This came in yesterday from MoveOn.org:

***In front of a national audience last night, Arianna Huffington outlined the dramatically simple reality facing Californians: if you don't vote against the recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger will become governor. Today we're passing along a letter from her explaining why she dropped out of the race and is working to defeat the recall. Please get the word out that a vote for the recall is a vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger: FORWARD THIS EMAIL to friends, coworkers and family.

Dear Friend,

Last night I withdrew my candidacy from the recall race and today I am writing to sound an alarm about what is at stake in this election. I am devoting all my time and energy in these remaining six days to defeating the recall -- and to defeating the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Pete Wilson forces that are trying to use the recall to hijack our state. Please help me do that by forwarding this message.

I have signed MoveOn's "Recall No, Democracy Yes" pledge and I urge you to do the same. More than 260,000 people have pledged to do something -- such as forwarding this email! -- in these last days to defeat the recall and stop Arnold Schwarzenegger. Click here to sign the pledge:

http://moveon.org/pac/recall/

From the beginning of my campaign I have said that I opposed the recall on principle. It was backed by a bunch of Republican sore losers looking for a backdoor way to overturn an election they lost. Nevertheless, once the recall was set, I felt that the opportunity it offered to elect a truly independent and progressive governor was too important to let pass. And so I entered the race.

Here's the rest of the email message:

Now that it's clear that's not going to happen, my highest priority is to issue a wake up call and bring a sense of urgency to what is at stake. The people of California simply cannot afford to have Arnold Schwarzenegger as their governor.

In 2000, we were taken in by a charming, affable man who promised us compassion but gave us war in Iraq, a soaring deficit, millions of lost jobs, two million more people living in poverty, and the rollback of vital environmental protections. I look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, and see more of the same. We don't need another figurehead for all the usual Republican special interests. Let's not be fooled again.

When this race started, Arnold Schwarzenegger was an unknown quantity. And a week before the election there is still far too much we don't know about him.

If, as he says, he is going to balance the budget but raise no taxes, shouldn't he have to tell us -- before the election, not after -- precisely what vital programs and services he proposes to cut to make that happen -- and precisely who is going to feel the pain of those cuts?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has spent millions of dollars crafting and selling a political persona that is completely contradicted by reality:

• He promised to take no special interest money, but then turned around and raised millions from special interests for his campaign.
• He painted himself as an outsider, but then surrounded himself with Pete Wilson operatives and a Who's Who of GOP insiders.

• He went on Oprah to appeal to women, but didn't include a single woman on his team of economic advisors. In a state where there are tens of thousands of women in positions of power, including both U.S. Senators, there was not even one woman who he thought worthy of adding to the mix?

• A vote for the recall is a vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger. We must not vote for a fantasy leader and end up with a nightmare: a Bush Republican who thinks the answer to all of California's problems can be found in making life even easier for businesses and giant corporations.

We can defeat the recall. But what will it take? It will take forwarding this email to all your friends, and picking up the phone and talking to those friends who might need your encouragement to vote, or who might need to hear more about what's at stake from you before they make up their mind. There are already 260,000 of us working against the recall in these simple ways. Sign the "Recall No, Democracy Yes" pledge to join us:

http://moveon.org/pac/recall/

Sincerely,

-- Arianna Huffington
October 1st, 2003

If you forward this email to others, please be sensitive that you are sending to friends or colleagues who want to hear from you on this. Spam hurts our campaign.