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Scripted event doesn’t prevent spirited sparring It was anything but that. The 90-minute face-off at Cal State Sacramento was a virtual free-for-all on many – though not all – of the important issues facing California. From the workers’ compensation crisis plaguing businesses to the state’s insatiable desire for local government funds to satisfy its own spending habit, the five invited candidates not only answered questions, but sparred directly with each other, unscripted. Some commented that Wednesday evening’s debate was better than an episode of Saturday Night Live. ‘‘Clearly we’ve spent too much, but I’ve decided to face it realistically,’’ Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante said, in explaining how his ‘‘Tough Love for California’’ budget proposal can help the state deal with a deficit projected to hit $10 billion to $20 billion next year. ‘‘There’s tough love for everyone except for Indian gaming tribes and prison guard unions,’’ independent Arianna Huffington said, cutting Bustamante off. The lieutenant governor has come under fire for accepting millions of dollars in campaign donations from American Indian tribes that own Las Vegas-style casinos. And Huffington didn’t stop there. She repeatedly attacked Schwarzenegger, who appeared to make the best and most detailed case for his candidacy when discussing his plan to revive California’s lagging economy, throughout the forum. The film star, who also has a wide range of business interests, argued that workers’ compensation must be reformed, and said Senate Bill 2, which would force employers to provide health care to workers and their families, should not be signed by Gov. Gray Davis. ‘‘Republicans really do not believe that morality applies to businesses,’’ Huffington said, adding she wants to close the plethora of tax loopholes enjoyed by the state’s businesses. ‘‘Arianna, your personal income tax has the biggest loophole. I could drive my car right through that,’’ Schwarzenegger responded, in reference to the fact that the wealthy political commentator has paid less than $1,000 in income taxes in recent years, despite the salary she has earned from her syndicated newspaper column and other ventures. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was what did not happen; GOP state Sen. Tom McClintock, a conservative, not only failed to attack Schwarzenegger, he did not even avail himself of the opportunity to ask the moderate Republican a question. California Republicans have been in a quandary the last three weeks because they still have two major candidates vying to replace Davis should he be recalled on Oct. 7 versus a single prominent Democrat, Bustamante. The problem has been magnified lately because McClintock has criticized Schwarzenegger as much as he has Bustamante and Davis, but not on Wednesday. ‘‘This election is not about Arnold Schwarzenegger or Tom McClintock, this election is about the future of California,’’ McClintock told reporters, during the post-debate news conference. In the latest public opinion poll, Schwarzenegger and Bustamante are in a statistical dead heat for the lead with the support of 26 percent and 28 percent of likely voters, respectively. McClintock is running third at 14 percent, but he trails the two front-runners significantly among independent voters, considered a crucial voting block for electoral success, especially for Republicans.
Republican strategist Dave Gilliard, who directed the signature effort that put the historic and unprecedented recall on the ballot, was pleased with how the debate went, and said the performance of all the candidates, Green Party member Peter
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