Yes on recall; Yes on Arnold

Posted: September 12, 2003

by JOHN CAMPBELL

Yes on recall; Yes on Arnold

To build our Party and to set a new direction for our state, Republicans should unite behind Arnold Schwarzenegger.

John Campbell represents California’s 70th Assembly District.
He is vice-chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee and one
of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s economic advisors.

Five veteran political writers and Party leaders consider, from a variety of perspectives, the question: How should Republicans approach the October 7 recall election? The authors are Rush Limbaugh, Assemblyman John Campbell, Senator H.L. Richardson, ret., William E. Simon, Jr., and Shawn Steel. Under the heading “Equal Time,” CPR reprints portions relevant to the recall of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s August 6 announcement that she would not run.

I am a conservative and an unabashed one at that. I believe in our principles, our cause, and the inherent ethics of our movement. And I am strongly supporting Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor. I furthermore believe that conservatives should unite in our support for Arnold and I would like to tell you why.

Even though Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy on the Jay Leno show, I have often enjoyed David Letterman’s “top ten” lists. So, here is my list of “top ten reasons” why conservatives should support Arnold for governor.

#10) A Governor Schwarzenegger would have the ability to use his celebrity and unique persona to reach and attract new voters to the Republican Party.

#9) Schwarzenegger can help the president win California in 2004 (which probably guarantees him a second term) and help us to pick up seats in the state Legislature like no other candidate.

#8) After spending several days with Arnold over the last few weeks, I can tell you that he is very bright, determined, and courageous. And there is no question he is a man of integrity who is owned by no one.

#7) I don’t want a governor who just stops more bad liberal ideas from becoming law. I want to see that governor move California forward even in the face of a Legislature controlled by the opposing Party. Because of who he is, Schwarzenegger will be able to get coverage for his agenda across mainstream media that typically ignore California politics. The 6 o’clock local news programs in LA will cover his proposals on worker’s compensation reform even if there is a car chase that night. And Democrats who continue to resist the will of the people so thoroughly communicated will do so at their political peril.

#6) Arnold is a fiscal conservative. If you’ve heard his statements about being overtaxed, the Davis Democrats’ overspending, his staunch support for Proposition 13, and his support for a constitutional limit on the growth of state spending, this conclusion is clear. And it is one of the reasons The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (PAC) has endorsed Arnold for governor.

#5) Arnold told me a story about how in 1968, 15 years before becoming a U.S. citizen, he knew he was a Republican. His friend, a fellow Austrian immigrant, was attempting to convince Arnold that he should become a Democrat. After hearing his friend describe Democrat’s support for a weak military and tax and spend policies, he was reminded of socialist states in Europe. He knew then that he was a Republican and has stayed one ever since.

#4) Arnold has remained a Republican despite all the influence of Hollywood. We have heard stories from others of how being a Republican in Hollywood has damaged their careers. In spite of these or whatever pressures he encountered, Arnold has been a Republican through it all. That means that he is not with us just because it’s convenient. He is with us because he believes in it.

#3) Do I agree with Arnold on all issues? Of course not. If that were my litmus test for support I would never endorse anyone but myself. And he will not line up with every conservative on all issues, but Governor Schwarzenegger’s agenda will be in sync with conservatives eight out of ten times. Which, of course, is about eight times more than Cruz Bustamante.

#2) He can win. And if conservatives and Republicans rally around him, he will win.

#1) If we allow Bustamante to slip through in this recall, we will be condemned as a state to three more years of the same failed policies and special interest pandering that we have seen in the last five. That means more people will lose their jobs. More businesses that people have spent a lifetime or maybe generations building will fail. And we will witness the continued fiscal and moral decay of our state. We can stop it. We have to stop it. And Arnold Schwarzenegger is the best opportunity to do so.

My very conservative 88-year-old mother told me something just after Arnold announced he was running. She said she and my father had been Taft Republicans in the early ’50s. They agreed with him on many issues. But after 20 years of Democrat presidents, they were tired of losing. So, in 1952 they voted for Eisenhower. And he won. And Republicans began to come back in national politics. She told me that it was time to begin that resurgence in California. She was going to vote for Schwarzenegger October 7. And so am I.

I hope you will join me and other conservatives like Congressman Chris Cox and Dana Rohrbacher in supporting Arnold for governor.

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