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Bustamante on hot seat in recall race Recall organizers say they will target him in their planned $15 million advertising blitz, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says she won't vote for him, and controversial actions in his long political career are coming under renewed scrutiny. The focus on Bustamante comes at a crucial moment in his campaign, as he competes with Davis for campaign cash from key Democratic donors. Davis, in private meetings, already has begun to bow to the inevitable, suggesting that supporters embrace the Bustamante campaign theme of voting "no" on the recall but voting "yes" on electing Bustamante as a safeguard. But with polls showing Bustamante in a virtual dead heat with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the lieutenant governor is feeling the heat from opponents, including Rescue California, the group that handled the drive to force the Oct. 7 election. "I see him as our biggest adversary," said Rescue California political director Phil Paule. "By being opposed to the recall, you're supporting Gray Davis, and we plan to tie (Bustamante) to Gray Davis and the fact that he has mismanaged this state." Paule said his group plans a television and radio barrage to begin after Labor Day and cost $10 million to $15 million, much of which he said has been promised from donors. He added that the group would not have targeted Bustamante had he not adopted the theme of being against the recall. Bustamante had previously denounced the recall and said he would not run. He changed his mind, he said, because he wanted Democrats to have an alternative if Davis loses on the first part of the ballot and is ousted from office. Ironically, Bustamante decided to run after Feinstein said she would not enter the race. She made it clear this week that she would vote only to keep Davis in office. Feinstein said she would not vote for Bustamante or any of the 133 other candidates because she feels the recall is wrong. "He should run when the right time comes to run, at the end of a term, because once this kind of thing succeeds, it will spread," Feinstein said after a speech in Sacramento on Friday. Speaking with reporters in San Diego on Friday, Davis stopped short of promoting Bustamante as a replacement, saying only, "I feel the lieutenant governor is an able person, a good man." "The only place I'm on the ballot is on the recall question," Davis said. "It doesn't matter what happens on Question 2." Davis said Bustamante's appeal to Latino voters should not undercut his own base of support. "Many of those people voted for me in November of last year, and if they're reminded by the lieutenant governor the first thing they need to do in a democracy is reaffirm the judgment they made last November, then they'll do that," Davis said. Paule said his group would link Davis and Bustamante as ideological partners. However, one prominent Democratic political consultant said such efforts are unlikely to work, especially given the general distaste the two politicians have had for each other over the years. "Cruz Bustamante doesn't need to distinguish himself from Gray Davis," consultant Darry Sragow said. "That's already done. Gray Davis has his own unique identity, for better or worse. That doesn't spill over to Bustamante or anyone else." Sragow added that Bustamante also is under less pressure than other candidates, particularly Schwarzenegger, to come up with specific details on how he would govern.
"He has to worry about message very little, in my opinion," Sragow said. "He's
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