Davis Slams Schwarzenegger's Accent
Sunday, September 07, 2003
SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. — California Gov. Gray Davis (search) on Saturday took a dig at Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger (search ), telling one potential voter at a campaign stop that "you shouldn't be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state."
And the Schwarzenegger campaign wants a formal apology.
In his public remarks to about 300 members of the Los Angeles Ironworkers Local 433, Davis suggested Schwarzenegger -- whom he referred to only as "the actor" -- would repeal Davis-backed union gains such as daily overtime pay and family-leave benefits, reported the Sacramento Bee.
"I've signed 300 bills to help working people," Davis said. "These are measures that strengthen your lives. Now my opponent, this actor, says 'I'm not going to ask for support from working people because they are a special interest.' He's got part of it right. You are special, and you have an important and special role to play in our future, and I am proud to stand with you."
Whipped into an anti-Schwarzenegger frenzy at the picnic, one crowd member screamed, "He's a foreigner!" as Davis criticized the Austrian-born Terminator, who hopes to take over his seat in the Oct. 7 recall election.
The man who made the foreigner comment later apologized to Davis for making the remark.
Davis told him not to worry, the Bee reported, and added with a smile, "You shouldn't be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state," in an apparent reference to Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent.
Later at an Asian American rally against the recall in Alhambra, an appointee to the Workforce Investment Board suggested that Schwarzenegger's accent hindered his governing abilities.
"He can't even speak English well. How can he govern the state of California?" Sukhee Kang, who emigrated from South Korea in 1977, asked the crowd before Davis arrived, the Bee reported.
Davis took another opportunity here to bash Schwarzenegger.
"He just fights in movies," Davis said, the Bee reported. "I served in a real war to defend this country and I've worked hard to advance the interests of Asian Pacific Californians."
Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh told the Bee that Davis insulted "millions of Californians" with his comment on Schwarzenegger's accent.
"Gray Davis has made an anti-immigrant slur," he told the newspaper. "He owes an apology to Arnold Schwarzenegger and all immigrants in this state and country. ... This appears to be a pattern by the Democrats to play wedge-issue politics regarding immigrants."
Schwarzenegger spokesman Todd Harris told The Associated Press that Davis should apologize to the candidate and "to every other immigrant who comes to California in pursuit of the American dream."
Davis spokesman Pete Ragone said he did not hear the comment.
"Furthermore, the real question is, is Arnold sorry for the way he's talked about women over the past 20 years? Is Arnold sorry for his support of Prop. 187?" Ragone asked.
Ragone seemed to be referring to the Hollywood actor's racy past that was brought up recently after a 26-year-old magazine interview resurfaced, in which he boasted of his sexual exploits and drug use.
Schwarzenegger, who came to the United States from Austria during the late 1960s, has acknowledged voting for Proposition 187 (search), the 1994 initiative that denied some social services to illegal immigrants but has since been mostly voided by the courts.
The measure was championed by Pete Wilson (search), a Republican who was then governor and is now co-chairman of Schwarzenegger's campaign.
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From another poster:
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How? By killing Asians in Vietnam?"He just fights in movies," Davis said, the Bee reported. "I served in a real war to defend this country and I've worked hard to advance the interests of Asian Pacific Californians."
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