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Women's Groups Protest Schwarzenegger Candidacy
Aired September 05, 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Many California business leaders see Arnold Schwarzenegger, probably, as their kind of guy. But while the actor-turned-candidate-for-governor was reaching out to the Chamber of Commerce crowd today, women's groups were getting ready to vent their anger at him.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is keeping tabs on Schwarzenegger and his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Arnold Schwarzenegger came here to the critical battleground, conservative Orange County, California, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-1, the conservative vote very, very important for Mr. Schwarzenegger as he is battling it out right now for the conservative vote with another Republican candidate, the Republican state Senator Tom McClintock.
Mr. Schwarzenegger came here hoping to win the endorsement of the California Chamber of Commerce, talking with these business leaders about what he says he would do to bring businesses back to California.
Another important constituency will be women voters. And later today, an activist group representing many national women's organizations will be protesting outside Schwarzenegger's headquarters in Santa Monica, protesting statements he made in the past, including interviews with a magazine back in 1977 and with "Esquire" in July of 2003. These women's groups say that Arnold Schwarzenegger's statements show that he does not have a respect for women.
Mr. Schwarzenegger, going before the cameras today, adamantly rejected those charges.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I said crazy things. You're absolutely correct. There was the '70s, when we promoted bodybuilding, when we tried to get headlines, because bodybuilding was nowhere to be found. It was like a sport that was in a dungeon somewhere. So we tried to get attention and headlines. And I would say things that many times were exaggerated or not true just to get the headlines. But the fact of the matter is, you've got to forget about the '70s. I was a different person then.
WALLACE: Right now, the polls show that Schwarzenegger does not appear to be having a problem with women voters. And Schwarzenegger's advisers say this is all -- quote -- "background noise" in the campaign. They call these charges ludicrous and say they will definitely not stick. Kelly Wallace, CNN,, reporting from Dana Point, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Well, Schwarzenegger's also been dogged by questions about his campaign finances and whether he's living up to his promises.
Let's bring in CNN's Bob Franken, who is in Los Angeles.
Bob, Schwarzenegger at one point seemed to be saying that he was not going to take money contributions. What is he saying now?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems that there are a couple of occasions where he's had to go back and explain just exactly what it is he was talking about. And this is one of those circumstances.
The beginning of the campaign, he said he was a very rich man, would not have to rely on special interest contributions; therefore, he was a different kind of contribution. Then, we find out that about a third of his contributions are coming not from him or his family, but from what others are calling special interests, corporations, other wealthy people, that type of thing.
And there's been a lot of criticism about that, causing Schwarzenegger to finally say that he made a mistake, exactly that, that he was going to have to retract what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: It was my mistake, because I was not articulate enough to explain that, because when I went then back, thank team right away said, well, you left this wide open. So it was a mistake. That's why we clarified it right away with a statement right after that, OK?
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Always. Yes, absolutely. Because there's so many people that want to support the campaign. There's so many people that want to contribute to this campaign, small businesses, bigger businesses and stuff like that. And I welcome that. But the important thing is, most of the money comes from Maria's and my account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And, as Schwarzenegger continues to explain himself, this exercise in participatory democracy continues to move forward. It will not be stopped by that three-judge panel that had been considering charges that, because of the special arrangements in this election, that minority groups would be disenfranchised.
Apparently, the U.S. Justice Department needs to approve some of the participation setups in four counties. And the Justice Department of the United States has now done that. We're awaiting a formal ruling. But they will not block things, Judy. The only other legal impediment that anybody can spot now is an appeals court ruling. The ACLU lost its effort to delay the election. That's being appealed. A hearing is scheduled for later this month -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, so it looks like this is going to happen on October 7.
FRANKEN: Unless the appeals court surprises the daylights out of everybody.
WOODRUFF: OK. Well, we'll be reporting on that, if it happens. Bob Franken, in Los Angeles, thanks very much.
Well, however the recall election turns out, Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly has a lot of fans around the country. Our new nationwide poll out this hour shows 45 percent of Americans say they are rooting for Schwarzenegger to win in California. Seven percent of those surveyed think the actor, they say, would be a great governor. Two-thirds say they think he would do a good to average job in office.
There's a new sign that national Democratic leaders may not be writing off Gray Davis' chances of political survival. The California governor got the nod today to tape the Democratic response to President Bush's Saturday radio address. In remarks that air tomorrow, Davis talks about national unemployment statistics.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 5, 2003 - 15:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Many California business leaders see Arnold Schwarzenegger, probably, as their kind of guy. But while the actor-turned-candidate-for-governor was reaching out to the Chamber of Commerce crowd today, women's groups were getting ready to vent their anger at him.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is keeping tabs on Schwarzenegger and his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Arnold Schwarzenegger came here to the critical battleground, conservative Orange County, California, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-1, the conservative vote very, very important for Mr. Schwarzenegger as he is battling it out right now for the conservative vote with another Republican candidate, the Republican state Senator Tom McClintock.
Mr. Schwarzenegger came here hoping to win the endorsement of the California Chamber of Commerce, talking with these business leaders about what he says he would do to bring businesses back to California.
Another important constituency will be women voters. And later today, an activist group representing many national women's organizations will be protesting outside Schwarzenegger's headquarters in Santa Monica, protesting statements he made in the past, including interviews with a magazine back in 1977 and with "Esquire" in July of 2003. These women's groups say that Arnold Schwarzenegger's statements show that he does not have a respect for women.
Mr. Schwarzenegger, going before the cameras today, adamantly rejected those charges.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I said crazy things. You're absolutely correct. There was the '70s, when we promoted bodybuilding, when we tried to get headlines, because bodybuilding was nowhere to be found. It was like a sport that was in a dungeon somewhere. So we tried to get attention and headlines. And I would say things that many times were exaggerated or not true just to get the headlines. But the fact of the matter is, you've got to forget about the '70s. I was a different person then.
WALLACE: Right now, the polls show that Schwarzenegger does not appear to be having a problem with women voters. And Schwarzenegger's advisers say this is all -- quote -- "background noise" in the campaign. They call these charges ludicrous and say they will definitely not stick. Kelly Wallace, CNN,, reporting from Dana Point, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Well, Schwarzenegger's also been dogged by questions about his campaign finances and whether he's living up to his promises.
Let's bring in CNN's Bob Franken, who is in Los Angeles.
Bob, Schwarzenegger at one point seemed to be saying that he was not going to take money contributions. What is he saying now?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems that there are a couple of occasions where he's had to go back and explain just exactly what it is he was talking about. And this is one of those circumstances.
The beginning of the campaign, he said he was a very rich man, would not have to rely on special interest contributions; therefore, he was a different kind of contribution. Then, we find out that about a third of his contributions are coming not from him or his family, but from what others are calling special interests, corporations, other wealthy people, that type of thing.
And there's been a lot of criticism about that, causing Schwarzenegger to finally say that he made a mistake, exactly that, that he was going to have to retract what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: It was my mistake, because I was not articulate enough to explain that, because when I went then back, thank team right away said, well, you left this wide open. So it was a mistake. That's why we clarified it right away with a statement right after that, OK?
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Always. Yes, absolutely. Because there's so many people that want to support the campaign. There's so many people that want to contribute to this campaign, small businesses, bigger businesses and stuff like that. And I welcome that. But the important thing is, most of the money comes from Maria's and my account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And, as Schwarzenegger continues to explain himself, this exercise in participatory democracy continues to move forward. It will not be stopped by that three-judge panel that had been considering charges that, because of the special arrangements in this election, that minority groups would be disenfranchised.
Apparently, the U.S. Justice Department needs to approve some of the participation setups in four counties. And the Justice Department of the United States has now done that. We're awaiting a formal ruling. But they will not block things, Judy. The only other legal impediment that anybody can spot now is an appeals court ruling. The ACLU lost its effort to delay the election. That's being appealed. A hearing is scheduled for later this month -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, so it looks like this is going to happen on October 7.
FRANKEN: Unless the appeals court surprises the daylights out of everybody.
WOODRUFF: OK. Well, we'll be reporting on that, if it happens. Bob Franken, in Los Angeles, thanks very much.
Well, however the recall election turns out, Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly has a lot of fans around the country. Our new nationwide poll out this hour shows 45 percent of Americans say they are rooting for Schwarzenegger to win in California. Seven percent of those surveyed think the actor, they say, would be a great governor. Two-thirds say they think he would do a good to average job in office.
There's a new sign that national Democratic leaders may not be writing off Gray Davis' chances of political survival. The California governor got the nod today to tape the Democratic response to President Bush's Saturday radio address. In remarks that air tomorrow, Davis talks about national unemployment statistics.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
