Posted on 09/17/2003 6:07:15 PM PDT by Andy from Beaverton
The more than $3.24 million donated by Indian tribes to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante has caused the most stir. But records show the tribes are now also spreading their wealth to his political opposite, Sen. Tom McClintock, as well as contributing $2 million on an independent committee.
"They're certainly the biggest spenders so far," said California Common Cause Executive Director Jim Knox. "Maybe they have now crossed that final hurdle" to become the state's top donors.
Tribes vied with organized labor for the top spot in the 1998 and 2002 state elections, but clearly have taken the lead so far in the recall.
"I think their pockets are a lot deeper, because they control a $5 billion annual industry," Knox said. "I think there's a lot more where that came from."
There are legal questions over how Bustamante can spend the tribal donations as he campaigns to succeed Gov. Gray Davis if the governor is recalled.
The tribes have given more than $100,000 to McClintock, R-Northridge. And they've contributed $2 million to an independent expenditure committee, with $100,000 going to support Bustamante, state campaign records show.
Tribes' contributions to Bustamante prompted complaints this week from Proposition 54 author Ward Connerly that politicians might soon find themselves simply asking tribes how the state should be run.
Bustamante's tribal contributions are going to television ads opposing Connerly's proposition, which would bar the state from classifying people by race, ethnicity or national origin.
"At some point are we going to go to the tribes and say, 'What do you want to do? ... It's your state, you own it,"' Connerly said.
The contributions came as Davis tries to renegotiate gambling compacts with the tribes, and as state lawmakers considered legislation to protect Indian sacred lands and approve new casino compacts with San Diego County's La Posta and Santa Ysabel bands.
Tribes generally would prefer to deal only with the federal government as they did before Congress gave states veto power over casinos, said Mark Macarro, who chairs one of the state's most financially successful Indian tribes.
"If it wasn't for that, we'd have no interest" in who is governor, said Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Riverside County. "If you don't like it, repeal IGRA," the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and tribes would stop their massive state contributions.
Tribal spending has gone directly to candidates and indirectly through independent expenditures.
The Pechangas contributed $2 million to 1st Americans for a Better California, an independent expenditure committee it formed with the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians of San Diego County. Of that, $100,000 went for printing costs to aid Bustamante, and Macarro suggested more is on the way.
The Pechangas have given Bustamante $535,000 directly, while the Sycuans have given him $633,000.
But the Sycuans also have given $50,000 to an independent expenditure committee called Tax Fighters for Tom McClintock for Governor, as well as the maximum $21,200 to his individual campaign. The Morongo tribe also has spent $18,000 to aid McClintock, among the $109,000 tribes have spent on his bid.
The Sycuans have long supported both men, said tribal spokesman Adam Day.
"Both understand tribes are a fourth branch of government in the United States," said Macarro.
The Pechanga tribe is spending millions supporting Bustamante because its polls show him the leader, but that could change particularly if the recall election is delayed until March, he said.
Donations to McClintock not only reflect his support for tribal sovereignty, but distress that GOP front-runner Arnold Schwarzenegger has allied himself with former Gov. Pete Wilson and many of Wilson's former top aides. While governor, Wilson tried to shut down tribal casinos, Macarro said.
Schwarzenegger said he won't accept tribes' donations anyway because he would have to approve Indian gambling compacts if he replaces Davis, who is fighting the effort to recall him in midterm.
The Pechangas want Davis recalled even though he signed the compacts that allowed most of the state's Indian casinos to flourish, Macarro said. But Day noted the Sycuans contributed to Davis in last year's campaign and to his efforts to block his recall, though they disagree with him on some issues.
Spokesmen for the Bustamante, McClintock and Schwarzenegger campaigns did not immediately return telephone messages from The Associated Press.
Davis campaign spokesman Gabriel Sanchez said the governor has tried to work fairly with both gambling and non-gambling tribes.
"It's like an accordion," Sanchez said. "Sometimes you're close and sometimes you're apart."
Um...........ya think?
I tried to post the breaking news about Weintraub's front page story, but thread was pulled.
For info about CNIGA (CA Indian Gaming) and issue of sovereignty, visit their website.
"The sovereignty enjoyed by Indian nations in the United States is inherent to the Indian tribes. This means that the Creator granted sovereignty to the tribes, not the federal government or the Congress."
So now that the Creator is the one that granted them absolute sovereignty, why be burdened by any laws of the United States? In accordance with the crazed ideals of Cruz Bustamante and Tom MadClintock, Indians should start laying plans for the new Aztlan!
Divide and Conquer, Indian $tyle.
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