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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview with Blanquita Cullum, Santiago Nieves
Aired August 17, 2003 - 09:20 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: There are 135 confirmed candidates for governor of California, and there may be many polls before Election Day. The latest field poll shows Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the frontrunner. Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante is pulling 25 percent of the vote to Schwarzenegger's 22 percent.
The second tier includes conservative state Senator Tom McClintock and former gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon. Both of them polling just below 10 percent. The rest of the field includes Green Part candidate Peter Camejo.
And five percent who don't like any of the 135. Fourteen percent are undecided, 44 percent may change their mind before Election Day.
Well, if those field poll numbers hold, Cruz Bustamante could be the first Latino governor in a state that is more than 30 percent Hispanic. Can Hispanics affect the outcome of California's election?
Joining me to discuss the issue, conservative commentator Blanquita Cullum in San Diego. And in New York, Santiago Nieves on the liberal side. Thank you both for being with me.
BLANQUITA CULLUM, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Well, good morning. Hi Santiago.
SANTIAGO NIEVES, LIBERAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning. Nice to see you, Blanquita.
CULLUM: Nice to see you too, dear.
PHILLIPS: Oh, we all like each other. This is great. We have good energy going.
NIEVES: So far.
PHILLIPS: So far so good.
CULLUM: We don't agree with each other, but we like each other.
PHILLIPS: Until we start talking politics, right?
Well, let's just lay some of the facts here. 2.5 million Hispanic voters are registered in the state of California. Let's talk about the impact here. Will they get out and vote, do they vote, and can it make an impact? Blanquita, why don't we start with you. CULLUM: Well, you know, traditionally, Hispanics have not had a great turnout at the polls. We've seen in some of the research that actually Latino women are the better ones to get out to the vote. But this is going to be very important because if Arnold Schwarzenegger or Cruz Bustamante or whoever really wants to win, it's going to be interesting to see how they can get someone to be able to -- you know, to pull that vote in.
Arnold has somewhat of an intriguing edge in a way that I think is being underestimated. And that is because he's an immigrant; he's bigger than life. He's fun. His main (ph) idea is very important.
Cruz Bustamante in certain areas does, but not -- he doesn't, you know, kind of engage that passion that pulls people to the polls. So I think Latinos are going to have to have maybe someone that will really help either one of these guys or another candidate get him there. They have to have a machine that's going to make them get to the polls.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Santiago, Schwarzenegger has definitely capitalized on being an immigrant, yet he voted -- the whole issue with Proposition 187, which denied...
NIEVES: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: ... health care and education to illegal immigrants, you know, what's the deal here? It's a bit hypocritical.
NIEVES: Well, I think you hit the nail right on the head. And I think that Mr. Bustamante is losing a way to exploit that weakness in Arnold Schwarzenegger, that outrageous contradiction. He's been against -- he's been a proponent and supporter of the English-only movement, which many people on both the left and right consider inherently racist and an attack directly on Latinos.
I worked for a short time for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, and it was very clear among Latino lawmakers that that was an attack, for the most part, on Latinos, as was Proposition 209 before that, which Arnold Schwarzenegger supported. And then he hires Pete Wilson, someone who is perceived -- talk about perceptions, perceived as the anti-immigrant guy. In all of the U.S. he hires this guy.
I think there's a lot for Bustamante to use between now and October 7. And I'd like to see him use it. Or I'd like to see him have Arnold toe to toe and answer those questions.
PHILLIPS: Well, Blanquita, you brought up an interesting point, and that was the connection of how Latinos loved JFK.
CULLUM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I didn't realize. Explain this to us.
CULLUM: Well, you know the old joke used to be -- you know I grew up here in San Diego. My grandmother used to live in Tijuana. And the joke used to be that the Latinos had a grease stain on the wall where they took the picture of Jackie Kennedy off when she got married to Onassis, because they loved John F. Kennedy so much.
NIEVES: Yes.
CULLUM: And here you have Maria Shriver, and it throws a different element. The interesting thing about this really is, you know, that really this is Arnold's race to lose. Gray Davis is kind of in a situation where he's not going to be a player, because people have to figure out -- they have to vote one part of that ballot and then he's not on the other one. So you're going to have to look for this guy. And who is the most easily recognizable?
It's going to be interesting to see where Bustamante is and interesting to see where Arnold is. A lot of people just vote for him for the fun of it.
PHILLIPS: Santiago?
NIEVES: Yes. And you know we're here talking about the Latino vote. Indeed, the Latino vote may be the swing vote. I think they were crucial in Gray's election and I think they're going to be crucial here. And they can be even more crucial.
As you said, Blanquita, I do agree that Bustamante really has to energize Latinos to come out and vote. And I think talking about good things is good, but he has a great deal of ammunition, as I said, about Arnold.
The problem with Bustamante -- and I must admit it was such a weird political situation -- in any case, he has not had the opportunity to really sit down and get the media attention. I opened the papers today.
CULLUM: Absolutely.
NIEVES: Everything is Arnold, Arnold, Arnold.
CULLUM: Absolutely. And somebody told me last night -- I met with a kind of a senior Latino Democrat, and they said -- he said he was frustrated because he went to a lot of his Democrat buddies and he said, "A, tell me what Gray Davis stands for." And they couldn't figure one thing.
And he said, "Two, talk about what has Bustamante ever done to help the state that you can think of off the top of your head." And they couldn't think of anything. Well that -- you know, at least Arnold doesn't have a track record.
NIEVES: By the way, I said Gray. I didn't want to come off as if I know him personally. I mean Gray Davis.
(CROSSTALK)
NIEVES: Well, Gray is the name because this guy is charismatically challenged. You know what I mean?
CULLUM: Oh, you are exactly right. NIEVES: And to that extent...
PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you one thing, you two are not charismatically challenged. Unfortunately, we have to leave it here. But I promise we'll bring you back.
CULLUM: Oh, you're so great.
PHILLIPS: I know we'll be talking about this more.
CULLUM: Well, we love that we're together. And thank you, Kyra. Thank you for having us.
PHILLIPS: Blanquita and Santiago, it was a pleasure. Mucho gusto.
CULLUM: Igualmente.
PHILLIPS: OK.
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 August 17, 2003 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: There are 135 confirmed candidates for governor of California, and there may be many polls before Election Day. The latest field poll shows Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the frontrunner. Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante is pulling 25 percent of the vote to Schwarzenegger's 22 percent.
The second tier includes conservative state Senator Tom McClintock and former gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon. Both of them polling just below 10 percent. The rest of the field includes Green Part candidate Peter Camejo.
And five percent who don't like any of the 135. Fourteen percent are undecided, 44 percent may change their mind before Election Day.
Well, if those field poll numbers hold, Cruz Bustamante could be the first Latino governor in a state that is more than 30 percent Hispanic. Can Hispanics affect the outcome of California's election?
Joining me to discuss the issue, conservative commentator Blanquita Cullum in San Diego. And in New York, Santiago Nieves on the liberal side. Thank you both for being with me.
BLANQUITA CULLUM, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Well, good morning. Hi Santiago.
SANTIAGO NIEVES, LIBERAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning. Nice to see you, Blanquita.
CULLUM: Nice to see you too, dear.
PHILLIPS: Oh, we all like each other. This is great. We have good energy going.
NIEVES: So far.
PHILLIPS: So far so good.
CULLUM: We don't agree with each other, but we like each other.
PHILLIPS: Until we start talking politics, right?
Well, let's just lay some of the facts here. 2.5 million Hispanic voters are registered in the state of California. Let's talk about the impact here. Will they get out and vote, do they vote, and can it make an impact? Blanquita, why don't we start with you. CULLUM: Well, you know, traditionally, Hispanics have not had a great turnout at the polls. We've seen in some of the research that actually Latino women are the better ones to get out to the vote. But this is going to be very important because if Arnold Schwarzenegger or Cruz Bustamante or whoever really wants to win, it's going to be interesting to see how they can get someone to be able to -- you know, to pull that vote in.
Arnold has somewhat of an intriguing edge in a way that I think is being underestimated. And that is because he's an immigrant; he's bigger than life. He's fun. His main (ph) idea is very important.
Cruz Bustamante in certain areas does, but not -- he doesn't, you know, kind of engage that passion that pulls people to the polls. So I think Latinos are going to have to have maybe someone that will really help either one of these guys or another candidate get him there. They have to have a machine that's going to make them get to the polls.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Santiago, Schwarzenegger has definitely capitalized on being an immigrant, yet he voted -- the whole issue with Proposition 187, which denied...
NIEVES: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: ... health care and education to illegal immigrants, you know, what's the deal here? It's a bit hypocritical.
NIEVES: Well, I think you hit the nail right on the head. And I think that Mr. Bustamante is losing a way to exploit that weakness in Arnold Schwarzenegger, that outrageous contradiction. He's been against -- he's been a proponent and supporter of the English-only movement, which many people on both the left and right consider inherently racist and an attack directly on Latinos.
I worked for a short time for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, and it was very clear among Latino lawmakers that that was an attack, for the most part, on Latinos, as was Proposition 209 before that, which Arnold Schwarzenegger supported. And then he hires Pete Wilson, someone who is perceived -- talk about perceptions, perceived as the anti-immigrant guy. In all of the U.S. he hires this guy.
I think there's a lot for Bustamante to use between now and October 7. And I'd like to see him use it. Or I'd like to see him have Arnold toe to toe and answer those questions.
PHILLIPS: Well, Blanquita, you brought up an interesting point, and that was the connection of how Latinos loved JFK.
CULLUM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I didn't realize. Explain this to us.
CULLUM: Well, you know the old joke used to be -- you know I grew up here in San Diego. My grandmother used to live in Tijuana. And the joke used to be that the Latinos had a grease stain on the wall where they took the picture of Jackie Kennedy off when she got married to Onassis, because they loved John F. Kennedy so much.
NIEVES: Yes.
CULLUM: And here you have Maria Shriver, and it throws a different element. The interesting thing about this really is, you know, that really this is Arnold's race to lose. Gray Davis is kind of in a situation where he's not going to be a player, because people have to figure out -- they have to vote one part of that ballot and then he's not on the other one. So you're going to have to look for this guy. And who is the most easily recognizable?
It's going to be interesting to see where Bustamante is and interesting to see where Arnold is. A lot of people just vote for him for the fun of it.
PHILLIPS: Santiago?
NIEVES: Yes. And you know we're here talking about the Latino vote. Indeed, the Latino vote may be the swing vote. I think they were crucial in Gray's election and I think they're going to be crucial here. And they can be even more crucial.
As you said, Blanquita, I do agree that Bustamante really has to energize Latinos to come out and vote. And I think talking about good things is good, but he has a great deal of ammunition, as I said, about Arnold.
The problem with Bustamante -- and I must admit it was such a weird political situation -- in any case, he has not had the opportunity to really sit down and get the media attention. I opened the papers today.
CULLUM: Absolutely.
NIEVES: Everything is Arnold, Arnold, Arnold.
CULLUM: Absolutely. And somebody told me last night -- I met with a kind of a senior Latino Democrat, and they said -- he said he was frustrated because he went to a lot of his Democrat buddies and he said, "A, tell me what Gray Davis stands for." And they couldn't figure one thing.
And he said, "Two, talk about what has Bustamante ever done to help the state that you can think of off the top of your head." And they couldn't think of anything. Well that -- you know, at least Arnold doesn't have a track record.
NIEVES: By the way, I said Gray. I didn't want to come off as if I know him personally. I mean Gray Davis.
(CROSSTALK)
NIEVES: Well, Gray is the name because this guy is charismatically challenged. You know what I mean?
CULLUM: Oh, you are exactly right. NIEVES: And to that extent...
PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you one thing, you two are not charismatically challenged. Unfortunately, we have to leave it here. But I promise we'll bring you back.
CULLUM: Oh, you're so great.
PHILLIPS: I know we'll be talking about this more.
CULLUM: Well, we love that we're together. And thank you, Kyra. Thank you for having us.
PHILLIPS: Blanquita and Santiago, it was a pleasure. Mucho gusto.
CULLUM: Igualmente.
PHILLIPS: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
