Special to CalNews.com by
William E. Saracino

October 2, 2003

I am a man of the Right.  From my earliest political thoughts I have always found myself on the conservative – sometimes libertarian – side of issues. For those unfamiliar with my pedigree, here’s some background.

My first political interest and involvement was as a high school freshman, when I worked in Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign.  In 1966 I worked in the Reagan for Governor campaigns.  In 1968 I had a statewide position in Max Rafferty’s campaign for U.S. Senate.  In 1972 I worked in the campaign of Congressman John Ashbrook, in his conservative challenge to President Richard Nixon.  Later that year I spent 5 months in North Carolina, helping Jesse Helms win his first Senate campaign.

In 1976 I worked in the Reagan presidential effort against Jerry Ford, and in both ’76 and ’80 was a California delegate for Reagan to the GOP National Convention.  From 1977 to 1984 I was director of Gun Owners of California and Gun Owners of America, two of the largest – and most effective – conservative PACS at the time.  I was Chief of Staff for the Assembly Republican Caucus from ’84 – ’87, and will note that during the ’86 elections the Assembly GOP went from 33 to 36 seats.  During the 90’s I operated my own political consulting firm, guiding the successful campaigns of such flaming moderates as Barbara Alby, Tom Bordonaro, Dennis Mountjoy, Andrea Seastrand and Phil Wyman.  In 1996 I was director of the 15 western states for the Steve Forbes for President campaign.

The point of this trip down memory lane is that I am not a stranger to the conservative movement or the intricacies of politics. And to serve as introduction to the fact that I have decided to vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I titled this piece “A McClintock-ite for Schwarzenegger” to reflect the truth. Tom McClintock would make a great Governor, one with whom I would agree 99% of the time.  But in spite of an intelligent and gutsy campaign run with a fraction of the dollars of others, the effort is going to fall short.

This is not a reflection on Tom, an erudite and articulate statesman, or on his campaign team, which contains some of the brightest, most energetic and innovative conservative operatives in California. Neither is this a call for him to abandon the race.  He promised his supporters he would stay til the end, and so he should.  Additionally, we need his core voters to show up at the polls to insure passage of the recall. 

We conservative voters however have some stark choices in front of us. Tom and his crew have fought the good fight, stayed the course and done their best. May they all live long and prosper.

But the fact is that Tom McClintock isn’t going to be elected Governor of California next Tuesday. Either Cruz Bustamante or Arnold Schwarzenegger will be. The thought of Cruz Bustamante as Governor should repel all Californians who are not socialists or in the employ of the trial lawyers or teachers’ unions.

The McClintock campaign will have a good amount of visibility this final week, thanks mainly to Indian gambling interests. But every survey since the debate has shown Tom still stuck at 15% - 20% of the vote. And frankly the Indians have no interest in Tom McClintock being Governor, anymore then Cruz Bustamante or Zsa Zsa Huffington do, both of whom have also recently said nice things about Tom.

Their interest is in splitting the Republican vote so the man they really want to win, Bustamante, can squeeze through. In fact a memo surfaced last week from one of the Indian tribes helping McClintock.  The memo was very upfront about the need to keep Tom’s campaign “on life support”, in order to siphon votes from Schwarzenegger and elect Bustamante

The thought that some conservatives are comfortable, even happy, with this prospect boggles my mind. Cruz Bustamante will be Davis-heavy, not Davis-light.

The past two weeks of the Davis signature-selling extravaganza on last minute legislation gave a preview of what Bustamante in the governor’s office would mean. Except far left interest groups won’t have to buy Bustamante’s signature.  He’ll sign the bills because he agrees with their liberal fantasies. Whereas Davis has absolutely no set political beliefs – other then self-advancement – Bustamante is a committed, dedicated leftist.

“But what about the social issues”, my conservative brethren say.  A good question, so let’s compare the views of the two guys with a chance of being the next governor. Schwarzenegger would prohibit the barbaric “partial birth” abortion procedure, and would sign “parental consent for minors” legislation.  Bustamante would not.

Schwarzenegger believes that a marriage can only exist between a man and a woman.  Bustamante does not. Schwarzenegger opposes any further restrictions on the 2nd Amendment.  Bustamante does not.

Are Arnold's views on these issues completely and perfectly in line with mine or most conservatives?  No, they’re not.  Are they much better, almost infinitely better, then Bustamante’s?  You do the math, it’s simpler than two plus two.

Schwarzenegger was a free market enthusiast and a friend and admirer of Milton Friedman’s years before he became active in politics. He has for many years spoken of his belief in the American dream of hard work being the path to success.  Former Congressman J.C. Watts popularized the saying that “character is doing what’s right when nobody’s watching”.

Schwarzenegger campaigned for President Reagan and both Presidents Bush.  Not exactly “while nobody was watching”, but certainly before the stirrings of his personal political ambition. He wasn’t doing it to strike a pose.  He was doing it because he believed it was right, risking the wrath of the Hollywood zeitgeist by his actions.

“But what about control of the party”, my conservative brethren also ask.  To begin with, we conservatives lost control of the party, more than once, only because we fought among ourselves, so I am not terribly sympathetic to this argument.

Second, what is the better perch from which to conduct, or better yet even prevent, our intra-mural tussles? As obstinate outsiders willing to put a liberal Democrat in office because we couldn’t elect our 100% guy? Or as partners with a Governor whose victory we were an integral part of?  Conservative leaders like Congressmen Rohrabacher and Cox, Assemblymen Haynes and Campbell, former GOP Chairmen Harrington, McGraw and Steel, and our ’02 nominee Bill Simon have already announced for Schwarzenegger. A Governor with these kinds of friends is unlikely to embark on an anti-conservative jihad. 

My conservative friends who think Bustamante would be preferable to Schwarzenegger don’t mention the courts, understandably so, but allow me to do so in closing.  We all remember the judicial outrage perpetrated by the three renegade 9th Circuit judges attempting to hijack our democracy.  Two of the three judges making this abominable ruling were appointed by Bill Clinton.  In 1992 Clinton, with 43% of the vote, won only because enough Republicans cast ballots for Ross Perot instead of President Bush the first.

Had those Republicans shown the maturity to realize that while George H.W. Bush was not perfect, he was preferable to Bill Clinton, these judges would not have been in a position to make this ruling. I do not believe my fellow conservatives really want to give Cruz Bustamante the chance to pack our California courts with his far-left trial lawyer buddies.

When discussing this entire matter with fellow starboard-leaning friends, I’ve often been told, “vote your conscience”. Always good advice, and that is exactly what I intend to do.

The conscience of this conservative will not allow me to do anything that might help elect the most liberal Governor in California history.  It will not allow me to play the role that Perot voters did nationally in 1992.  Nor will it allow me to play the role that Nader voters did in Florida in 2000, and, by wasting my vote, put into office a man whose philosophy I find dangerous and detestable. The idea of Cruz Bustamante in the Governor’s office is, well, unconscionable. 

So my vote goes to Schwarzenegger. I continue to be a man of the Right, who is convinced that on this issue, he is also in the right.

Back to Today's News

Calnews.com News/Politics/and More