schwarzenegger endorsements by 22 GOP grassroots groups -- from the Lincoln Club of Northern California to the Laotian American Republicans Council -- and 37 state and federal officeholders who are backing him.

 

Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, a Schwarzenegger ally, told delegates: "If we stay on this failed track that we're on now -- and elect either Gray Davis or Cruz Bustamante -- we are going to kick ourselves forever."

 

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), who spent $1.7 million of his own money to get the recall on the ballot, said having two viable GOP candidates would cost the top Republican a minimum of 10 percentage points and likely the race.

 

"There has to be a hard decision by one or the other of the candidates in the next 10 days," said Issa, who has not endorsed either major Republican candidate. "They have to soul-search: Is saving California more important than becoming the second-leading vote-getter in the election?"

 

Campaign watchers said Schwarzenegger is stealing a page from George W. Bush's playbook for Republican primaries in 2000, by portraying himself as the inevitable nominee -- the only candidate with enough money, name identity and appeal to win a general election.

 

"Schwarzenegger's people are trying to convince conservatives that Arnie's election is inevitable and that it's time to get on the bandwagon," said one Republican observer, who asked not to be named.

 

The actor tried to shore up his support by stressing a theme of fiscal responsibility that McClintock has championed since first winning election to the Legislature more than 20 years ago.

 

 

TRYING TO MEND FENCES

Schwarzenegger met with Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth, a Washington-D.C.-based anti-tax group, many of whose members back McClintock's fiscal policies. In the 10-minute meeting, Moore said the candidate pledged to consider future tax cuts -- including potentially a flat tax and a capital gains tax cut -- as he prepares an economic plan to be unveiled late next week.

 

"I don't think he's going to sign a (no new taxes) pledge, but he did say, 'I'm not going to raise taxes, I'm cutting them,' " Moore said. "He said he's going to look at a flat tax, he's going to look at another Gann amendment that would restrict (state government) spending to the rate of growth of income." The Gann amendment, passed in 1979, caps the rate of spending for local governments in California.

 

Moore said he was impressed: "He's adopting a very McClin- tockesque strategy."

 

Schwarzenegger, in his speech to the crowd of more than 500 delegates, pressed his case, saying "communism is evil and free enterprise is good," and "I'm conservative because Milton Friedman is right and Karl Marx is wrong."

 

But some conservatives have issues with Schwarzenegger. He is pro-abortion rights and pro-gay rights. He supports gun control. He has refused to take a no-new taxes pledge.

 

Californians for Moral Government -- a spin off of the Orange County-based Traditional Values Coalition -- announced Saturday it would start airing TV ads this coming week blasting Schwarzenegger's support for abortion rights and gay adoptions.

 

In the ad, Schwarzenegger's face morphs into Davis' as the narrator says: "When it comes to important issues, Arnold Schwarzenegger is no better than Gray Davis."

 

The Rev. Lou Sheldon, who is leading the effort, said his great fear is that Schwarzenegger will take over the state Republican Party -- and marginalize religious conservatives.

 

"If Arnold is elected the whole party will experience a RINO takeover," Sheldon said, using the acronym for "Republicans in Name Only."

 

Sandy Needs, a pro-choice GOP delegate from San Marino, said she is backing Schwarzenegger for that very reason -- to help transform the party and moderate its social views.

 

"He can reach out to women like me, the part of the party that is not gay- baiting, Bible-thumping, gun-toting anti-abortionists," Needs said.

 

The split views represent the problem the Republican Party has faced in California in the past decade. Conservatives have dominated and helped select nominees whose views have been too conservative for a majority of California voters -- leading to Democratic domination in recent elections.

 

Meanwhile, McClintock didn't sound like a man ready to step aside.

 

"If Schwarzenegger's campaign spent a fraction of the time studying the issues as they have trying to muscle me out of the race, they'd be in better shape today," McClintock told reporters in Long Beach.

 

A Los Angeles Times poll last week that showed McClintock moving closer to Schwarzenegger and Bustamante has energized the senator and his backers.

 

McClintock reminded his supporters that he was running behind Peter Camejo of the Green Party when the replacement candidates were certified and the campaign began five weeks ago.

 

The new poll "shows that it's now a three-man race," he said. "If this momentum continues another week, it will be a two-person race."

 

Later, during his night-time speech to the convention, McClintock avoided mention of his opponent. Instead, the senator said the recall has given Republicans a chance to return California to a more prosperous era, when jobs were plentiful, education better and the Californians believed its institutions, such as state government, worked effectively.

 

My guess? McClintock is the greatest thing that Bustamante has going. Even if you agree with Tom's message, he and his marry gang have been relentlessly attacking Arnold, and basically acting like an angry child.

 

 

And hey, it's always nice to see where the Fundies really stand when it comes to putting some of their activist positions aside for unity. Appearantly, gay unions are an "important issue" in the face of 50 BILLION IN DEBT.

[Guest TheGame2705]

Appearantly, gay unions are an "important issue" in the face of 50 BILLION IN DEBT.

Well....duh! You know how many gay people there are in California?

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Well....duh! You know how many gay people there are in California?

If I was a politician and had to deal with $50 bill of overspending, I wouldn't care who was screwing who as long as they were human and of proper age.

[Guest JMA]

You gotta respect Arnold. He's not letting the religious right get him down. Although I don't really support recalling Davis, I'd vote for Arnold if given the chance. These idiots who use the term RINO want everyone to believe you have to be anti-abortion and anti-gay rights to be a Republican. I strongly disagree with this. Arnold is great for the GOP, IMO. He can do nothing but help their image.

[NoCalMike 0]

Republicans are just trying to ride the Arnold gravy train, simple as that. They are just going to rally behind the candidate that has the best chance of winning, THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT in the world of politics. Believe me though, if Arnold was running as an independent as he fucking should have, there would be no republican backing, no matter what his policies are.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

if Arnold was running as an independent as he fucking should have, there would be no republican backing, no matter what his policies are.

If Arnold was running as a Republican in a regular, non-recall election, he'd never even make it to battling Davis as the far-right people who are smearing him right now would not give their approval to him.

[Firestarter 0]

You gotta respect Arnold. He's not letting the religious right get him down. Although I don't really support recalling Davis, I'd vote for Arnold if given the chance. These idiots who use the term RINO want everyone to believe you have to be anti-abortion and anti-gay rights to be a Republican. I strongly disagree with this. Arnold is great for the GOP, IMO. He can do nothing but help their image.

Ditto everything JMA said.

 

Arnold is the man.

[Vyce 0]

JMA is absolutely right.

 

The Republicans orchestrated this recall and they're going to wind up the biggest losers of all - simply because of the fact that they can't swallow their "pride" and elect a man who's somewhat liberal on social policies.

 

And hey, it's always nice to see where the Fundies really stand when it comes to putting some of their activist positions aside for unity. Appearantly, gay unions are an "important issue" in the face of 50 BILLION IN DEBT.

 

EXACTLY.

 

WHO CARES if he's for gay marriage or not? If anything, the trend in this country is towards a more liberal (or at the least, moderate) attitude on social policies. It's not even a matter of if gay marriage will occur but when. Arnold isn't going to speed the process along, so getting on his ass about it is foolish.

 

If the Republicans lose, it is because they DESERVE to lose. They had a golden opportunity and they pissed it away. This is a matter of simple pragmatism - Arnold is / was the only Republican (even if in "name only") who had a chance of winning, and they've somehow managed to ruin that.

[Guest JMA]

Even if Davis isn't recalled, I hope Arnold runs in the next election.