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 ...
Hear me now and believe me later, audit everything and provide everything for the people!
There you go again...
This is the kind of noble, self-sacrifice we should respect. Destorying your own political career in order to save the party and CA from a liberal republican who will ensure rat victories for the foreseable future, while not solving any problems and expanding all kinds of social programs, which in turn will expand spending, which will eventually lead to more taxes.
? Dan Lundgren ran to the left of Pete Wilson.
Good suggestion. I did just that two weeks ago and Arnold is out of step with most of the GOP platform. Just one example is that a week or so ago, he called for a ban on off-shore oil drilling and yet the GOP platform specifically calls for development of our domestic sources of oil and gas, both to lower pump prices and to reduce our dependence on foreign sources, especially OPEC.
What mansion is that?
That was his reputation.
Since you reside in Texas, and don't know much about the California 19th Senate District, let me give you a little background.
Sen. Tom McClintock represents the 19th State Senate District. The District comprises much of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, and a small portion of northern Los Angeles County. Sen. McClintock represents about 850,000 legal residents (and thousands more undocumented and part-time residents). The largest cities in his district include Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Camarillo, and Goleta (in ranked order, population over 50,000)
The District contains Vandenberg AFB and three major universities (UCSB, CSUCI, and Cal Lutheran). Much of the District is agricultural. Petroleum continues to be a major source of income. Several high tech firms (such as Amgen) are headquartered here.
Politically, the District is conservative. In the 2000 Presidental election, it went for Bush by 49%-45% over Gore. McClintock was elected to a four-year term in 2000 (in a slightly different district configuration) by a margin of 58%-42% over democrat Gonzalez. In the District there are approximately 20,000 African-Americans, 50,000 Asians, and 180,000 Hispanics.
The people of the 19th District have known and appreciated Tom McClintock for over 20 years. He represents the best aspects of the Republican Party. In this day and age, it is rare to find as principled and straight a public servant as Tom McClintock. He will get my vote for Governor, and if he runs again for State Senate, he will get my vote for that office too.
Are you kidding? It's Robert Kennedy Jr. nephew of fat drunken Ted. COuse of Maria Shriver Arnold's wife, son of slain Attorney general and Democrat candidate for president, Robert Kennedy, nephew of John F. Kennedy.
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