September 14, 2003

COUNTDOWN TO OCT. 7: Parties find unity, division / REPUBLICANS
Republicans: McClintock ignores calls to step aside

By NORA K. WALLACE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

LOS ANGELES -- A defiant Tom McClintock vowed Saturday afternoon he was "in this race to the finish line," rejecting emphatic calls by rival Arnold Schwarzenegger for a unified one-Republican ticket in the Oct. 7 recall election.

Spurred by a boost in recent polls, increasing financial support and backers who have told him, "Don't you dare quit," Mr. McClintock said he sees his groundswell of support turning into a tidal wave that will knock Mr. Schwarzenegger out of the race within the next few weeks.

"This is no time for amateurs," Mr. McClintock said to a roomful of reporters at the state GOP convention. "We've got to have a governor who knows every inch of this government and is ready to act immediately. I submit to you that I am that candidate. It is obvious to me, Arnold Schwarzenegger, because of his refusal to stand here and discuss the issues of this campaign, doesn't believe he is ready to be governor."

Mr. McClintock's refusal to heed calls for his ouster from the campaign brought mixed reactions from delegates and key GOP leaders. Delegates have struggled all weekend with worries that having two Republicans -- the moderate Schwarzenegger and conservative McClintock -- would split the vote on Oct. 7 and hand over the governorship to Democratic front-runner Cruz Bustamante if the recall succeeds.

"You gotta respect Tom's opinion," said former gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, who left the race after poor showings in the polls. "I wouldn't presume to encourage him to get out. He deserves the opportunity to have his views heard."

Shortly before Mr. McClintock's press conference, former Assemblyman Brooks Firestone called the senator to explain why he would be endorsing Mr. Schwarzenegger from now on.

"I told him I would look forward to supporting him in the future," said Mr. Firestone, a Los Olivos vintner.

Mr. Firestone was floored that the senator opted to move forward with his campaign.

"I'm disappointed," he said. "If we split, it's Bustamante and that's the one guy who could really be bad for the state."

Later in the evening, Mr. McClintock delivered one of the most strategically important speeches of his political career. He spoke passionately of the need for a "sea change in the political tides of California."

"You know me, you know I steer a straight course, and I will stay that course, no matter what the pressure," he declared to an audience still divided about his decision to stay in the race.

Seeking the allegiance of almost 2,000 delegates at the semiannual convention this weekend, each candidate fought hard Saturday to convince party faithful that he was the right Republican to lead California.

It was clear from a crowd-pleasing rally and afternoon speech that many expected Mr. McClintock to cede his supporters to the attention-getting candidacy of the political newcomer.

Mr. Schwarzenegger, seeking to make a strong statement of his viability to delegates, charged into the day's events, promoting economic prosperity, pledging to "terminate" the administration of Gov. Gray Davis and pleading with the divided state group to "unite for victory."

While he didn't outright ask his chief rival to step down, Mr. Schwarzenegger sent a capacity luncheon crowd to its feet with a call for unity.

"We as Republicans have a choice to make," Mr. Schwarzenegger yelled above the cheers. "Are we going to be united or are we going to be divided? Are we going to win in unity with our common fiscal conservative principles or let the liberals win because we are split? Are we going to fight Davis and Bustamante or are we going to fight among ourselves? I say, let us unite for victory!"

It was a message delivered in various forms all day long. During a morning Schwarzenegger rally, a gigantic maroon sign urged: "Tom McClintock, it's time to join Arnold."

"If the Schwarzenegger campaign would spend a fraction of the time studying the issues that it spends trying to muscle me out of the race, I think they'd be in much better shape than they are," Mr. McClintock countered.

Mr. McClintock is the only choice for Mission Viejo residents Steve and Vicky Serra. Carrying signs saying, "Conan the Coward" and "Oui on Recall, No on Arnold," the couple attempted to attend the morning rally but were escorted away by a uniformed hotel employee because of their anti-Arnold signs.

"I don't think McClintock should drop out," Mr. Serra said. "If he disappears off the face of the Earth before Election Day, I would still vote for him."

Earlier in the day, a chief Democratic operative predicted the day's outcome regarding Mr. McClintock.

"He's not going to drop out," asserted Bob Mulholland, spokesman for the California Democratic Party, who wandered into enemy territory at the LAX Marriott briefly Saturday afternoon before his party began its convention across town. "He's the one with momentum. . . . Arnold's candidacy is a lot like his movies. He has a big opening weekend, then it goes limp. There's a lot of undercurrent here. They (delegates) don't like the Washington big shots pushing Arnold."

Convention organizers strategically arranged the day's events so the two men would never appear in the same place together, despite Mr. McClintock's continual attempts to get his fellow Republican to debate this weekend.

Mr. McClintock held a wide-ranging half-hour press conference, answering questions about his candidacy, workers' compensation reform, the budget and campaign finance. Mr. Schwarzenegger did not meet with the media.

In the afternoon, hours before Mr. McClintock's banquet dinner address, Mr. Schwarzenegger barreled into the fray, confronting head-on the Republicans who say he is too moderate -- even liberal -- to represent them. Six times he began sentences with the phrase, "I am a conservative because . . ."

Feeding on his popularity as the star of "Terminator" movies, the actor declared:

"We cannot endure three more years of Davis and Bustamante. They are the same administration. They are the Twin Terminators of Sacramento. They have terminated jobs. They have terminated growth. They have terminated dreams.

"It is time to terminate them."

His speech was briefly interrupted by a demonstrator who unfurled a banner stating "Sexual misconduct is not a family value."

But Mr. Schwarzenegger did not acknowledge the woman as she was carried from the room.

His morning rally was longer on image and shorter on message. Attended by an estimated 700 people, it included several marching bands, plenty of sign waving and looping refrains of his ear-splitting Twisted Sisters campaign anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It."

"I wouldn't have anything if it wouldn't be for California," Mr. Schwarzenegger yelled to an exuberant, multicultural crowd. "California gave me great opportunities to get where I am today. California has given me everything. Now it is time to give something back."

Santa Marian Loretta Thomas, attending with her husband, Fred, called the event "fantastic."

"He had some good lines," she said. "He really did. He talked about giving back to California and keeping jobs in California."

Margherita Underhill, a delegate from Lakewood, tried to get into the rally but was turned away because she carried anti-abortion signs. So she stood on the sidewalk a few hundred yards from the Schwarzenegger rally, waving a huge yellow arrow toward him with the word "Abortionist."

After hearing Mr. Schwarzenegger speak Saturday, Santa Barbara County Central Committee chairwoman Carol Anderson said the candidate touched on all the topics that really matter to Republicans.

"He really had this group solidly behind him when he was done," said Mrs. Anderson, who is prohibited from endorsing candidates while serving as chairwoman. "He's been called a liberal by some people, but he is a conservative in the best sense of the word. He is a conservative but he's very willing to let people lead their own lives."

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