Schwarzenegger Uses Talk Radio to Start Spelling Out His Views

Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time in his gubernatorial race commented publicly Wednesday on abortion, gun control and gay rights as his campaign continued a weeklong effort to woo conservative voters.

Speaking on the Sean Hannity talk radio program, which has a wide following among conservatives, Schwarzenegger stuck to generally liberal positions on social issues but sought to stress the areas in which his views and those of conservatives coincide.

On abortion, for example, he repeated his support for abortion rights but noted that he opposed the procedures that abortion opponents call partial birth abortion and that he supported requiring teenagers to notify parents before undergoing an abortion.

He also said that though he backed giving gay couples the right to form domestic partnerships, he opposed allowing them to marry because “marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

On Larry Elder’s program on KABC-AM (790) in Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger said he supported several gun control measures, including background checks, trigger locks, a ban on assault rifles, and efforts to restrict the sale of guns at gun shows. But he added pointedly that he believed the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution guarantees individuals the right to bear arms.

For the last three days, Schwarzenegger has limited his public appearances to half a dozen interviews with Republican talk radio hosts. Such shows have been a critical base of support for the actor’s strongest Republican rival, state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who has been publicly urged by some Schwarzenegger allies to quit the recall race.

Schwarzenegger’s appearances have gotten mostly positive, if not particularly enthusiastic, reviews from conservatives. McClintock himself conceded Wednesday that the appearances have managed to blur distinctions between the two candidates.

“He is parroting many of the positions I have been proposing for years,” McClintock said in an interview.

But McClintock added that after listening to Schwarzenegger on the Hannity program, he did not think his rival would make long-term inroads with conservatives.

“I’m gratified that I am exerting some gravitational pull on his emerging political philosophy,” McClintock said. “The difference is, I’ve had my positions for 20 years and they are something people can count on.”

Schwarzenegger’s appearances on conservative radio come at a crucial time for his campaign, as Republican officials try to prod the party’s conservative and moderate wings -- long at war with each other -- into coalescing behind his candidacy.

The state Republican Party holds its fall convention on Sept. 12, just 25 days before the Oct. 7 election, and an intraparty fight between Schwarzenegger and McClintock backers would almost certainly harm Republican chances of winning the governor’s office.

At least some Republican conservatives can see the appeal of Schwarzenegger’s candidacy -- although they have reservations.

“I know Tom,” said Assemblyman Ray Haynes (R-Murrietta), referring to McClintock. “Tom can lead the pitchfork revolutionaries. The problem is he never comes in with anything more than a pitchfork and he’s facing cannons and machine guns” in Gov. Gray Davis and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

“Arnold has the ability to marshal those kind of weapons,” he said of Schwarzenegger. “The question is, for what will he marshal those weapons? Will it just be a change in the face without a change in the power structure, or will he actually step up to the plate and address the causes of the revolution?”

Of the state Assembly’s 32 Republican members, 20 endorsed Schwarzenegger on Wednesday. Haynes did not.

Barbara Alby, a conservative leader in Sacramento during her days in the state Assembly and now a member of the Republican National Committee, said Schwarzenegger’s public performances have been strong but unsurprising.

“He’s an actor,” said Alby, who remains neutral in the race. “He’s very good at portraying what he wants to portray.

“I think he’s been pretty honest about some of his more liberal views, and I appreciate that,” Alby added. “I don’t think he portrays himself as a conservative in any way, shape or form.”

Other conservatives remain more openly negative toward Schwarzenegger’s candidacy.

Michael Schroeder, a former state Republican Party chairman and campaign director for Bill Simon Jr.’s just-folded campaign, asked: “Where are the bones that are being thrown” to conservatives?

“It’s not a question of how long he spends on talk radio. It’s what he says,” said Schroeder, who accused Schwarzenegger of “running to the left of Cruz Bustamante.”

“He still hasn’t articulated any conservative positions that give anyone reason to support him,” Schroeder said.

Schwarzenegger has little choice but to try to appeal to conservatives, said Kenneth L. Khachigian, a longtime Republican strategist who worked with recall backer Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista).

“The main reason is that the recall is fundamentally a conservative Republican mainstream movement,” he said. “That’s where all the momentum and energy behind the recall comes from.”

“He has to go on talk radio and he has to go to the right,” Khachigian said.

Schwarzenegger’s campaign so far has tried to follow that course while minimizing its risk. The campaign has carefully limited the time of interviews to no more than 15 minutes and has refused to allow the actor to take calls from listeners, limiting the potential for unexpected questions or detailed follow-ups.

During three separate appearances on Monday and Tuesday, Schwarzenegger had managed to avoid being asked his views on social issues ranging from abortion to offshore drilling. Hosts of those shows said Schwarzenegger’s views on social issues are well-known and they preferred to ask other questions in their limited time with the candidate.

But on Wednesday, first Hannity and then Elder questioned him in more detail. In so doing, they forced Schwarzenegger to discuss social issues at length for the first time in the campaign.

In addition to his views on abortion, gay marriage and gun control, Schwarzenegger said he thought marijuana should be made available for medicinal purposes but opposed decriminalization of drugs. He said he opposed offshore oil drilling “absolutely” and wanted the federal government to buy back leases that oil companies currently hold in federally controlled waters -- a step the Bush administration has taken in Florida.

He also said he supported school prayer and the war in Iraq. He declined to disclose his views on affirmative action, saying he was still studying the issue.

Later, on a radio program hosted by Mark Williams on Sacramento’s KFBK-AM (1530), Schwarzenegger said he opposed school vouchers, which have support among many conservative leaders.

On a number of questions, Schwarzenegger framed his opinion as a desire to leave the law as it is -- and focused instead on reducing government spending. Asked by Elder about the minimum wage and paid family leave, for example, Schwarzenegger replied: “I support the laws that exist right now.”

He then quickly changed the subject to his fiscal conservatism and devotion to the Republican Party. In recent appearances, he has spoken of his admiration for Ronald Reagan, campaigning for President Bush, and his friendship with conservative economist Milton Friedman.

“I’m pretty conservative,” he said on Hannity’s show Wednesday. “You know, I don’t believe in spending. The first thing I’m going to do is go into Sacramento and put a spending cap on the politicians, because they can’t help themselves, because it’s ridiculous to spend money that you don’t have.”

The reception for Schwarzenegger has been friendly, even from radio hosts who admit they are more conservative than the candidate. After his interview with Schwarzenegger, Hannity told his audience, “I’m surprised how honest he was. I just think it was refreshing.”

Hugh Hewitt, who interviewed Schwarzenegger on his syndicated radio talk show Monday, said he had had “an awful lot of favorable response.”

Many conservatives say Schwarzenegger needs to give only broad assurances because, hungry for a victory, they are prepared to line up behind whoever emerges as the leading Republican contender in the polls.

“A lot of people are going to vote with their heads and not their hearts,” said Matt Cunningham, a conservative strategist who worked for Issa’s 1998 Senate primary campaign. “When a man is lost in the desert and dying of thirst, he’s not going to insist on Perrier.”

Cynthia Hampton, 47, of Downey, who caught a bit of Schwarzenegger on Hannity’s show Wednesday, said: “I was very glad to see that Arnold admitted what he believed in and what he didn’t believe in.”

Hampton added: “I don’t believe in domestic partnerships. However, I really think that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only viable candidate that we have.”

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Times staff writer Daryl Kelley contributed to this report.