Governor Takes Case to People

Revving up the populist rhetoric that has become his trademark, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left legislators behind in Sacramento on Tuesday to kick off a four-day statewide campaign aimed at persuading wavering Democratic lawmakers to support his budget plan.

At a morning meeting with legislators in the Capitol, followed by a large lunchtime rally outside a downtown mall here, the governor mixed conciliation and flattery for legislators with attacks on Sacramento’s political culture.

It was a juxtaposition familiar to Schwarzenegger’s opponents in the bodybuilding contests that first made him famous -- charming in private, competitive in public -- and one that clearly has unsettled some Democratic legislators.

During an hourlong morning meeting that Schwarzenegger had with Assembly Democrats, much of the conversation was about the governor’s public strategy rather than his budget proposals.

Several times lawmakers asked the governor about his political intentions in visiting districts in San Diego, Bakersfield and Tracy this week. Before Thanksgiving, Schwarzenegger publicly had vowed to cause “severe casualties” in the March and November elections if lawmakers do not quickly approve his budget plan.

In the meeting, Schwarzenegger tried to reassure lawmakers that he is not trying to undermine them politically.

“He mentioned that three times,” said Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim), “ ‘I’m not there to attack. I’m there to support my measures.’ ”

Assemblyman Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), who is scheduled to become Assembly speaker early next year, said Schwarzenegger told legislators that the media had “misjudged” his intentions in traveling the state and appealing directly to voters to support his budget plan.

But by lunchtime at the rally here, Schwarzenegger was accusing legislators of addiction to “spending, spending, spending” and of failure to live within the state’s means.

Holding aloft a giant, fake, green-and-gold credit card that read “California,” the governor declared: “This is the state credit card.” And then, “This is what we do,” he said, as he folded it in half and discarded it.

Although the centerpiece of his plan is a ballot measure to borrow $15 billion to balance this year’s budget, the governor declared that his proposal for a long-term spending cap “will be the equivalent of taking the credit cards away from the politicians, cut them in half, and throw them in the garbage.”

Democratic legislators have been preparing counterproposals that would include borrowing less money over a shorter period and closing the remaining deficit with a tax increase on upper-income Californians.

The difference is likely to come to a head this week because elections officials have said that for Schwarzenegger’s plan to appear on the March ballot, the Legislature would have to decide by Friday to place it before voters.

Schwarzenegger spoke Tuesday from a stage with a Macy’s department store behind him and, in front of him, a statue of a cowboy using a whip on a horse. He asked voters to give him a political weapon for the holidays: their time.

“I know it’s a busy time right now, Christmastime, shopping time and all those things, but just give me those few minutes” and call, write or send e-mails to legislators, he pleaded.

The rally marked a carefully orchestrated return from the Capitol to the campaign trail by Schwarzenegger, governor for just two weeks.

A political strategist who works with the governor said this week’s rallies are largely designed to produce dueling TV pictures: legislators back in Sacramento haggling about the minutiae of spending limits, contrasted with the governor surrounded by the public.

The rallies are also a show of force, demonstrating the governor’s ability to draw a crowd, even in districts represented by Democrats.

Toward that end Schwarzenegger twice remarked on the size of the crowd and pointedly lingered on a few hundred people who watched from four distant mall balconies overlooking the stage.

“Thank you, all of you up there, for hanging off the balcony,” he said.

The tableau appeared to be designed to portray Schwarzenegger as a sort of Gov. Christmas. Holiday decorations abounded, a giant Christmas tree was plainly visible and, before the governor’s arrival, the marketing director of the downtown mall announced special sales at several stores.

Arriving from the airport with a police escort and “Taking Care of Business,” his new theme song, blasting, the governor waved to shoppers, stylists at Rocco’s Hair & Nails, and even skaters on San Diego’s improbable outdoor ice rink, across the street from the rally’s stage.

Following a schedule that resembled a typical day in his gubernatorial campaign, Schwarzenegger left the rally for a series of four afternoon appearances on conservative talk radio shows whose friendly hosts have become essential communication arms of his government. One radio host, former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, served as emcee for Tuesday’s rally.

In the evening, Schwarzenegger, who is feverishly trying to build up his campaign coffers to fund initiative campaigns for next year, held a fundraiser at the La Valencia Hotel along the beach in La Jolla.

The event, a dinner at $21,200 a plate accompanied by a $500 per person cocktail reception, drew several hundred San Diego businesspeople, with heavy representation from auto dealers and real estate developers -- two sectors that have supported Schwarzenegger generously in the last several months.

Schwarzenegger made a point Tuesday of saying kind words about specific legislators when he could.

“We had a terrific meeting and a lot got accomplished,” he said after the morning meeting in Sacramento.

The governor also invited Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, one of the moderate Democrats whose San Diego district he was targeting, along on his private jet for the flight to the rally.

Kehoe, who told The Times last week that she found the prospect of the governor’s visit “unsettling,” said after the rally that “I agree in concept” with Schwarzenegger’s proposals and “I don’t feel pressured.” She noted that time was short and that more details needed to be fleshed out if the spending limit and bond were to be added to the ballot by week’s end.

Asked if the governor had enough time to sort out the details and also campaign in public, Kehoe replied, “He says he only has to sleep five hours a night.”

During Schwarzenegger’s speech, Kehoe, whom the governor introduced as a “newfound friend,” stood on the side of the stage, mostly obscured from view by a beefy security aide for the governor.

She stood stoically as Schwarzenegger boasted of reversing the car tax hike. “Promise No. 1 kept,” he said. And he noted that he had kept a second promise to force the repeal of granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. “As you can see, I’m going down my checklist of promises.”

In his afternoon radio appearances, the governor turned down several opportunities to offer up anti-Legislature red meat.

On Sean Hannity’s radio show, he declared: “I want every legislator to know that -- Democrats and Republicans -- I want to work with them.”

On Hugh Hewitt’s show, Schwarzenegger took pains to say he has been treated respectfully by Democratic leaders, rejected a suggestion that the Legislature meet only part-time, and even refused to criticize state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who is actively campaigning against his bond proposal.

“In order to make this work, everyone has to come together -- Democrats and Republicans alike,” the governor said. “We all work together. We all sit down at the table. We talk about it.”

On KFI’s “John and Ken Show,” the governor also made clear that there are limits to his willingness to accommodate lawmakers from either party.

Asked about a proposal by Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks for deeper budget cuts to avoid borrowing more money, Schwarzenegger said: “Well, look. Everyone has their own ideas out there. But remember one thing: I am the governor. I am the one who makes decisions on how we move forward.”

“The people ... voted for me and did not vote for anyone else,” he said, adding that during the campaign, some candidates “talked about tax increases” while others “said we should slash and make $50 billion in cuts.

“All those kinds of ideas were out there. And the people had a chance to vote. And they voted for my plan.”

*

Times staff writers Nancy Vogel and Tony Perry contributed to this report.