San
Francisco
(Reuters):
A
California
Republican
will
no
longer
use
a
campaign
fund-raising
letter
penned
by
Mel
Gibson
following
the
actor's
anti-Semitic
outburst
during
a
traffic
stop,
the
candidate's
spokesman
said.
State
Sen.
Tom
McClintock,
Republican
candidate
for
lieutenant
governor,
will
stop
mailing
the
letter
in
light
of
Gibson's
comments
after
being
pulled
over
for
speeding
last
month,
spokesman
Stan
Devereux
said
yesterday.
Gibson
has
since
been
charged
with
drunk
driving
amid
speculation
his
rant
about
Jews
causing
wars
could
affect
his
popularity
and
Hollywood
career.
Gibson
has
apologized
and
entered
an
alcohol
treatment
program.
''Tom
was
disillusioned
by
the
Gibson
incident
and
his
comments
and
basically
directed
the
campaign
not
to
utilize
that
letter,''
Devereux
said.
California
Democratic
Party
Chairman
Art
Torres
issued
a
statement
saying
McClintock
should
return
the
funds
raised
by
the
letter.
''If
McClintock
wants
his
rejection
of
Gibson's
support
to
be
more
than
an
empty
gesture,
he
needs
to
return
the
money
raised
by
the
letter.
Anything
less
is
unacceptable,''
he
said.
Republican
political
consultant
Karen
Hanretty
said
McClintock's
Democratic
challenger
and
state
Insurance
Commissioner
John
Garamendi
should
not
make
an
issue
of
the
Gibson
letter.
''It's
not
unusual
for
politicians
to
be
endorsed
by
entertainers
who
have
problems
in
their
past,''
Hanretty
said.
The
entertainment
industry
has
long
played
a
role
in
California
politics,
providing
campaign
funds,
activists,
candidates
and
office-holders,
including
current
Republican
Gov.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
and
former
Republican
governor
and
US
President
Ronald
Reagan.
Prominent
Hollywood
Democrats
who
have
mulled
bids
for
the
governor's
office
to
unseat
Schwarzenegger
include
actors
Warren
Beatty
and
Rob
Reiner.