 |
 -0 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
Davis looking left for support To survive, he needs liberals to turn out for the state's first gubernatorial recall election, which will be held Oct. 7. Lefties are, according to the statewide Field Poll, the strongest opponents of the recall. Davis also needs them to stick with him rather than hope to elect Green Party candidate Peter Camejo or, perhaps, political commentator Arianna Huffington, the ex-wife of Rep. Michael Huffington who has migrated from the right to the left wing of the ideological spectrum. But Davis has built his political career at the middle -- supportive of liberal social causes, but tough on crime while trying to please business and labor at the same time. Environmentalists have not always felt warmly toward Davis. "I am a moderate and a pragmatist," Davis said in 1999 in his first state of the state address. "I will govern neither from the left nor from the right, but from the center. I don't really care which side of the aisle a good idea comes from, as long as it will work." But on Wednesday, the day the recall qualified for the ballot, Davis' message borrowed from the liberal lexicon. "I said if the recall gets serious I will get serious, and I will fight to advance a progressive agenda," he said when he answered reporters' questions at a San Francisco child-care center. In case folks hadn't picked up on use of the p-word, he repeated it. "I know people are hurting. The national economy is creating problems for all Americans. But I believe in the end they will choose a progressive agenda over a conservative agenda." And, once more, with feeling: "And at the end of the day, (voters) are going to want to continue with a state that is pro-choice, believes in gun control, supports education and supports health care for children. They're going to want to continue our progressive agenda; they're not going to want to replace it with a conservative agenda." When pressed later, Roger Salazar, a Davis political spokesman, could not cite a previous time that the governor had invoked the word "progressive" -- much less three times at one appearance. "I don't know that he's ever used the word, but I can't tell you that he hasn't," Salazar said. RETURNING CAST: As an indicator that Davis is in full campaign mode, he has officially brought back his A-team to save the day. Garry South is on the job. He is the strategist behind Davis' stunning 1998 Democratic primary victory over two much-wealthier candidates. He masterminded the $9 million attack on former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan during the 2002 Republican primary that ensured Davis faced the more conservative Bill Simon, a political neophyte, in the general election. Also returning for the sprint to Oct. 7: Strategist Larry Grisolano, media consultant David Doak and pollster Paul Maslin. Michael Bustamante, Davis first gubernatorial press secretary, becomes political director. Davis government-side communications director Peter Ragone, a veteran of the Gore presidential bid, moves over to the save-Gray campaign, where he will be joined by Salazar and Gabriel Sanchez to deal with reporters. "It's like, 'Hey honey, the band's getting back together,'" Salazar said. "Let's just hope we can play the same type of music."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach Daniel Borenstein at 925-943-8248 or dborenstein@cctimes.com.
|
|
|
