Schwarzenegger and Democrats Multiply Davis’ Woes

The California gubernatorial recall campaign squared off into two major competing camps Thursday, as actor Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to define the coming race as a contest of leadership while Gov. Gray Davis and his supporters argued that experience should be the test.

In his first full day as a politician, the Republican movie star pledged to “bring government back to the people,” dismissing questions about his lack of political experience by framing the upcoming recall election as a contest of leadership.

The Democratic governor appealed to organized labor, as its leaders readied what they said would be a massive effort on his behalf. His most outspoken supporter, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, branded two new entrants into the race as opportunists.

The entry into the race of Schwarzenegger, a political moderate -- along with the bids of two Democratic state officeholders, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi -- served to unhinge a key Davis recall strategy: to present a united Democratic front against what the governor terms a “right wing” power grab.

Further complicating that strategy was the tearful withdrawal from the race by conservative Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), who had bankrolled the recall effort and proved a frequent foil for the governor.

Neither of the Democratic candidacies was welcome news to Davis.

“Would it be better for us if no Democrat was on the ballot? Probably so,” said Davis media strategist David Doak. “Does this mean we’re not going to win? No.”

Hopeful of Chances

Davis partisans argued that the governor’s chances remain strong. They cited continuing support from the Democratic National Committee, former President Clinton, the bulk of California’s Democratic officials and, perhaps most important, national labor unions.

The unions could offer Davis millions of dollars and thousands of volunteers to fight the recall. Even with the new major candidates in the race, AFL-CIO leaders pledged unwavering support Thursday for Davis.

“We are gearing up for a massive effort,” said Art Pulaski, leader of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. “Not a moderate effort. A massive effort.”

An open question of the campaign is how aggressive Davis will be in attacking his new chief rival, Schwarzenegger, a wealthy and world-famous cultural icon with the power to respond with a national media onslaught that other candidates could only envy.

Davis has used scores of scathing ads to tear down political opponents for years. But on a visit Thursday to an Anaheim convention of the California State Employees Assn., Davis insisted: “I’m not a slasher and burner. Everyone thinks my team is, but I’m a nice guy.”

At the same time, however, Davis surrogates lost no time in questioning Schwarzenegger’s qualifications to govern a vast state with severe budget troubles, clogged freeways, public schools that many Californians view as substandard and a deeply troubled electricity system, among other problems.

“I think he’s an opportunist,” Feinstein said in an interview. “He has no background in governance.”

Both Sides on Offensive

For his part, Schwarzenegger went on the offense against Davis even before he revealed he was running. In remarks leading up to his surprise announcement Wednesday on NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” he called Davis “the man that is failing the people more than anyone.”

Schwarzenegger also resurrected an issue that bruised Davis last year in his reelection campaign: the governor’s aggressive solicitation of campaign money from donors doing business with the state.

Alluding to Davis’ request for anti-recall donations Tuesday at an AFL-CIO convention in Chicago, Schwarzenegger said the governor “sold off another part of the state to the unions in Chicago, the special interests. That’s what he does consistently.”

“I do not have to bow to any special interest,” the Brentwood resident said, using an argument often deployed by wealthy candidates who finance their own campaigns. “I have plenty of money. No one can pay me off. Trust me. No one.”

Schwarzenegger’s attack carried an extra sting for Davis, given the governor’s sharp drop in campaign fund-raising this year. During his second term, Davis had hoped to recover from the widespread public perception that he trades state favors for political donations. His fundraising efforts kicked up after the recall became a serious threat.

The storm of publicity surrounding Schwarzenegger’s campaign is apt to amplify any further attacks on Davis. But a celebrity candidacy also poses risks. Republican strategist Arnold Steinberg, who advised superstar Clint Eastwood in his 1986 campaign for mayor of Carmel, called Schwarzenegger a charming “master of the one-liner.” But in the crush of TV news cameras at even his most mundane campaign stops -- another strategist called it Schwarzenegger’s “supernova” -- the slightest blunder could be instantly broadcast to millions of voters and guaranteed repeated viewing, Steinberg said.

“Mistakes are going to be magnified tremendously,” Steinberg said. “He’ll be put under a microscope.”

Leadership at Issue

The actor did address one of the concerns about his candidacy at his sole public appearance Thursday.

“People are always talking about qualifications instead of leadership,” he said. He took issue with a Davis campaign slogan: Experience money can’t buy.

“In anything I did,” he said, “I showed great leadership.”

Schwarzenegger also reached out to voters distant from his world of Hollywood wealth and glamour.

“I’ve been received by Californians with open arms when I came here as an immigrant in 1968, when I had no money,” he said in remarks that seemed to presage a battle for minority and lower-income residents who tend to vote for Democrats such as Davis.

Don Sipple, Schwarzenegger’s media consultant, drew a sharp distinction between Davis’ 30 years of experience in politics and what he said Schwarzenegger brings to the race, namely leadership. He acknowledged Davis’ edge in government experience, but said of California: “We’re in a very sad state of affairs.”

He and George Gorton, the actor’s campaign strategist, said they expect Schwarzenegger will spend upwards of $15 million to $20 million on the race.

“He’s committed a substantial amount of his own money” and will raise money as well, Gorton said. “Our budget is really whatever it takes.”