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Democrats Settle On Two-Pronged Attack
POSTED: 11:28 a.m. PDT August 21, 2003
UPDATED: 3:30 p.m. PDT August 21, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO -- California's congressional Democrats urged voters Thursday to oppose the recall but vote for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, underscoring their fears a Republican could unseat Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 election.
Meanwhile, Davis continued to fight for his job, appearing in Los Angeles with the state's most popular politician. Davis and Sen. Dianne Feinstein pressed for a permanent federal ban on assault weapons -- an issue popular with his Democratic base.
The unanimous move by the 33 members of the delegation was a formal acknowledgment that they could not count on the Democratic governor to survive the recall.
"We will strongly express our firm opposition to this misguided effort between now and Election Day and we will strongly campaign against it," delegation chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, said in a statement.
"In addition, we ask that after Californians vote 'no' and reject the recall, they cast a vote for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. We believe that whenever there is an election, Californians should always cast their vote."
Davis had sought to keep Democrats off the ballot. Once his lieutenant governor decided to run, Davis still hoped to keep Democrats united against the recall without throwing their support behind Bustamante. Aides sought to present the news in a positive light.
"We kind of look at it this way: We're all focused on the same goal, and that's defeating the recall. There's just different strategies out there about how to go about it," said Gabriel Sanchez, spokesman for Davis' campaign committee.
# Special Report: California's Recall Election
In an appearance Wednesday, Davis said that Bustamante's campaign might help him by bringing more anti-recall voters to the polls, adding the two might campaign together at some point.
"It's entirely possible that we can find ways going forward to coordinate one another's activities," he said. Davis and Bustamante have a frosty relationship and barely speak.
The move by the congressional delegation came as a new poll showed 58 percent of likely voters would recall Davis if the vote were held today, while 36 percent were opposed.
If the Democratic governor is removed, 23 percent would replace him with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and 18 percent with Bustamante. None of the other 133 candidates topped 5 percent, the Public Policy Institute of California poll showed.
Still, not all leading Democrats were behind the Bustamante strategy. On Thursday, Feinstein split with her colleagues in Congress.
"I am not going to vote on the second part of the ballot. I am going to vote on the first part of the ballot and my vote is going to be to vote 'no' on the recall," the state's senior senator said.
The state's other senator, Democrat Barbara Boxer, is supporting the "no on recall, yes on Bustamante" approach.
The decision by the House members could increase pressure on Republicans to unite behind a single candidate. In addition to Schwarzenegger, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, businessman Bill Simon and state Sen. Tom McClintock are on the ballot on the GOP side.
Those candidates have been under pressure from some leading party members to get out of the race, and the Republican who funded the recall, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, already dropped out.
"There may come a time where what may be in the best interests of the state is for one or more of these candidates to put their personal ambitions aside for what's in the best interest of the state, and just like Darrell Issa a few weeks ago bowed out of the race, I'm confident that if other people are in that situation they'll do what's right for California," California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim said Thursday on CNN.
Davis and Feinstein were in Los Angeles to call on Congress to make its 1994 ban on assault weapons permanent. Davis has held a series of events focused on gun control, the environment, and other key issues as he seeks to shore up his support with Democratic voters.
"I fought in a war. And I can tell you straight out assault weapons are designed to do one thing: kill people and kill them quickly. So when the gun lobby says guns don't kill, people do, I beg to differ," Davis said.
Davis also said his popularity sank with the economy.
"The fact is the entire nation is going through a tough time, with a tough economy -- 3 million jobs have been lost -- and people feel that here. I feel their pain, if you will," Davis said.
Feinstein criticized Schwarzenegger over the violence in his movies.
"I'm one that believes there is too much violence in movies and that violence begets violence, and that you become a role model for someone of lesser maturity out on the street to try to imitate what you do in the movies," she said. "So I don't consider those kinds of things terribly healthy for a society."
Schwarzenegger has said he supports "sensible gun controls," including a ban on assault weapons.
Davis and Feinstein have not had a close relationship since Davis angered Feinstein in the 1992 Democratic Senate primary when he aired a television commercial comparing her to hotel heiress and convicted tax evader Leona Helmsley. Davis lost that race to Feinstein and later told her the ad was "one of the worst mistakes of my life."
But Feinstein has been one of the most vocal opponents of the recall and Davis has repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
Davis planned a second appearance Thursday, at a town hall meeting in the San Francisco area. At a first such outing in Hollywood on Wednesday, the governor took jabs at Schwarzenegger hours after the actor discussed an economic program that called for cuts but did not specify any he would make.
In Fresno on Thursday, Simon pledged not to raise taxes as part of his plan to balance California's budget, a pledge Schwarzenegger refused to make. Simon, a social conservative who lost to Davis in November, also promised to cut the size of government, support Proposition 13 and repeal the car tax.
Simon took a swipe at Schwarzenegger, who's added billionaire Warren Buffett and other big-name advisers to his campaign.
"The governor's chair has room for only one person. There's no room for committees or commissions," Simon said. Aides said former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Simon's former boss when both worked for the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, would be campaigning for Simon.
Ueberroth offered his own economic plan this week, as did Bustamante.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Democrats Settle On Two-Pronged Attack
POSTED: 11:28 a.m. PDT August 21, 2003
UPDATED: 3:30 p.m. PDT August 21, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO -- California's congressional Democrats urged voters Thursday to oppose the recall but vote for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, underscoring their fears a Republican could unseat Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 election.
Meanwhile, Davis continued to fight for his job, appearing in Los Angeles with the state's most popular politician. Davis and Sen. Dianne Feinstein pressed for a permanent federal ban on assault weapons -- an issue popular with his Democratic base.
The unanimous move by the 33 members of the delegation was a formal acknowledgment that they could not count on the Democratic governor to survive the recall.
"We will strongly express our firm opposition to this misguided effort between now and Election Day and we will strongly campaign against it," delegation chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, said in a statement.
"In addition, we ask that after Californians vote 'no' and reject the recall, they cast a vote for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. We believe that whenever there is an election, Californians should always cast their vote."
Davis had sought to keep Democrats off the ballot. Once his lieutenant governor decided to run, Davis still hoped to keep Democrats united against the recall without throwing their support behind Bustamante. Aides sought to present the news in a positive light.
"We kind of look at it this way: We're all focused on the same goal, and that's defeating the recall. There's just different strategies out there about how to go about it," said Gabriel Sanchez, spokesman for Davis' campaign committee.
# Special Report: California's Recall Election
In an appearance Wednesday, Davis said that Bustamante's campaign might help him by bringing more anti-recall voters to the polls, adding the two might campaign together at some point.
"It's entirely possible that we can find ways going forward to coordinate one another's activities," he said. Davis and Bustamante have a frosty relationship and barely speak.
The move by the congressional delegation came as a new poll showed 58 percent of likely voters would recall Davis if the vote were held today, while 36 percent were opposed.
If the Democratic governor is removed, 23 percent would replace him with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and 18 percent with Bustamante. None of the other 133 candidates topped 5 percent, the Public Policy Institute of California poll showed.
Still, not all leading Democrats were behind the Bustamante strategy. On Thursday, Feinstein split with her colleagues in Congress.
"I am not going to vote on the second part of the ballot. I am going to vote on the first part of the ballot and my vote is going to be to vote 'no' on the recall," the state's senior senator said.
The state's other senator, Democrat Barbara Boxer, is supporting the "no on recall, yes on Bustamante" approach.
The decision by the House members could increase pressure on Republicans to unite behind a single candidate. In addition to Schwarzenegger, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, businessman Bill Simon and state Sen. Tom McClintock are on the ballot on the GOP side.
Those candidates have been under pressure from some leading party members to get out of the race, and the Republican who funded the recall, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, already dropped out.
"There may come a time where what may be in the best interests of the state is for one or more of these candidates to put their personal ambitions aside for what's in the best interest of the state, and just like Darrell Issa a few weeks ago bowed out of the race, I'm confident that if other people are in that situation they'll do what's right for California," California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim said Thursday on CNN.
Davis and Feinstein were in Los Angeles to call on Congress to make its 1994 ban on assault weapons permanent. Davis has held a series of events focused on gun control, the environment, and other key issues as he seeks to shore up his support with Democratic voters.
"I fought in a war. And I can tell you straight out assault weapons are designed to do one thing: kill people and kill them quickly. So when the gun lobby says guns don't kill, people do, I beg to differ," Davis said.
Davis also said his popularity sank with the economy.
"The fact is the entire nation is going through a tough time, with a tough economy -- 3 million jobs have been lost -- and people feel that here. I feel their pain, if you will," Davis said.
Feinstein criticized Schwarzenegger over the violence in his movies.
"I'm one that believes there is too much violence in movies and that violence begets violence, and that you become a role model for someone of lesser maturity out on the street to try to imitate what you do in the movies," she said. "So I don't consider those kinds of things terribly healthy for a society."
Schwarzenegger has said he supports "sensible gun controls," including a ban on assault weapons.
Davis and Feinstein have not had a close relationship since Davis angered Feinstein in the 1992 Democratic Senate primary when he aired a television commercial comparing her to hotel heiress and convicted tax evader Leona Helmsley. Davis lost that race to Feinstein and later told her the ad was "one of the worst mistakes of my life."
But Feinstein has been one of the most vocal opponents of the recall and Davis has repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
Davis planned a second appearance Thursday, at a town hall meeting in the San Francisco area. At a first such outing in Hollywood on Wednesday, the governor took jabs at Schwarzenegger hours after the actor discussed an economic program that called for cuts but did not specify any he would make.
In Fresno on Thursday, Simon pledged not to raise taxes as part of his plan to balance California's budget, a pledge Schwarzenegger refused to make. Simon, a social conservative who lost to Davis in November, also promised to cut the size of government, support Proposition 13 and repeal the car tax.
Simon took a swipe at Schwarzenegger, who's added billionaire Warren Buffett and other big-name advisers to his campaign.
"The governor's chair has room for only one person. There's no room for committees or commissions," Simon said. Aides said former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Simon's former boss when both worked for the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, would be campaigning for Simon.
Ueberroth offered his own economic plan this week, as did Bustamante.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
And does Red Davis's hair hat use velcro or snaps to strap on? It is one sweeeet wig. Just curious...