Campaign Advertisements Address Health Care
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday launched two new campaign advertisements that address health care after the sole gubernatorial debate of the campaign was held on Saturday, the Oakland Tribune reports (Richman, Oakland Tribune, 10/10).
One television ad addresses the state's economic condition and says that Schwarzenegger will work to provide "solutions for affordable health care" (Blood, AP/Los Angeles Daily News, 10/9).
The other ad states that Democratic gubernatorial nominee has taken inconsistent positions on health care and alleges that one of Angelides' projects as a private real estate developer resulted in environmental damage (Oakland Tribune, 10/10).
Angelides on Monday was scheduled to begin airing on television an ad that highlights his biography (AP/Los Angeles Daily News, 10/9).
In Merced on Sunday, Angelides said he would be an advocate for the middle class if he is elected, adding that he would reduce taxes for families with annual incomes of less than $100,000, roll back college tuition and increase regulations for HMOs. He also said he would work to improve the air quality of the San Joaquin Valley, which has a high asthma rate (Yawger, Merced Sun-Star, 10/9).
Angelides in Fresno on Sunday said Schwarzenegger is responsible for rising health care and gasoline costs, adding that the governor "won't lift a finger for the middle class" (Eberly, Fresno Bee, 10/9). At another campaign stop, Angelides accused Schwarzenegger of helping special interests like HMOs and pharmaceutical companies rather than California residents (Loyd, Bakersfield Californian, 10/8).
Schwarzenegger spokesperson Matt David said it is "hypocritical" for Angelides "to talk about the middle class when he's the only candidate in this election who has supported middle-class tax increases" (Fresno Bee, 10/9).
Schwarzenegger on Sunday toured the Watts community in Los Angeles and said that he and the state "will do everything we can" to keep the troubled Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center open. However, he did not pledge any financial support for the hospital (Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 10/9).
The Los Angeles Times reports "there was wide agreement" that Schwarzenegger "benefited the most" from the debate "largely because nothing occurred to change the essential dynamic of the race."
Some Democrats said that Angelides "failed to achieve the breakthrough he needed ... and expressed fear that his campaign's trajectory threatened others on the statewide ballot," according to the Los Angeles Times (Finnegan/Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 10/9).
According to the Contra Costa Times, Schwarzenegger and Angelides have "proved to be relatively close on ... major policy issues," such as prescription drugs, global warming and infrastructure investments. Both candidates support abortion rights, but Schwarzenegger has said he supports a measure on the November statewide ballot -- Proposition 85 -- that would require parental notification before a minor could receive an abortion (Harmon, Contra Costa Times, 10/8).
Both candidates also have pledged to ask for federal help in improving conditions along the Mexican border and receiving reimbursements for costs associated with undocumented immigrants. According to immigration reform groups, undocumented immigrants cost the state $10 billion annually in health, education and law enforcement funds (Marosi, Los Angeles Times, 10/7).
The candidates also "have fundamentally different outlooks on economic policy," the Contra Costa Times reports (Contra Costa Times, 10/8).
Summaries of an editorial and opinion piece about the gubernatorial election appear below.
- Daniel Weintraub, Sacramento Bee: "Much has been made about [Schwarzenegger's] leftward lean in this election year," Bee columnist Weintraub writes. However, "the new Schwarzenegger seems to be pretty much like the old one: anti-tax, anti-fee, in favor of environmental protections that he thinks will not hurt the economy, against a major government role in health care and a supporter of gay rights short of the right to marry," according to Weintraub (Weintraub, Sacramento Bee, 10/9).
- San Diego Union-Tribune: "Even if one buys the very dubious idea that the $5 billion tax hike that Angelides wants to impose on the wealthy and on corporations wouldn't hurt the economy, the new revenue would quickly be eaten up by all the new spending he's endorsed -- starting with $3 billion more for schools and a shift to government-run health care," a Union-Tribune editorial states (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/9).