Letter from Ariana Huffington

Posted on October 1, 2003 in Gray Davis Recall

The words of this Greek-American and immigrant have my full support. It’s time to Terminate Schwartzenegger’s candidacy.

Dear Friend,

Last night I withdrew my candidacy from the recall race and today I am
writing to sound an alarm about what is at stake in this election. I am
devoting all my time and energy in these remaining six days to defeating
the recall — and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson
forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state. Please help
me do that by forwarding this message.

I have signed MoveOn’s “Recall No, Democracy Yes” pledge and I urge you to
do the same. More than 260,000 people have pledged to do something — such
as forwarding this email! — in these last days to defeat the recall and
stop Arnold Schwarzenegger.

From the beginning of my campaign I have said that I opposed the recall on principle. It was backed by a bunch of Republican sore losers looking for a backdoor way to overturn an election they lost. Nevertheless, once the recall was set, I felt that the opportunity it offered to elect a truly independent and progressive governor was too important to let pass. And so I entered the race.

Now that it’s clear that’s not going to happen, my highest priority is to
issue a wake up call and bring a sense of urgency to what is at stake. The
people of California simply cannot afford to have Arnold Schwarzenegger as
their governor.

In 2000, we were taken in by a charming, affable man who promised us
compassion but gave us war in Iraq, a soaring deficit, millions of lost
jobs, two million more people living in poverty, and the rollback of vital
environmental protections. I look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, and see more
of the same. We don’t need another figurehead for all the usual
Republican special interests. Let’s not be fooled again.

When this race started, Arnold Schwarzenegger was an unknown quantity.
And a week before the election there is still far too much we don’t know
about him.

If, as he says, he is going to balance the budget but raise no taxes,
shouldn’t he have to tell us — before the election, not after —
precisely what vital programs and services he proposes to cut to make that
happen — and precisely who is going to feel the pain of those cuts?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has spent millions of dollars crafting and selling a
political persona that is completely contradicted by reality:

• He promised to take no special interest money, but then turned around and
  raised millions from special interests for his campaign.

• He painted himself as an outsider, but then surrounded himself with Pete
  Wilson operatives and a Who’s Who of GOP insiders.

• He went on Oprah to appeal to women, but didn’t include a single woman on
  his team of economic advisors. In a state where there are tens of
  thousands of women in positions of power, including both U.S. Senators,
  there was not even one woman who he thought worthy of adding to the mix?

A vote for the recall is a vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger. We must not
vote for a fantasy leader and end up with a nightmare: a Bush Republican
who thinks the answer to all of California’s problems can be found in
making life even easier for businesses and giant corporations.

We can defeat the recall. But what will it take? It will take forwarding
this email to all your friends, and picking up the phone and talking to
those friends who might need your encouragement to vote, or who might need
to hear more about what’s at stake from you before they make up their
mind. There are already 260,000 of us working against the recall in these
simple ways. Sign the “Recall No, Democracy Yes” pledge to join us.

Sincerely,

— Arianna Huffington

October 1st, 2003