In a pincer move, Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante teamed up against a common foe Thursday, threatening to boycott the only debate Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to attend.
Both candidates demanded that the format of the debate set for Wednesday in Sacramento be changed, saying it was inappropriate that questions had been provided in advance.
At the same time, Indian tribes stepped up TV advertising and direct-mail campaigns in support of both Bustamante and McClintock, moves that also have the effect of targeting Schwarzenegger.
The actor responded angrily, lashing out for the first time against McClintock, the conservative Republican whose candidacy threatens to split the GOP vote in the recall election.
"I think that as far as Tom McClintock is concerned, the question for him is: What side is he on?" Schwarzenegger said. "Is he on the side of the Republicans? Does he represent the Republicans? Or does he represent Bustamante? Because he's getting money from the same Indian tribes that are financing his commercials and his TV spots."
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians plans to begin airing a TV commercial today in Los Angeles in support of McClintock, featuring him speaking about his experience in government.
John Stoos, McClintock's deputy campaign director, scoffed at the attempt to challenge the Thousand Oaks senator's Republican credentials.
"Tom's been laboring for 20 years in the Republican vineyards," he said. "That's going to be a tough charge to make stick."
He dismissed suggestions that the Indian tribes were backing McClintock merely to torpedo Schwarzenegger and boost Bustamante, noting that the Morongos could have run an ad simply attacking the actor.
"We have been supporters of the Indians and sovereignty longer than Cruz Bustamante has been in office," Stoos said.
"In other developments Thursday in the campaigns to replace Gov. Gray Davis:
* Schwarzenegger, who is spending nearly $3 million a week on a lavish campaign, chose a symbolically rich setting to propose a new political reform package, speaking in front of a locomotive at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. The scene was meant to evoke the Southern Pacific Railroad barons, whose grip on California's political process in the early 20th century sparked a series of Progressive-era reforms, including the recall.
