SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The much-ballyhooed recall campaign in California is about a governor who is perceived to have made a mess of the state's economy.

But for many Californians as well as Catholic observers nationwide, it's also about the moral and cultural values being forced on the country's most-populous state.

A case in point is the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003, which expands the rights of homosexual partners living together.

The bill passed in the state Senate on Aug. 28, and Gov. Gray Davis, the subject of the recall campaign, has promised to sign it (see story, Page 2).

For many, that support ignores the will of 61% of California voters who approved Proposition 22, the Defense of Marriage Initiative, three years ago.

Davis is a Catholic. And because he's taken positions diametrically opposed to the moral law as taught by his Church, particularly in regard to the sanctity of human life and marriage, Bishop William Weigand of Sacramento has asked him to refrain from receiving Communion until he has a change of heart. Some even question Davis’ right to call himself Catholic.

The Democratic governor's approval rating in early September was scarcely above 20%. Mismanagement of the state's power crisis two years ago earned him the ire of many Californians, and when the budget surplus he inherited turned into a $38 billion deficit, many residents had had enough.

More than a million people, including many Democrats, signed the recall petition. When voters go to the polls Oct. 7, Davis, less than a year into his second term, could be the first California governor ever recalled by the people.

But the question being asked by people who care about moral issues as much as economic ones is this: If Davis is recalled, will his replacement be any better?

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and the Democratic lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante Jr., are self-identified “pro-choice Catholics.” Both have indicated support for same-sex domestic partnerships, even if they have stopped short of endorsing homosexual marriage outright.

William Simon Jr., the Republican businessman who narrowly lost to Davis in last year's election, bowed out of the recall race Aug. 23. A Catholic, Simon supported the Church's social teaching on issues such as abortion and same-sex unions, and his departure leaves just a few candidates who support such positions in the public square. One is a Catholic, Democrat Daniel Ramirez; the other a Baptist, Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock.

McClintock is the better known of the two and has a greater shot at winning.

“It seems ironic, but the person [in this race] closest to the teachings of the Catholic faith is Tom McClintock,” said Dan Brennan, who served as Simon's director of Coalitions and Catholic Outreach during last year's gubernatorial race.

“Sen. McClintock is the only [high-profile] socially conservative candidate left in the race,” said John Stoos, McClintock's campaign manager. “He has a 100% pro-life voting record, and he supported [the defense of marriage] Proposition 22.”

Spokesmen for Bustamante and Schwarzenegger declined to answer the Register's requests for clarification of their candidate's positions on social issues of concern to Catholics. Davis has made his position very clear many times throughout the years.

According to Brennan, “Davis is not just pro-choice, he is very pro-abortion.” He added that Bustamante is a member of the “American Life League's ‘deadly dozen’ in California.” That means he's one of the most pro-abortion politicians in the state, in the American Life League's estimation.

“Arnold is the antithesis of what a Catholic politician should be,” said Brennan, citing Schwarzenegger's stands on abortion and same-sex domestic partnerships, as well as a recently resurfaced interview the actor gave more than 20 years ago to Oui, a now-defunct pornographic magazine. Schwarzenegger gave details of his drug use and bragged of his sexual exploits.

“You would expect some sense of shame and a message that ‘I am a changed man,’” Brennan said, noting that such an attitude was not forthcoming.

He added that while the Austrian-born actor at age 29 was doing drugs and engaging in risquÉ activities at a local gym, McClintock was “serving honorably,” having been elected to the State Assembly at the age of 26.

Joe Cella, executive director of the Ave Maria List, the first and only Catholic political action committee that works to elect pro-life, pro-Catholic-values candidates to national office, said Catholics should feel entitled to hold Catholic politicians responsible for their non-adherence to Church teaching.

While his organization takes no position on state races, Cella thinks Catholics should not hesitate to vote Yes on the recall of Davis.

In January, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that Catholic politicians must follow Church teaching, especially with regard to abortion and issues affecting families.

“When political activity comes up against moral principles that do not admit of exception, compromise or derogation, the Catholic commitment becomes more evident and laden with responsibility,” the document stated. “In the face of fundamental and inalienable ethical demands, Christians must recognize that what is at stake is the essence of the moral law, which concerns the integral good of the human person.”

Shifting Polls

Given the anti-Davis fever sweeping the state, many conservative pundits have suggested that voting for Schwarzenegger is preferable to letting the far more radical Davis — or his lieutenant, Bustamante — win. McClintock has been written off by some as a dark horse and even a spoiler whose candidacy might throw the race to Bustamante.

“An election like this can turn on a dime,” Brennan said. “I saw a 40-point swing from [former Los Angeles mayor] Richard Riordan to Bill Simon in the last [primary] election for governor.”

“McClintock is in the hunt, and Arnold's numbers can only go down,” Brennan said.

“Tom was the top Republican vote-getter [for statewide office] in the last election,” said McClintock campaign manager Stoos. McClintock lost the election for controller by about half a percentage point.

According to Stoos, the McClintock campaign's polling indicates a three-way race between Bustamante, Schwarzenegger and McClintock. “We are within the margin of error,” he said. In this race, “It's one conservative and three liberals.”

Stoos also pointed out that McClintock has a popular appeal and is not the typical “country-club Republican.”

McClintock wants to rescind the wildly unpopular tripling of the vehicle registration fee in California, reform workman's compensation and take the legal steps needed to throw out the high-costing energy contracts Davis signed during the energy crisis.

“He is looking out for the little guy,” Stoos said.

Some have joined the recall effort with prayer. Msgr. Edward Kavanagh of St. Rose Parish in Sacramento gained nationwide attention when he refused to allow Davis onto Church property for a photo op. He said the pro-abortion Catholics in the race were providing a “lame excuse” by claiming to be personally opposed to abortion and said he believes McClintock is indeed pro-life.

Msgr. Kavanagh told the Register that his parish “is praying our Masses that we elect a pro-life governor.”

“We are not afraid,” he said, “to take a stand.”

Andrew Walther writes from Los Angeles.