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Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican in California's recall election, will use a debate tonight to portray tribal governments as the "boogeyman" of state politics, The New York Times reports.

Schwarzenegger will make an issue of the money Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D) and state Sen. Tom McClintock (R) have accepted from tribes. It is part of a strategy to highlight the "special interests" that he says have overrun the state capitol.

Tonight's debate is the only one Schwarzenegger has agreed to attend, and an aide said he expects McClintock to " try silly stunts." The questions have already been provided to all the candidates.

The debate follows a commercial Schwarzenegger debuted on Monday that attacks tribal governments for not paying "their fair share" to the state. In the ad, he accuses rivals of pandering to Indian Country. He defended his strong words yesterday amid charges that he was turning the campaign negative, which he said he would not do.

"You cannot represent the people of California if you take money, millions of dollars from the Indians," he said in remarks reported by the Associated Press.

The election will take place October 7 as originally planned. A full panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the date in a decision yesterday.

Ed. Note: Charlie LeDuff, the Times reporter who is covering the recall, is Ojibwe from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe in Michigan.

Get the Story:
Schwarzenegger Learning His Lines, and Others', for Debate (The New York Times 9/24)
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Campaign takes negative turn on eve of TV debate (AP 9/24)
With Two Weeks to Go, Calif. Recall Back On (The Washington Post 9/24)
U.S. Appeals Court Puts Recall in California Back on Schedule (The New York Times 9/24)
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