Divisions Erupt In Calif. Race

Bustamante Slams Davis Aides; Simon Attacks Schwarzenegger

(CBS/AP)  California's high-stakes recall election is producing fresh cracks in party unity, with the state's second-leading Democrat accusing Gov. Gray Davis of personal disloyalty and two leading Republicans bickering about which one hates taxes more.

The new disputes erupted Sunday as the candidates intensified their campaigns for the Oct. 7 election, which will decide if Davis stays in office and who among 135 candidates will replace him if he's ousted.

The Republican division arose when conservative candidate Bill Simon ran new radio ads accusing actor Arnold Schwarzenegger of being a liberal, and Schwarzenegger's spokesman fired back by comparing Simon to the Democratic gubernatorial incumbent.

Hours earlier, Democrats had their spat on national television. On NBC, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante charged that Davis aides were trying to sabotage the lieutenant governor's efforts to serve as a Democratic fallback in case the governor is recalled.

"If some of the governor's minions would stop trying to undercut my efforts, I think we could have a very coalesced opportunity for Democrats … and we have a possibility of having a win-win position on the ballot," said Bustamante, who has said he opposes the election but argues Democratic voters deserve a choice if the recall effort is successful.

In other recall news:

Even some Republicans interviewed at the summer meeting of the National Governors Association said they are uncomfortable with the recall. "My concern about recalls is that it basically begins to limit one's ability to do anything other than what is politically expedient or popular at the moment," said Republican Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, which doesn't have a recall provision.

Hispanic lawyers called on President Bush Sunday to stop the hurry-up recall election before it disenfranchises minorities. Several Mexican-American groups have sued, alleging that opening fewer polling places and hiring fewer Spanish-speaking poll workers will violate voting rights.

A federal judge was to hear arguments Monday in the ACLU's suit to stop the vote. It argues that since the rushed recall will require the use of punch-card voting systems, it violates a court order.

Some of the candidates running in the recall don’t expect to win and don’t even want votes, the Los Angeles Times reports. They are merely using the race as a platform to air their views. Ronald Palmieri, for example, is running to support gay rights.

California's Legislature returns from its summer recess Monday. Republicans expect the Democratic majority will use the four weeks remaining in the legislative session to push through bills designed to keep the governor in office.

Among the roughly 1,000 pieces of legislation is a bill that would enable illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses. Critics see security risks, but supporters say measure would make the roads safer by increasing the chances those drivers would have training and insurance.

Last October, Davis vetoed a version of the bill in the middle of a tight re-election campaign, a decision that cost him the endorsement of the 24-member caucus of Hispanic Democratic lawmakers.

This month Davis said he would sign the revised bill if it reaches his desk, drawing accusations that he is pandering to Hispanics to try to save his job.

Aides to the governor denied he is playing politics and said the new version addresses the security concerns he had with the version he vetoed.

But the reversal on immigrant licenses is part of an apparent effort by Davis to appeal to California's liberals, reports The Washington Post.

In recent days Davis has signed a bill granting gay partners many of the rights of married couples, approved a new African American studies center at a college near L.A., and cited his experiences in Vietnam and early black political campaigns.

It was not clear how liberals might react to Bustamante's charges against Davis' aides, which the Davis camp denied. According to the Times, Davis and Bustamante have never been close.

"As far as I know, and I think I would know, we're not engaged in that," said Steve Smith, Davis' campaign manager. "From the governor on down, I think we've been fairly complimentary of the lieutenant governor."

Republican Simon's campaign announced it was airing the radio ads after Schwarzenegger's top economic adviser, billionaire Warren Buffett, said he believed California's Proposition 13 had lowered the state's property taxes too much.

"Gray Davis tripled our car taxes, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger's team wants to triple our property taxes," Simon said in the ad. "Which just goes to show you, don't send a liberal to do a tax-fighters job."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman accused Simon, who ran against Davis last year, of misrepresenting the actor's positions.

"Bill Simon looks like he learned a lesson from Gray Davis last year and is putting distortions on the air," Stutzman said. "He knows as well as anyone that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a staunch supporter of Prop 13 and to say anything else is disingenuous."

The latest polling suggests Davis is likely to be recalled and places Bustamante atop the field of replacement candidates. The nonpartisan Field Poll showed Bustamante had the support of 25 percent of likely voters, and Schwarzenegger 22 percent, with a margin of error of 5 percentage points. Other candidates all had single-digit support.

Simon said there's no way he'll drop out to avoid splitting the conservative Republican vote.


©MMIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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