Posted on 08/14/2003 8:39:48 AM PDT by ElkGroveDan
By Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Arnold Schwarzenegger has given Democrats thousands of dollars in political donations over the past two decades, including $1,000 to Massachusetts senator and liberal lightning rod Ted Kennedy.
At the same time, campaign reports show, the GOP actor and gubernatorial hopeful has been a lukewarm financial supporter of Republican candidates.
Ultimately, say political observers, Schwarzenegger's history of political giving indicates little beyond what already is known -- that he is a moderate Republican who married into the Democratic Kennedy clan via NBC news correspondent Maria Shriver.
But conservative activists argue the pattern underscores a questionable political allegiance.
"Certainly, he has not proven to be a dedicated Republican. Where is his loyalty going to be?" asked Celeste Greig, a longtime Republican activist from Northridge who is supporting Schwarzenegger's rival, Bill Simon.
According to Federal Election Commission reports, Schwarzenegger gave $7,500 to Democrats since 1980 -- all of them Kennedys -- and $12,500 to Republicans and GOP committees.
Schwarzenegger aides and supporters called the donations to Democrats a non-issue.
"It's blood. It's family. He wasn't supporting Democrats, he was supporting family," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora.
"The fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger passionately embraces Republican views on fiscal responsibility and economic growth is enough for me and enough for most Republicans," Dreier said.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman called criticizing the actor for his Kennedy donations "foolish."
"It's just silly to suggest that Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be a good Republican while still supporting his family by marriage," he said.
Even some Democrats said they don't read much into the Kennedy donations. "He wants to stay married," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks.
But Sherman also slammed the campaign contributions as "thoughtless."
"I don't think he's thought about anything in politics," Sherman said. "These political contributions are thoughtless gestures because he doesn't vote."
Sherman was referring to a published report that Schwarzenegger may not have voted in as many as five of the last 11 statewide elections, although the candidate's staff questioned whether all of his absentee ballots were counted.
In addition to Ted Kennedy, Schwarzenegger gave about $3,500 over the years to his wife's cousins, former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy and Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; and $2,000 to his brother-in-law, Mark Shriver, who last year ran a losing congressional race.
Among Republicans, Schwarzenegger gave $1,000 to losing Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn in 1992; $1,000 to former Gov. Pete Wilson; and $1,000 to also-ran Senate candidate Ed Zschau. The rest of his GOP giving went to either state or national party committees.
Maria Shriver, meanwhile, has donated $2,000 to Mark Shriver; $4,000 to her cousin, Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy; $2,500 to Joe Kennedy; $1,000 to Townsend; and $3,000 to Ted Kennedy over the past two decades.
Schwarzenegger also has given a total of $3,000 in local races to Democratic Mayor James Hahn and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.
In addition, he gave Republican Richard Riordan $50,000 to help the former Los Angeles mayor in his run for governor last year. Riordan himself ran into trouble during that race for having donated to Democrats like Sen. Dianne Feinstein and even Gov. Gray Davis.
California political analysts said they doubt Schwarzenegger will face the same problem.
For one thing, analysts said, Republican anger over bipartisan campaign donations would be more likely to boil over in a closed party primary. For another, they said, Republicans who are bothered by Schwarzenegger's Kennedy ties will probably vote for conservatives like Simon or state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, anyway out of ideological reasons.
Said Dan Schnur, a longtime California campaign strategist now working for Schwarzenegger rival Peter Ueberroth, "Dick Riordan hadn't married into Gray Davis' family. I think Republican voters will see the difference."
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Lisa Friedman can be reached at (202) 662-8731 and lisa.friedman@langnews.com.
At the same time, campaign reports show, the GOP actor and gubernatorial hopeful has been a lukewarm financial supporter of Republican candidates.. . . . .
According to Federal Election Commission reports, Schwarzenegger gave $7,500 to Democrats since 1980 -- all of them Kennedys -- and $12,500 to Republicans and GOP committees.
So, let me get this straight - he gives $7500 to Democrats and $12,500 to Republicans and his support of Republicans is 'lukewarm'?
and he gave Republican Richard Riordan $50,000.
And lets not forget that he gave $4 MILLION to charity and a house he owned to a Catholic Church in 1 year! I'd say his priorities are in the right place.
Karen
Yep, this shows some serious "Liberal Family Ties".
Shameless, the presstitutes truly are. Clymers, the lot of them. And yes, as observed on this thread and will become very evident, the Rat enabling pressholes will seek to depress the GOP votes for Arnold. To no avail in the end, however. Hehehehe....
"Look, Arnold. We like you.....enough.... and we are willing to vote for you to keep Bustamante out of office. But..... there are some warning signs that suggest that you are going to be as bad a tax and spend liberal as the goof we have in office right now. I mean, Warren Buffet for the love of God!!!!! He's a tax and spend liberal, like it or not! Use him as a personal financial advisor, fine, but as an economics guru?!? We need some sign that you have at least one conservative tendency and won't crash the California economy while the rest of the nation recovers! Give us a sign!"
If we don't get a sign, I think Senator McClintock is going to get a large amount of the vote. I also think it's possible Busta"mecha" will end up being our governor. At this point in time, I really don't see much difference between Arnold and Cruz, issue wise. Until I see some breathing room between them, I am not ready to support the terminator. Period.
And some folks on here are believing everything they read in the LA Times, WP, and NY Times as well. Divide and conquer is exactly what is going on. Fortunately, a lot of Republicans can see right through what the liberals and "true" conservatives (as they like to call themselves) are doing -- both sides are out to defeat Arnold.
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