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Bustamante, others balk over debate format

Only debate Schwarzenegger set to join

California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses his campaign with CNN talk show host Larry King.
California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses his campaign with CNN talk show host Larry King.

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SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- A flap over the rules for next week's scheduled gubernatorial recall debate nearly overshadowed Thursday's unveiling of Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for reforming the political culture in Sacramento.

Two of the leading candidates in the California recall race agreed Thursday not to participate in the debate unless the sponsor changes the format, which gives candidates the questions in advance, campaign officials said.

Next Wednesday's event, sponsored by the California Broadcasters Association, is the only candidates' forum that Schwarzenegger has agreed to attend.

The two candidates -- Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and GOP state Sen. Tom McClintock -- have said they will not participate in the forum if changes aren't made, and they challenged Schwarzenegger to join them. His campaign was noncommittal.

Two others -- media pundit Arianna Huffington, an independent, and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo -- were discussing the debate flap with Bustamante and McClintock, but neither has so far committed to joining a boycott threat.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis appeared with civil rights activist Jesse Jackson at a community college in Los Angeles Thursday, trying to rally minority support against the recall that threatens to cut short his political future.

Jackson charged the recall is being pushed by "same forces" that fought against black voting rights in the 1960s, sought to "demean" former President Bill Clinton and helped put President Bush in office after the 2000 Florida election dispute.

He accused those forces of trying to "torpedo the ship of democracy."

"One of the tenets of democracy is stability and predictability," Jackson said. "One governor's race every four years is enough."

Davis said polls showed support for the recall waning and predicted that he would be able to survive.

"It looks like the more time people have, the more they think it's not a good idea," he said.

In Sacramento, Schwarzenegger held a press conference to unveil his proposal for government reform, including a ban on fund raising by legislators while the state budget is being debated.

Schwarzenegger also wants to require reporting of campaign contributions on the Internet within 24 hours, and he proposed making "willful" violations of campaign finance laws a felony.

He also pledged that as governor he would not sign bills rushed through the legislature at the last minute without a "full and fair" public hearing.

"The people of this state do not trust their government," he said. "They feel it is corrupted by dirty money, closed doors and backroom dealings."

"They see the contributions go in, favors go out, and the people are punished with wasteful spending and high taxes."

Reporters peppered Schwarzenegger with questions about the debate flap, which started Wednesday night when Bustamante challenged the other candidates to boycott the CBA debate.

"I'm looking forward to the debate next week," Schwarzenegger said. "I'm ready for it, and I have some nice surprises for that debate."

Earlier, the other four candidates agreed in a conference call to send a letter to the CBA demanding changes in the debate's format, according to officials from the McClintock and Bustamante campaigns.

"We object to the description of this as a debate," Feliz said. "It is a scripted format. ... It is an insult to the people of California. We think Arnold should join us in demanding the change."

CBA spokesman Joe Berry said changing the format is "not up for consideration." The broadcasters' group released the questions for the debate Wednesday.

"Our plan is to go ahead regardless of what happens," Berry said. "Until we see a letter, we can't comment on whether it changes things."

Schwarzenegger's campaign declined to say whether the candidate would sign the letter until it's received.

Spokesman Todd Harris indicated the actor-turned-candidate still planned to attend the CBA forum, which he has described as the "Super Bowl" of debates.

CNN's Kelly Wallace and Adam Levine contributed to this report.


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