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Analysis: Recall foes fit Issa for horns They draw on 30-year-old scrapes with the law involving stolen cars and guns. They say he would roll back abortion rights and fill California with assault weapons. Last week they implied, based on his campaign once appearing at a gun show where World War II memorabilia were displayed, that he courted the Nazi vote. The Republican congressman from San Diego County won't be the only gubernatorial candidate on the ballot if the recall drive he is largely financing against Gov. Gray Davis qualifies for the ballot. But Davis' political team wants Democrats, moderate Republicans and independent voters to see the 49-year-old conservative in the worst possible light -- and to see Issa and the recall as one and the same. Instead of trying to resurrect voters' sentiments toward the Democratic incumbent -- whose favorability rating is at 21 percent largely because of the state's fiscal crisis -- the centerpiece of the Davis strategy has been to go on the offensive: Demonize the recall by demonizing Darrell Issa. "It's a strategy of hysteria," said veteran Republican strategist and Issa adviser Ken Khachigian. "They're just lathered up." In his two gubernatorial elections, Davis has successfully used negative campaigning against Democratic and GOP challengers. Facing businessman Al Checchi in the 1998 Democratic primary, his team blamed Checchi's leveraged buyout of Northwest Airlines for the loss of thousands of jobs and branded him a corporate raider. Not wanting to face Republican Richard Riordan in last year's general election, Davis spent $10 million to knock him out of the GOP primary. It's too early to know whether Davis can use such tactics to discredit an entire election. If Rescue California, the recall group funded mostly by Issa's $1.3 million in donations, collects enough valid voter signatures to qualify the recall for the ballot, the test will come this fall or next spring. But being negative may be Davis' best strategy, political analysts say. "When you're an incumbent who's not very popular and you're running for re-election, your basic message to voters is, 'You may not love me, but the alternative is far worse.' And then you have to explain why," said Darry Sragow, a Democratic consultant whose clients have included Checchi. Who does the explaining matters. Rather than have the governor arguing his own worth, his supporters throughout organized labor joined forces more than a month ago to create the appearance of an independent group. They chose a name -- Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall -- to appeal to voters for whom the estimated $30 million cost of a special election might resonate as much as what firefighters, teachers or unionized plumbers think. "We're helping the people making up their minds about whether or not to sign for the recall to have an understanding of who's behind it," said the group's spokesman, Carroll Wills. "Governor Davis has been a good governor and has been effective. But we really believe this goes beyond Governor Davis." The group's first goal was to slow the signature-gathering process; if recall proponents don't turn in 897,158 valid voter signatures by early September, there is no recall election. Recall supporters, however, say they already have collected nearly enough signatures to ensure an election. The union group circulated anti-recall petitions through paid signature gatherers. The petitions carry no legal standing but were an effort to tie up signature gatherers who otherwise might work for recall backers.
On its Web site, the union group also encourages allies to "mix it up" by arguing with recall signature gatherers at shopping centers. "It is OK to stand in front of their table or approach potential signers before they do, or otherwise inhibit their activity," the site says.
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