Fiery
debate ignites Sac State
By
Tom Hall
State Hornet
Sacramento
-- Arianna Huffington makes a point during
the California Governor's recall debate
Wednesday, Sept. 24 2003 at the University
Ballroom on the campus of Sacramento State.
The
world watched tonight as a fiery debate
lit Sacramento State ablaze.
The
five primary recall candidates in contention
to replace Gov. Gray Davis squared off on
topics from balanced budgets to the car
tax to charter schools at a debate held
in the University Union Ballroom. The debaters
-- Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, state Sen.
Tom McClintock, Peter Camejo, Arianna Huffington
and Arnold Schwarzenegger -- battled for
90 minutes in front of an international
audience.
More
than 500 credentialed press members attended
the event, which ran live in England, Japan
and across the United States.
Huffington
and Schwarzenegger exchanged several personal
attacks in the early-going as moderator
and California Broadcasters Association
President Stan Statham tried to wrangle
the candidates in.
"I
could drive my Hummer through your tax loopholes,"
Schwarzenegger said to Huffington following
the a discussion on corporate tax loophole.
Following
a Schwarzenegger interruption of Huffington,
the leading female candidate blasted back.
"We
all know how you treat women," Huffington
said.
The
longest argument among the candidates stemmed
from a question about balancing the state
budget.
"We're
not suffering from a revenue problem,"
McClintock said. "There's been a 38
percent increase in state spending."
Green Party candidate Camejo blamed the
problem on unfair taxation. "We need
to tax everyone at the same rate,"
Camejo said.
Bustamante
outlined his "Tough Love for California"
fiscal plan. "We spent too much, and
it's time to do the tough things: Tobacco
taxes and alcohol taxes," Bustamante
said.
Huffington
said that Bustamante wanted "tough
love" for everyone but campaign contributors.
Schwarzenegger
was skeptical of the plan, as well.
"They
realize they made a mistake, then they tax,
tax, tax," Schwarzenegger said of the
handling of California's budget. More than
100 students attended the debate live. Several
California State University trustees also
attended as invitees of Sac State President
Alexander Gonzalez.
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