Posted on 09/26/2003 8:09:25 AM PDT by jonefab
Republican California gubernatorial recall candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up two key endorsements on Thursday and is expected to receive another one on Friday.
Bill Simon, a conservative businessman who was the Republican nominee in the 2002 California gubernatorial race as well as one of the candidates in the October 7 recall election before dropping out, has announced he is officially endorsing Schwarzenegger's candidacy.
"I am here to endorse Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor," Simon told a group of supporters at a Schwarzenegger town hall meeting. "I think Arnold Schwarzenegger is the right man to be governor of California."
While Simon made no mention of conservative Republican State Sen. Tom McClintock by name, he was likely referring to him when he made the announcement that it was "time for Republicans to unite."
Political observers believe the Simon endorsement will be beneficial to Schwarzenegger because it will make him more palatable for conservative voters who would not otherwise vote for him because of his liberal views on many social issues.
Additionally, the county chairmen from 58 California Republican Party chapters, who do not traditionally back individual candidates in elections because they are grassroots-focused on behalf of all candidates in the Republican Party, are also backing Schwarzenegger.
Rep. Darrell Issa, who spent $1.6 million of his own money to obtain enough petition signatures to make the recall election happen, is expected to throw his support behind Schwarzenegger sometime today.
Issa told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he remembers speaking with McClintock before the recall election and was promised that he would drop out of the race if his candidacy would cause a split in the Republican vote.
"When I talked to Tom [McClintock] even before he got in [the recall election], he told me a couple of things that when you have these kind of conversations you never forget," Issa revealed to Hannity. "He said, 'Look, I'm not going to be in this race if it's not a crowded field. I know the numbers for a conservative. And I'm not going to stay in and be a spoiler.'"
Issa admits that McClintock has "a tough decision" to make about what he will do about his candidacy in the next week.
In fact, Issa attempted to stroke McClintock's ego by claiming that he could be the reason why a Republican could become the next governor of California.
"Tom McClintock, if the numbers stay where they are, has an opportunity to be the hero," Issa added. "He has the chance to be a real hero, and I believe that he is a good man, and he will take that chance at the right time."
The purpose of each of these endorsements by the Republican Party leadership in California is an unquestionable attempt to persuade McClintock to remove his name from the recall election to put Schwarzenegger in a position to win if Gov. Gray Davis is recalled by the voters.
Nevertheless, McClintock has refused to vacate his candidacy on principle.
"I don't know what it is that people find so astonishing about a politician who actually keeps his promises," McClintock stated. "I promised at the beginning of this campaign that I would see it through to the finish line, and I keep my promises."
When asked about the impact of the Simon and Issa endorsements, McClintock assistant campaign manager John Stoos told Talon News that with the endorsements of recall organizers Ted Costa and Howard Kaloogian for McClintock, the Simon and Issa endorsements represent a "fair trade."
In reference to the state Republican Party endorsements, Stoos told Talon News, "The Central Committee drill is being run by the same liberal Republicans that have been trying to take Orange County's committee away from the conservatives for years. Our groundswell of grassroots support continues to grow as they watch what is going on."
Stoos also points out that McClintock has received the endorsements of conservative groups such as the California Republican Assembly and the Young Republican Federation of California. According to Stoos, the McClintock campaign has raised over $3.2 million.
McClintock also believes he still has a chance to win the race if Davis is recalled. His poll numbers have risen dramatically as the other candidates have either stalled or declined in the polls in recent weeks.
As reported by Talon News on Thursday, in an e-mail to supporters, McClintock compared his chances of winning this election to what another conservative Republican, Ronald Reagan, was able to accomplish when he ran for governor.
"Ronald Reagan proved then as we can prove today, that a conservative Republican can win a statewide California Election," McClintock said to his supporters in the e-mail.
Schwarzenegger would have the most to gain if McClintock drops out of the recall race, but he has said that he will not be asking the conservative state senator to back out now with the election less than two weeks away.
"This is a decision that he has to make," Schwarzenegger proclaimed. "I think it is obviously much better, mathematically speaking, to win when you don't split the vote, and I think it is very important for him to think about that. But I am not going to be the one that pushes him."
Former Republican recall candidate Peter Ueberroth will be speaking with both Schwarzenegger and McClintock this weekend to decide whom he will endorse, a CNN source cited.
Copyright © 2003 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
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McClintock is a RINO!
Up to now, it's been Tom and principle, Tom and his issues, Tom and "real" conservatism, and so forth. Now, with the endorsements swinging significantly in Arnold's direction, Tom's campaign is "All About Tom." He's showing that he's not interested in the interests of the Party; he's interested in Tom. He's not a team player; he's just plain Tom, and it's all about him. This close to the election, the focus should be the interest of the Republican Party. Tom apparently isn't interested in the Republican Party, hence, Tom is the "Republican In Name Only."
Remember "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"? He ended up without a leg to stand on.
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On the contrary. It makes Simon completely unpalatable to this conservative. Simon is a complete failure, a loser of the first rank.
So let me get this straight...Simon and Issa didn't have a prayer to get your vote because one ran a lousy campaign and the other shouldn't have been in the race because he funded the recall (which relied heavily on grass roots activism and the support of over a million voters)? You have to admit, those are extremely weak reasons to not vote for either one of 'em.
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