Posted on 09/24/2003 11:38:11 AM PDT by CHUCKfromCAL
Pressure mounted on Sen. Tom McClintock to withdraw from the gubernatorial race Tuesday as Sen. Minority Leader Jim Brulte endorsed rival Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. Brulte joined other GOP leaders in voicing fears that McClintock and Schwarzenegger will split the Republican vote and ensure victory for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
The endorsement dealt a blow to McClintock, especially since Brulte has long been a supporter. Brulte co-chaired McClintock's campaign for state controller last year and raised significant amounts of money for him. But Brulte noted that McClintock continues to place third in statewide polls. A survey released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California showed Bustamante at 28 percent, Schwarzenegger at 26 percent and McClintock at 14 percent. "I believe that his candidacy puts at risk not only the election of a Republican governor, but the recall itself," Brulte said. He added that "countless" people have told him they are considering voting against the recall out of fear that Bustamante will win.
Brulte's comments came a day after Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, who bankrolled the recall drive, said that if the two leading GOP candidates remain in the race, people should consider voting "no" on the recall to avoid a Bustamante victory.
The stepped-up pressure highlights the angst within the Republican Party over the best way to achieve victory with two major Republicans in the race. It underscores the philosophical differences that have plagued the California GOP for years. McClintock represents the conservative wing that has dominated party conventions, but has had difficulty attracting the broader support needed to win a statewide election. Schwarzenegger is a fiscal conservative who holds more moderate views on such social issues as abortion, gun control and gay rights.
"The mainstream Republican Party is tired of losing elections because of the conservative wing," said Barbara O'Connor, political communications professor at Sacramento State. McClintock gave no indication he will bow to the pressure. "We are not dropping out under any circumstances," said John Stoos, his northern California campaign director. "We are the only one of the campaigns that is showing any momentum," Stoos said. "The Arnold Schwarzenegger campaign has been stalled for five weeks." Stoos noted that McClintock has received contributions from 13,052 people, 95 percent of whom gave less than $250 each, and that he remains confident he can pull into first place by Election Day.
The pressure for the GOP to unite behind one candidate takes on added urgency as absentee votes roll in. More than 700,000 people have already voted by absentee ballot, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's office said Tuesday.
"Every day that McClintock stays in the race, he is splitting the vote," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. Brulte maintained that Indian tribes are backing McClintock only because they want to split the GOP vote and ensure a Bustamante victory. The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has pumped nearly $500,000 into independent expenditure committees to support McClintock, according to an analysis by Common Cause. Bustamante has received more than $3.3 million in contributions from Indian tribes. But Stoos discounted such claims, arguing that the tribes are supporting the two people who have backed them in the past.
By remaining in the race, McClintock faces the possibility of a backlash within his party if he is viewed as the spoiler. "If he's perceived as helping Bustamante be elected governor, he's going to have some real tough times in the Republican Party and his own district," said GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum. McClintock will be up for re-election in his Senate seat next year. The heightened pressure comes on the eve of the first debate that will include Schwarzenegger. Brulte urged McClintock not to attack his fellow Republican in today's event. That advice came as Schwarzenegger unveiled an ad that implicitly criticizes McClintock and Bustamante for accepting contributions from Indian tribes that run gambling casinos. "We don't have any plans to go after Mr. Schwarzenegger" during the debate, Stoos said. "Tom sees it as an opportunity to put forward ideas he has for taking California in a new direction and holding other major candidates accountable for consistency in what they're saying. If that's an attack, so be it."
(Excerpt) Read more at bayarea.com ...
Well, sure it has. It's been stalled at around 40% according to some polls, with a ten-point lead. McClintock wishes he were stalled like that.
So why not just keep moving left since winning is all that counts? Conservatives founded this country and they’re the only ones who can save it.
Too late. The country-clubbers have despised Tom all his career. He's never relied on them for anything. Not sure what their going to do that they haven't already tried to do to him.
This is Free Republic. Your rabid drooling over the possibility of putting a Kennedy liberal means nothing to us. But if you'll listen to the clip, maybe you'll quit asking when he's going to drop out.
Yeah, CA's GOP has just GOT to stop running rock-ribbed conservatives like Matt Fong, Michael Huffington & Dan Lundgren.
How Orwellian.
OK put your feet firmly on the ground and start over again. Check the GOP platform, both in California and nationally. Who in this race supports it? Now lets discuss who is supporting the Republican Party and who is trying to destroy it.
Putting a candidiate with Robert Kennedy Jr. as an advisor in the Governor's office is what will destroy the party as surely as water in the gas tank will destroy your car.
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