Posted on 09/29/2003 6:12:05 PM PDT by ambrose
Aliens turn out for Arnie as California candidates go digging for dirt
ALEX MASSIE IN WASHINGTON
IN A campaign full of surprises, one development yesterday in the California recall election was utterly predictable: the last week of campaigning will be dirty.
California goes to the polls a week today to decide whether to remove the state governor, Gray Davis, from office and who his replacement, if any, should be.
The latest polls suggest that Mr Davis will be recalled and that his replacement will be the actor and moderate Republican, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
With polls showing 75 per cent of Californians disapprove of his performance in office, Mr Davis has aired an advertisement attacking Mr Schwarzenegger.
"He has no experience, wont answer press questions, wont debate unless he has the questions in advance," it says. "And he didnt even bother to vote in 13 of the last 21 elections."
Mr Schwarzenegger seems quite happy to meet fire with fire, telling rallies up and down the state that "Desperate Davis" has "terminated hope, he has terminated opportunity, he has terminated jobs, he has terminated education, and now its time to terminate him."
Mr Davis strategists are now trying to cast the vote as a clear choice between Mr Davis and Mr Schwarzenegger - counting out the other Democrats in the race, such as his deputy governor, Cruz Bustamante.
A CNN/USA Today poll released at the weekend contained dreadful news for Mr Davis, however. The survey showed that support for the recall effort was running at 63 per cent, the highest figure of the seven-week campaign, including one in five Democrat voters.
Sundays poll also found that Mr Schwarzenegger had moved into a commanding lead, making him the favourite to become the Golden States next governor. The movie star was supported by 40 per cent of the electorate, with Mr Bustamante trailing at 25 per cent.
The right-wing conservative Tom McLintock, whom Republicans had feared might split the conservative vote, trailed on 18 per cent, and his campaign team appear to have settled for second place.
Mr Bustamante has struggled to shake off accusations from the Schwarzenegger camp that he is in the pocket of casino-owning Indian tribes who have poured millions of dollars into his campaign coffers.
Mr Schwarzenegger, by contrast, appears to have benefited from last Wednesdays debate between the major candidates, where he was widely seen as showing a reassuringly firm grasp of the issues facing any would-be governor.
The actor is also backed by mainstream conservatives who in other circumstances, given his liberal views on social issues, would rate Mr Schwarzenegger a RINO - or Republican In Name Only.
Bill Simon, who was defeated by Mr Davis at the last election, became the latest high-profile Republican to endorse Mr Schwarzenegger.
In another boost, much-rumoured tabloid exposés of the actors supposed former indiscretions have failed to appear on supermarket newsstands.
The tabloid Weekly World News merely hinted at the strangest twist yet in a strange election season: its exclusive scoop was headlined "Alien Backs Arnold for Governor".
Dont forget that quid pro quo -Arnie...or its "Hasta la Vista & Back to the Future...baby"....
Does that include the Grays, the Nordics, and the Reptilians?
I'll be celebrating the fact that the sun came up and that it will be another good day to fight against the left. The Tom faction will on the other hand have taken their marbles home and will be crying like babies because no one loves them anymore.
I assume you will also be saddened that Busty didn't win, so that we could all suffer for another self-flagellating decade.
No, not the "Grays".
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