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Republicans Set to Endorse Schwarzenegger; Interview With Tom McClintock
Aired September 25, 2003 - 15:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: On this day after the big California recall debate, at least two key Republicans have decided it's time to choose a side and take a stand to try to prevent the Democrats from winning.
CNN's Bob Franken begins our recall coverage live from Los Angeles -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, John.
We are being told, CNN has learned that, in about an hour, Bill Simon will be appearing with Arnold Schwarzenegger and announce his endorsement of Schwarzenegger. Bill Simon, of course, is the Republican who pulled out the race early on, conservative Republican, who had run and lost against Gray Davis for the governor's race last year.
Also, tomorrow, Darrell Issa, who is the conservative Republican congressman who provided most of the money for the recall campaign, he too will announce tomorrow in a joint appearance with Schwarzenegger that's still being negotiated. He will announce his endorsement of Schwarzenegger.
Now, both of these are conservatives, as I pointed out. These are people who are close, certainly ideologically close, to Tom McClintock, who is the candidate in the Republican Party who is causing the GOP some fits, because the party is really split at this particular point. And what the polls are showing is, that split is preventing one candidate from effectively taking on the Democrats.
So now implicit in these endorsements is a call on McClintock to pull out. As somebody pointed out just a moment ago, Republican Party chairmen from around the state are meeting later this afternoon. It is extremely rare for them to make an endorsement. But that, we're told by sources, is precisely what they're conferring.
But the two we can report on, But Bill Simon, within about an hour, is going to announce his endorsement of Arnold Schwarzenegger. And sources who very close to congressman Darrell Issa say that tomorrow, at an event tomorrow that is still being set up, Issa will appear here in California with Schwarzenegger and announce his endorsement -- John.
KING: Dramatic developments on this day, 12 days left to go.
Bob Franken, live in Los Angeles, thank you. I asked Schwarzenegger rival Tom McClintock earlier about the growing pressure to drop out. His response in a moment.
But, first, the recall debate spin cycle is still under way. People may disagree about the candidates' performances, but many found the face-off to be livelier and less scripted than they expected.
Here are some examples.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (I), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It's completely hypocritical of Arnold...
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Arianna.
(CROSSTALK)
HUFFINGTON: Let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
HUFFINGTON: This is the way you treat women. We know that. But not now.
STAN STATHAM, MODERATOR: That was a direct and personal attack on Mr. Schwarzenegger. So would you respond?
SCHWARZENEGGER: I would just like to say that I just realized that I have a perfect part for you in "Terminator 4."
STATHAM: Why did you?
LT. GOV. CRUZ BUSTAMANTE (D-CA), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We spent more -- as a government -- as a government it, spent more than it was coming in. There's nothing -- it's no rocket science to this.
SCHWARZENEGGER: The politicians make a mistake. They keep spending and spending and spending. Then, when they realize they made a mistake and they have spent money they don't even have, then they go out and they go and tax, tax, tax?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: In the end, of course, the recall candidates needed to do more than be amusing. They need to pick up votes.
CNN's Frank Buckley asked some viewers whether they looked what they saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a debate-watching party at the University of Southern California, the entertainment for the party was the clash between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arianna Huffington.
HUFFINGTON: Let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
HUFFINGTON: This is complete impolite. This is the way you treat women.
BUCKLEY: Students were glad that questions provided in advance didn't limit discussion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess it's a little more lively than I had expected.
BUCKLEY: But the substance of the intellectual clash between the Green Party's Peter Camejo and conservative state Senator Tom McClintock also satisfied students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great thing in democracy to have other people on the panel that can hold candidates' feet to the fire.
BUCKLEY: But it was Schwarzenegger that people were watching most closely, this his only joint forum with the other candidates. And with the day-after newspaper headlines concentrating on the usual attack lines and jabs thrown, not on any major gaffes by Schwarzenegger, some suggested that Schwarzenegger won.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Handle (ph) on the morning team.
BUCKLEY: On talk radio, one McClintock supporter said she was probably going to vote for Schwarzenegger now, because he didn't trip and fall and she buys his argument that he has the best chance of winning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The polls show that Arnold is winning. I real really don't want Bustamante in there. So I may end up voting for Arnold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't understand. Why are you touting Arnold?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not touting Arnold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not. I'm touting Tom McClintock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you made Arnold the clear winner.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he was because of the low expectations, Bob.
BUCKLEY: But others found the debate to be distasteful and uninformative, the word circus finding its way into a number of reviews.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten minutes into this, it had already lost control and it turned into a circus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a circus. I think it's done nothing to sort of clarify where they stand specifically on the issues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: It didn't help that the moderator even had to tell audience members at the debate that what they were watching was not Comedy Central.
Meanwhile, some of the candidates were set to appear on the Game Show Network. Yesterday, Gary Coleman, adult film actress Mary Carey and a few other candidates were taping "The Debating Game." That's set to air next week. The winner will receive $21,200, which is the maximum allowable campaign contribution in California -- John.
KING: Frank, fewer than two weeks left. Frank, have a little fun, but pay close attention.
And moments after the debate, Republican Tom McClintock insisted again that he is staying in the governor's race, in defiance of GOP pressure to give Schwarzenegger a clearer shot at winning.
I spoke with Senior McClintock today about his future and his debate performance. And I asked him if he learned anything new about the race or the other competitors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM MCCLINTOCK (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I think it gave voters a very clear view of the candidates' personalities, their breadth of experience, their breadth of knowledge, their positions. I thought it was a very free-flowing debate.
KING: Is Arnold Schwarzenegger qualified to be governor after this debate? Did you get any sense that, if he does better than you, that he is qualified to be the governor?
MCCLINTOCK: Well, I don't make assessments of candidate debates. That's the prerogative of the voters.
I was very gratified by the response that we got. We had 90 percent of our network capacity on our Web site at HelpTom.com within moments of the debate ending. We had -- in the first hour after the debate, we had 4,000 volunteers sign up, $40,000 in small contributions. That was a tremendous response. And I'm very grateful.
KING: You have said repeatedly that you are in this race to stay. You also certainly are well aware that some Republicans are trying to get you, even now, even though you say this repeatedly, to step aside.
I want to play a bit of sound from Congressman Darrell Issa. You know him well, of course. He says that you two had a deal and that you would not stay in the race if you could perhaps be the spoiler. Listen briefly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: I talked to Tom McClintock before he got into this race. He told me a couple of things that I'm going to hold him to. One, he said he wouldn't get in if it wasn't a crowded field. Two, he said he wouldn't be a spoiler. And, three, he said he could do the math.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Is that an accurate presentation, sir, representation of your views?
MCCLINTOCK: It's a flatly inaccurate representation. I made a promise to people when I entered this race that I would be in it to the finish line. And I keep my promises. I actually filed my papers before Arnold Schwarzenegger and had even made a decision on the race.
KING: I am told, sir, that Congressman Issa, the former candidate in this last and the last gubernatorial race, Bill Simon, and Peter Ueberroth, another Republican who ran briefly in the recall campaign, are all planning to endorse Mr. Schwarzenegger in the coming days. And their message, of course, is that they view him as the candidate who can win. And part of that message is that you should get out. Will that affect your strategy at all?
MCCLINTOCK: Absolutely not. When I make a promise, I stand by that promise. I'm in this race to the finish line.
KING: Two weeks left, sir. Tell us what you plan to do in terms of campaigning. And do you worry at all about -- in terms of the resources? It's a giant state. It takes quite a bit of money to be up on television. Does that worry you at all?
MCCLINTOCK: No. Our message is clearly resonating across California. And we're clearly reaching the people of California.
I began this campaigning as an asterisk behind Peter Camejo of the Green Party and have moved into a solid third-place position now, with 18 percent in the latest "L.A. Times" poll, while the other candidates have been pretty much dead in the water. Arnold has been in the mid to low 20s, stuck there since the very beginning of this campaign. If our momentum continues, I expect that we'll win on Election Day.
KING: You talk about your momentum and the dynamics of the other candidates running. The Davis campaign says it is increasingly confident that he will defeat the recall, period, and that this will not even be an issue. What is your sense of that dynamic, sir? MCCLINTOCK: Well, I cannot imagine the voters of California deciding they want to go another three years down the road that has already led us to the brink of bankruptcy, that's devastated our economy, that's decimated our public works. We have to change the direction of this state. And the election 12 days from now gives us the opportunity to do so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: The man McClintock and his rivals are hoping to replace is sticking today with what you might call his, "I'm still governor, I'm still working" strategy. Gray Davis, of course, was not a part of last night's debate.
And some analysts believe the free-for-all may have given the governor a bit more ammunition in the fight to keep his job. I asked one top California Democrat, the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi today about the recall and Governor Davis' chances of surviving.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: It injects instability into our state, and there's no reason to have one.
Since we do have it, and it's going to take place in two weeks, I feel confident that we will end up with a Democratic governor at the end of the day.
KING: Which Democratic governor?
PELOSI: Speaking very -- I don't do interpretation. I just do...
(LAUGHTER)
KING: What does it tell you about the political skills or the political connection of Governor Davis to his constituents, that he needs Bill Clinton and Al Gore and others to rally what should be his base?
PELOSI: It is always necessary to rally the base.
KING: But he needs help.
PELOSI: Well, everybody needs help.
Vice President Cheney was in West Virginia the other day. Everybody needs help. If these people were not coming in, you would be asking, why are they not coming to campaign for Governor Davis in California? So that's politics as usual in the best sense. That is to say, people who have a belief, who realize that the recall is wrong, coming in to make sure everyone in our community understands what is at stake and why it's important not to give encouragement to those who would inject instability into our state.
So I think there's a good chance that the governor can beat the recall. I think that we will definitely, at the end of the day, have a Democratic governor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Congresswoman Pelosi put it this way. She said, she believes California voters have -- quote -- "had their fun and are now coming to their senses."
I also talked to leader Pelosi about the Democrats' sharpening attacks on the President Bush's Iraq policy. You can hear what she has to say on that topic on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Tom McClintock>
Aired September 25, 2003 - 15:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: On this day after the big California recall debate, at least two key Republicans have decided it's time to choose a side and take a stand to try to prevent the Democrats from winning.
CNN's Bob Franken begins our recall coverage live from Los Angeles -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, John.
We are being told, CNN has learned that, in about an hour, Bill Simon will be appearing with Arnold Schwarzenegger and announce his endorsement of Schwarzenegger. Bill Simon, of course, is the Republican who pulled out the race early on, conservative Republican, who had run and lost against Gray Davis for the governor's race last year.
Also, tomorrow, Darrell Issa, who is the conservative Republican congressman who provided most of the money for the recall campaign, he too will announce tomorrow in a joint appearance with Schwarzenegger that's still being negotiated. He will announce his endorsement of Schwarzenegger.
Now, both of these are conservatives, as I pointed out. These are people who are close, certainly ideologically close, to Tom McClintock, who is the candidate in the Republican Party who is causing the GOP some fits, because the party is really split at this particular point. And what the polls are showing is, that split is preventing one candidate from effectively taking on the Democrats.
So now implicit in these endorsements is a call on McClintock to pull out. As somebody pointed out just a moment ago, Republican Party chairmen from around the state are meeting later this afternoon. It is extremely rare for them to make an endorsement. But that, we're told by sources, is precisely what they're conferring.
But the two we can report on, But Bill Simon, within about an hour, is going to announce his endorsement of Arnold Schwarzenegger. And sources who very close to congressman Darrell Issa say that tomorrow, at an event tomorrow that is still being set up, Issa will appear here in California with Schwarzenegger and announce his endorsement -- John.
KING: Dramatic developments on this day, 12 days left to go.
Bob Franken, live in Los Angeles, thank you. I asked Schwarzenegger rival Tom McClintock earlier about the growing pressure to drop out. His response in a moment.
But, first, the recall debate spin cycle is still under way. People may disagree about the candidates' performances, but many found the face-off to be livelier and less scripted than they expected.
Here are some examples.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (I), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It's completely hypocritical of Arnold...
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Arianna.
(CROSSTALK)
HUFFINGTON: Let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
HUFFINGTON: This is the way you treat women. We know that. But not now.
STAN STATHAM, MODERATOR: That was a direct and personal attack on Mr. Schwarzenegger. So would you respond?
SCHWARZENEGGER: I would just like to say that I just realized that I have a perfect part for you in "Terminator 4."
STATHAM: Why did you?
LT. GOV. CRUZ BUSTAMANTE (D-CA), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We spent more -- as a government -- as a government it, spent more than it was coming in. There's nothing -- it's no rocket science to this.
SCHWARZENEGGER: The politicians make a mistake. They keep spending and spending and spending. Then, when they realize they made a mistake and they have spent money they don't even have, then they go out and they go and tax, tax, tax?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: In the end, of course, the recall candidates needed to do more than be amusing. They need to pick up votes.
CNN's Frank Buckley asked some viewers whether they looked what they saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a debate-watching party at the University of Southern California, the entertainment for the party was the clash between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arianna Huffington.
HUFFINGTON: Let me finish. Let me finish. Let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
HUFFINGTON: This is complete impolite. This is the way you treat women.
BUCKLEY: Students were glad that questions provided in advance didn't limit discussion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess it's a little more lively than I had expected.
BUCKLEY: But the substance of the intellectual clash between the Green Party's Peter Camejo and conservative state Senator Tom McClintock also satisfied students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great thing in democracy to have other people on the panel that can hold candidates' feet to the fire.
BUCKLEY: But it was Schwarzenegger that people were watching most closely, this his only joint forum with the other candidates. And with the day-after newspaper headlines concentrating on the usual attack lines and jabs thrown, not on any major gaffes by Schwarzenegger, some suggested that Schwarzenegger won.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Handle (ph) on the morning team.
BUCKLEY: On talk radio, one McClintock supporter said she was probably going to vote for Schwarzenegger now, because he didn't trip and fall and she buys his argument that he has the best chance of winning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The polls show that Arnold is winning. I real really don't want Bustamante in there. So I may end up voting for Arnold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't understand. Why are you touting Arnold?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not touting Arnold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not. I'm touting Tom McClintock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you made Arnold the clear winner.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he was because of the low expectations, Bob.
BUCKLEY: But others found the debate to be distasteful and uninformative, the word circus finding its way into a number of reviews.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten minutes into this, it had already lost control and it turned into a circus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a circus. I think it's done nothing to sort of clarify where they stand specifically on the issues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: It didn't help that the moderator even had to tell audience members at the debate that what they were watching was not Comedy Central.
Meanwhile, some of the candidates were set to appear on the Game Show Network. Yesterday, Gary Coleman, adult film actress Mary Carey and a few other candidates were taping "The Debating Game." That's set to air next week. The winner will receive $21,200, which is the maximum allowable campaign contribution in California -- John.
KING: Frank, fewer than two weeks left. Frank, have a little fun, but pay close attention.
And moments after the debate, Republican Tom McClintock insisted again that he is staying in the governor's race, in defiance of GOP pressure to give Schwarzenegger a clearer shot at winning.
I spoke with Senior McClintock today about his future and his debate performance. And I asked him if he learned anything new about the race or the other competitors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM MCCLINTOCK (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I think it gave voters a very clear view of the candidates' personalities, their breadth of experience, their breadth of knowledge, their positions. I thought it was a very free-flowing debate.
KING: Is Arnold Schwarzenegger qualified to be governor after this debate? Did you get any sense that, if he does better than you, that he is qualified to be the governor?
MCCLINTOCK: Well, I don't make assessments of candidate debates. That's the prerogative of the voters.
I was very gratified by the response that we got. We had 90 percent of our network capacity on our Web site at HelpTom.com within moments of the debate ending. We had -- in the first hour after the debate, we had 4,000 volunteers sign up, $40,000 in small contributions. That was a tremendous response. And I'm very grateful.
KING: You have said repeatedly that you are in this race to stay. You also certainly are well aware that some Republicans are trying to get you, even now, even though you say this repeatedly, to step aside.
I want to play a bit of sound from Congressman Darrell Issa. You know him well, of course. He says that you two had a deal and that you would not stay in the race if you could perhaps be the spoiler. Listen briefly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: I talked to Tom McClintock before he got into this race. He told me a couple of things that I'm going to hold him to. One, he said he wouldn't get in if it wasn't a crowded field. Two, he said he wouldn't be a spoiler. And, three, he said he could do the math.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Is that an accurate presentation, sir, representation of your views?
MCCLINTOCK: It's a flatly inaccurate representation. I made a promise to people when I entered this race that I would be in it to the finish line. And I keep my promises. I actually filed my papers before Arnold Schwarzenegger and had even made a decision on the race.
KING: I am told, sir, that Congressman Issa, the former candidate in this last and the last gubernatorial race, Bill Simon, and Peter Ueberroth, another Republican who ran briefly in the recall campaign, are all planning to endorse Mr. Schwarzenegger in the coming days. And their message, of course, is that they view him as the candidate who can win. And part of that message is that you should get out. Will that affect your strategy at all?
MCCLINTOCK: Absolutely not. When I make a promise, I stand by that promise. I'm in this race to the finish line.
KING: Two weeks left, sir. Tell us what you plan to do in terms of campaigning. And do you worry at all about -- in terms of the resources? It's a giant state. It takes quite a bit of money to be up on television. Does that worry you at all?
MCCLINTOCK: No. Our message is clearly resonating across California. And we're clearly reaching the people of California.
I began this campaigning as an asterisk behind Peter Camejo of the Green Party and have moved into a solid third-place position now, with 18 percent in the latest "L.A. Times" poll, while the other candidates have been pretty much dead in the water. Arnold has been in the mid to low 20s, stuck there since the very beginning of this campaign. If our momentum continues, I expect that we'll win on Election Day.
KING: You talk about your momentum and the dynamics of the other candidates running. The Davis campaign says it is increasingly confident that he will defeat the recall, period, and that this will not even be an issue. What is your sense of that dynamic, sir? MCCLINTOCK: Well, I cannot imagine the voters of California deciding they want to go another three years down the road that has already led us to the brink of bankruptcy, that's devastated our economy, that's decimated our public works. We have to change the direction of this state. And the election 12 days from now gives us the opportunity to do so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: The man McClintock and his rivals are hoping to replace is sticking today with what you might call his, "I'm still governor, I'm still working" strategy. Gray Davis, of course, was not a part of last night's debate.
And some analysts believe the free-for-all may have given the governor a bit more ammunition in the fight to keep his job. I asked one top California Democrat, the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi today about the recall and Governor Davis' chances of surviving.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: It injects instability into our state, and there's no reason to have one.
Since we do have it, and it's going to take place in two weeks, I feel confident that we will end up with a Democratic governor at the end of the day.
KING: Which Democratic governor?
PELOSI: Speaking very -- I don't do interpretation. I just do...
(LAUGHTER)
KING: What does it tell you about the political skills or the political connection of Governor Davis to his constituents, that he needs Bill Clinton and Al Gore and others to rally what should be his base?
PELOSI: It is always necessary to rally the base.
KING: But he needs help.
PELOSI: Well, everybody needs help.
Vice President Cheney was in West Virginia the other day. Everybody needs help. If these people were not coming in, you would be asking, why are they not coming to campaign for Governor Davis in California? So that's politics as usual in the best sense. That is to say, people who have a belief, who realize that the recall is wrong, coming in to make sure everyone in our community understands what is at stake and why it's important not to give encouragement to those who would inject instability into our state.
So I think there's a good chance that the governor can beat the recall. I think that we will definitely, at the end of the day, have a Democratic governor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Congresswoman Pelosi put it this way. She said, she believes California voters have -- quote -- "had their fun and are now coming to their senses."
I also talked to leader Pelosi about the Democrats' sharpening attacks on the President Bush's Iraq policy. You can hear what she has to say on that topic on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Tom McClintock>
