Governor Straddles Political Divide

Of all the places for a Republican to campaign for governor of California, the Democratic stronghold of South Los Angeles rarely ranks high on the list.

Even more striking about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit Sunday to a black church there was the abrupt switch in tone from his partisan speech a day earlier to a crowd of mainly white Republicans who applauded his newly sharpened rhetoric on illegal immigration.

Yet Schwarzenegger’s weekend pivot from right to left fit neatly with his two-step reelection strategy. One day, he moves to solidify conservative support; the next, he tries to broaden his appeal among moderates who are crucial to his fate in November.

In Sunday’s case, strategists say, Schwarzenegger stands little chance of gaining much support among African Americans, the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituency. He won 8% of the black vote in the 2003 recall election.

But television images of Schwarzenegger swaying and clapping with the gospel music at First African Methodist Episcopal Church could serve to offset -- among any concerned voters -- his tougher line of the previous day about a subject suffused with racial sensitivities. It could particularly enhance his image among California’s wide audience of moderates, especially independent voters, said Republican strategist Dave Gilliard.

“Independent voters are typically wary of partisan politics,” he said. “They see a Republican governor show up in a typically liberal venue, and it makes them more comfortable that he’s not going to be a strident partisan.”

This morning in downtown Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger plans to strike yet another centrist note by signing a bill to expand state support of solar energy at a ceremony with its Democratic sponsor, state Sen. Kevin Murray of Los Angeles.

Yet even as he tries to play down his partisan leanings, Schwarzenegger is maneuvering to consolidate support among Republicans as the Nov. 7 election nears.

The dual needs require political dexterity, as appealing to each side poses the risk of alienating the other.

“The more he attempts to position himself as a Democrat, the more Republicans will stay home,” said Democratic strategist Gale Kaufman.

With that backdrop at the state Republican convention Saturday, Schwarzenegger stirred up chants of “four more years” by portraying his Democratic challenger, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, as too soft on illegal immigration and too quick to favor higher taxes.

Joining Republican candidates across the nation who see voter anger over illegal immigration as a vehicle for campaign victories, Schwarzenegger slammed Angelides for wanting to “pull the National Guard off the border” and “give undocumented workers California driver’s licenses.”

Schwarzenegger also highlighted his refusal to raise taxes, drawing waves of cheers, but that did nothing to overcome conservative resistance to his call for vast public construction projects.

As he was worshiping at First AME on Sunday morning, delegates at the GOP convention in Century City voted to reject his request for party support of more than $42 billion in bonds on the November ballot. Wary of what many of them saw as excessive state borrowing on Schwarzenegger’s watch, they agreed to put the party’s money and muscle behind just $24 billion of the package.

“Not raising taxes is wonderful, but those huge bonds, those are hidden taxes, and somebody’s got to pay for them,” said delegate Sandra Gray of Covina.

The church that Schwarzenegger asked to visit Sunday often draws state and national Democrats for major events at the height of their campaigns. During the 2003 recall race, it was the scene of a dramatic speech by former President Clinton on behalf of soon-to-be-ousted Gov. Gray Davis.

Schwarzenegger arrived Sunday just as the service was starting and sat in the second row, next to his 15-year-old daughter, Christina. He told the congregation that his wife, Maria Shriver, had a “crisis” at home and could not attend. Etched in the stained-glass windows above the crowd were portraits of her two assassinated uncles, President Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed in Los Angeles while campaigning for president.

The governor stayed for the entire two-hour service, nodding in agreement several times during a sermon by the Rev. John Hunter on staying positive in life. Hunter called on God to give Schwarzenegger “a heart of compassion and a strong sense of justice.”

In his own three-minute address to the congregation, Schwarzenegger invoked his wife’s father, Sargent Shriver, who established the Peace Corps and other programs benefiting the poor during the Kennedy administration.

“Even though it is an election year and a political year, I am not going to talk about politics,” Schwarzenegger told the crowd. “This is not why I wanted to come here. I just wanted to come here and say it is a great honor to be your governor.

“I am so energized this morning,” he continued. “First, I worked out already for an hour. Then I come over here, and I hear this energetic music and the great gospel music and the singing and everything. Then I get this great prayer. I am on fire right now.”

The parishioners greeted Schwarzenegger warmly, and several stopped to shake his hand. But Ralph Walker of Covina walked out of the church just after the governor arrived, telling reporters outside that Schwarzenegger had torn down the state during the 2005 special election and was trying to repair his reputation.

“Everything in there is damage control and ‘Let me fix up my image,’ ” said Walker, 57, an independent. “Did he get lost? Why is he here?”

Katie Levinson, the Schwarzenegger campaign’s communications director, said the event was part of an effort to “compete for every vote in every neighborhood in every corner of the state.”