The California Republican Party’s fall convention had former Governor Pete Wilson urging his fellow Republicans to fight the recall drive against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In his lunchtime speech to about 250 delegates, Wilson did not directly address the rift between Schwarzenegger and others in his party. He told delegates that the threat from the state prison guards union should be taken seriously.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association filed formal notice this month of its effort to recall Schwarzenegger. The union criticized Schwarzenegger for his “catastrophic leadership failings and inept management” from the time he took office.

Schwarzenegger, who has not taken money from the prison guards, has called its recall drive a political ploy with the motive of pressuring him to give in to the union’s demands during contract negotiations – noting that the guards union has been without a contract for two years.

The most conservative members of the party have dodged a politically divisive decision about whether to endorse a recall campaign against Schwarzenegger. The California Republican Assembly - a right-wing branch of the statewide party - voted for further investigation of the recall effort.

Karen England, the group’s vice president, says that though she does not like Schwarzenegger’s supposedly liberal stands, she is wary of getting involved with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association without enough knowledge on the matter.

Though the socially moderate Schwarzenegger has never been popular with the most conservative Republicans, the equation became worse this summer after he proposed a temporary increase in the state’s sales tax to help close a $15.2 billion deficit. The tax plan was criticized by Wilson, as well as the Republicans in the Legislature who successfully fought the effort.

California Republican Assembly president, Mike Spence, said that frustration with Schwarzenegger within the party’s base was widespread. Pointing to the budget deficits that continue to plague the state, Spence added: “That’s partly because he has failed to implement many of the government reforms he promised when taking office.”