LOS ANGELES -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger launched his first attack on Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante on Monday, and specifically urged other GOP candidates to drop out of the race because it would "be better for the party."

Taking to the airwaves for the first time on two conservative talk-radio shows that have become staples on the GOP campaign trail, Schwarzenegger linked Bustamante to Gov. Gray Davis, a fellow Democrat, and criticized his $8 billion tax increase proposal.

"He came out right away with an increase of $8 billion in taxes," Schwarzenegger said on former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock's show. "He is here to punish the people."
Richie Ross, Bustamante's campaign strategist, said the tax would apply to the state's highest income earners and to those buying cigarettes and alcohol.

"Cruz did propose raising taxes on people with 11 bathrooms, like Mr. Schwarzenegger," he said.

Schwarzenegger said California voters must "realize when you think about Gray Davis, you have to also think at the same time of Bustamante because it is one team."

He said Bustamante couldn't say he had nothing to do with Davis' decisions because "they are both together."

Quoting from a description a Republican consultant gave to a newspaper, Schwarzenegger said the lieutenant governor is "Gray Davis with a receding hairline and a moustache."

Ross said the lieutenant governor agreed with Davis on abortion and the environment but differed with him on several other issues.

"Does Arnold Schwarzenegger agree with (campaign chairman and former Gov.) Pete Wilson or (investor and economic adviser) Warren Buffett on every issue?" Ross said. "If not, then he has to give the same respect to Cruz Bustamante."

Bustamante is the only prominent Democrat on the Oct. 7 ballot to replace the governor if voters recall Davis. The lieutenant governor's motto is "vote no on the recall and yes on Bustamante."

In his first major news conference on Wednesday, Schwarzenegger told reporters he wouldn't criticize his opponents on the replacement ballot.

But that was before the Los Angeles Times poll released Sunday showed Bustamante leading the pack, with 35 percent of those surveyed supporting him. Schwarzenegger drew support from 22 percent.

Other polls, conducted previously, had the two in a statistical tie.

Sean Walsh, Schwarzenegger's spokesman, said the candidate was criticizing Bustamante now because "the polls are showing more and more that it is a two-person race. People are starting to focus on who is going to be there at the end."

Schwarzenegger, who also linked Bustamante to Davis while appearing on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, said the two accepted "special-interest contributions" and were both to blame for "the mess" in the state.

"I am going up to Sacramento as an independent," he said. "I am not indebted to anyone because I don't accept contributions from the special interests that Gray Davis and Cruz Bustamante do."

Schwarzenegger also urged the two other prominent Republican candidates in the race, state Sen. Tom McClintock and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, to drop out of the race.

"It is something they have to decide for themselves," he said. "It would definitely be better for the party and it would be a better chance to win because those votes would come to me and they would help."

Schwarzenegger said he had talked to Pacific Palisades investor Bill Simon after the Republican candidate announced Saturday that he was dropping out of the race. Simon didn't endorse anyone.

Schwarzenegger said he asked for Simon's support and hopes to renew their conversation when Simon returns from a vacation.

But McClintock and Ueberroth said they would not drop out of the race.

McClintock, appearing on Hedgecock's radio show before Schwarzenegger did, said he's hoping to pick up support from those who had backed Simon before he dropped out of the race.

He said he hadn't sought Simon's endorsement but he shared "very similar views" with the former candidate.

"If they (Simon's supporters) rally to me, we will be in a statistical dead heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the next poll," he said.

He based that claim on the Times poll released Sunday. While Schwarzenegger garnered support from 22 percent of those surveyed, McClintock had the support of 12 percent and Simon had the support of 6 percent.

McClintock said Schwarzenegger may have hit his peak "when he entered the race. We haven't seen any signs of improvement ... in the polls." He also said he was "disturbed" by Schwarzenegger's unwillingness to pledge not to raise taxes.

He said Schwarzenegger's opposition to tax increases, except in cases of emergency, is the same position Wilson took when he ran for governor.

"Of course, the first thing he did in office is enact that massive tax increase that broke the back of California's economy," McClintock said.

Schwarzenegger has hired many of the same members of the Wilson team that led him to four statewide election wins.