[an error occurred while processing this directive] 'Rise up -- take government back'

Recall candidate Schwarzenegger targets nonvoters on 2nd Inland trip

September 21, 2003

By BEN GOAD / The Press-Enterprise

RIVERSIDE - A local marching band stomped and Arnold Schwarzenegger stumped Saturday afternoon before hundreds of Southern Californians who endured blazing heat for a chance to see the celebrity candidate up close.

The leading Republican in the campaign to oust Gov. Davis in the recall election appeared in a crisp blue shirt to greet the sweaty masses at the Mission Grove Plaza

Schwarzenegger, who has adopted heavy metal band Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" as his campaign theme song, made a fist-pumping entrance behind a volley of free T-shirts thrown to the crowd. He quickly appealed to past nonvoters, asking them to register regardless of their political leanings.

Peter Phun / The Press-Enterprise
Gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the Mission Grove plaza in Riverside to campaign.

"We have the right to decide if the politicians are doing their job or not," he told the would-be voters. "Rise up -- take government back."

Well over 300 people registered to vote at the rally, campaign staff reported. Among them was Melody Hamner, 42, of Riverside.

"I've never, ever voted before," Hamner said. "But I'm going to vote for Arnold."

Monday is the deadline to register if the election is held Oct. 7.

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, one of a handful of Southern California lawmakers who spoke in support of Schwarzenegger, criticized last week's decision by a three-judge federal appeals panel to postpone the recall election.

"We have a problem with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals," Calvert shouted.

He was answered with sympathetic boos and cries of "Let's recall them all!"

Schwarzenegger's second Inland visit this month came as newly released polling results suggest Davis' anti-recall campaign is picking up steam.

The poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found that 53 percent of probable voters favor recalling Davis. The group's August poll showed 58 percent would vote Davis out.

Rivals campaign

Davis, meanwhile, turned to another high-profile Democrat to help keep him in office Saturday.

Accompanied by Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, one of the Democrats running for president, Davis greeted voters at a cafe bordering San Francisco's historic Castro district.

"The energy crisis is behind us," Davis told one diner at Cafe Flore as several wished him good luck.

Later in the day, Davis was to rally members of organized labor before they set off on a cross-country bus ride to Washington, D.C., to push for immigrants rights.

Conservative Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock kept up his sniping at Schwarzenegger amid word that the Republican chairmen of California's 58 counties would meet next week to discuss endorsing one of the two candidates.

In Corona del Mar, McClintock said his campaign has shown momentum and dismissed Schwarzenegger as "dead in the water."

The one major Democrat candidate on the two-part recall ballot, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante promised to fight for the working man and pressed his "No on recall, yes on Bustamante" message in Imperial County.

"We want good jobs in California. We want decent paying jobs in California," Bustamante told a rally in an El Centro park.

In a challenge to employers, he said: "You don't want to give workers rights, then leave."

Short stay

In Riverside, Schwarzenegger spoke for 12 minutes, interjecting a few of his most famous movie lines between promises to put a cap on government spending, improve education standards and institute more environmental controls on state land.

The Austrian-born film star vowed to work toward making his home state "the powerful job-creating machine it once was."

"Everything I have ever gotten is from California," Schwarzenegger said. "This is the best place on Earth."

The crowd, estimated at close to 1,000 by police officers and campaign staff, was a mix of those who learned of the rally through fliers and those who stumbled upon the fanfare while shopping at the plaza.

Many said they were drawn by the music of the Rancho Verde High School Marching Band that kicked off the program at about 3:30 p.m. There was a broad range of ages and ethnicities -- and even a giant chicken -- at the rally.

The bird, actually a costumed critic, held a sign declaring Schwarzenegger to be "a debate chicken," a reference to the candidate's refusal to participate in any gubernatorial debates except one.

Schwarzenegger, who was recently splattered with yoke during an event in Long Beach, said he finally knew which came first.

"In Long Beach, I got the egg," he said. "And, out here somewhere, is the chicken."

Hearing ahead

All the candidates were campaigning as though it was their third-to-last Saturday on the path to the recall, despite the 9th Circuit panel's decision.

The full court said an 11-judge panel will hear arguments Monday on whether the three justices erred when they ruled that the October date must be delayed to prevent the use of unreliable punch-card ballots.

The decision was welcomed by the leading candidates, who are looking forward to a week of important developments -- the hearing Monday will be followed by a candidate debate Wednesday, the only one Schwarzenegger is attending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Ben Goad at (909) 806-3063 or bgoad@pe.com

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