1115.org

Back when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger began his drive to push through a special election, he did it quite literally by putting a big sign on the front of his Hummer that read “Reform 1″ in gigantic letters. It was a good photo-op, and a continuation of the reform theme he beat like a drum throughout his gubernatorial campaign. It was Arnold the outsider, Arnold the renegade, Arnold the anti-politician that was going to crush the stagnant California legislature like an empty beer can. And, on top of the expected “I’ll be back” and “girly men” riffs, he had great soundbites:

When he appeared on Hardball With Chris Matthews in mid-March, the governor said that the hardest part of his job was “never becoming a politician. So, don’t ask me what it is like to be a politician, because I have never been a politician and never will be a politician.”

It’s been less than six months since that quote, and the Governor’s so-called “year of reform” has since revealed example after example of ethical controversies, influence peddling and conflicts-of-interest; instead of being the sunshine-and-light reformer he campaigned as, he has instead continually balanced himself on the edge of propriety in a way that would make Tom DeLay green with envy. At the risk of forgetting one or two of the controversies that have surrounded Schwarzenegger since “Reform 1″ drove in front of the media’s cameras, here are some of the (recent) highlights:

• First of all, there’s the issue of the Governor’s continual out-of-state fundraising, where Schwarzenegger has literally spent months away form the state he’s supposed to, you know, govern. This has raised numerous questions about the influence that out-of-state donors have on California’s politics, questions that weren’t answered during Arnold’s recent $25,000-per-person fundraising barbecue with New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester, who gave Arnold more than $20,000 (and coincidentally owns an insurance company that would be directly affected by pending California legislation.)

• Then there’s the continual bashing of nurses and teachers as “special interest groups” while accepting huge contributions from donors such as insurance companies, indian casinos and the energy industry.

• It was also revealed that Schwarzenegger took advantage of a loophole to collect rent from his own political action committees.

• For a photo-op to frame the governor’s increased spending for transportation projects, he had road crews rip up a perfectly good street in San Jose just so he could fill it back in, a stunt that was, in part, paid for by taxpayers.

• Perhaps most famously, it was learned that Schwarzenegger’s “side job” working for two fitness magazines came with an undisclosed multi-million dollar paycheck that was tied directly to advertising revenue. This is important because of Schwarzenegger’s veto of legislation that would put restrictions on some of the magazines’ biggest advertisers, the supplement industry. Furthermore, the magazines’ publisher paid a woman $20,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair that she had with Schwarzenegger.

The newest Schwarzenegger story is sure to add fuel to what is already a pretty extensive fire. The LA Times reports that Schwarzenegger is receiving millions of dollars from non-profit groups that are no more than puppets of big business interests.

The groups are run by Schwarzenegger’s closest political allies, who also represent some of California’s biggest interest groups. Unlike the governor’s many campaign funds, the nonprofits are not required to disclose their contributors and can accept unlimited amounts.

One group controlled by a powerful corporate consultant pays the $6,000-a-month rent on a Sacramento hotel suite used by the governor, who is a multimillionaire. Others have funded media events and political rallies featuring Schwarzenegger and helped pay for his foreign travel. So far, five tax-exempt groups aiding Schwarzenegger have collected $3 million.

Other elected officials also raise money through nonprofit groups. But Schwarzenegger campaigned on creating an open government answerable to the public. His use of the nonprofit groups has the opposite effect, ethics watchdogs said.

…

Catholic Healthcare West, a group of 40 hospitals in California and the Southwest, also gave $100,000 to the jobs commission. Last year, Schwarzenegger issued an emergency order to relax nurse-patient ratios at hospitals — a move meant to reduce the financial burden on a hospital industry facing a nursing shortage.

The move set off a political maelstrom for the governor, led by a nurses union that favors more nurses in emergency rooms and certain other hospital wards. The California Nurses Assn. sued to reverse the governor’s order and won. The court ruled that Schwarzenegger had overstepped his authority as governor.

In another case, last September, Schwarzenegger’s aides said the governor would not accept contributions from Pacific Gas & Electric and other utilities — to avoid any appearance of conflict as he drafted a state energy policy. But the jobs commission took a $100,000 donation from PG&E a month later. The commission also received $100,000 from Southern California Edison.

…

The California Political Reform Act requires charitable donations over $5,000 made at the “behest” of elected officials to be publicly disclosed within 30 days. Schwarzenegger has filed no such reports, according to the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

For a man who has draped himself in the reform mantle like few politicians have, Schwarzenegger’s so-called reforms seem to revolve mostly around helping contributers and special interests instead of average Californians. And the average Californians are noticing—in recent polls, the governor’s approval rates have fallen below 40% and none of his special election initiatives have earned even a majority of support from voters. Even more shocking, a recent online poll showed that 67% of voters would have kept Gray Davis in office if they had the chance to turn back time and vote again. It’s a bleak situation, especially for a politician who looked untouchable even a year ago. Schwarzenegger’s spokespeople have, at least publicly, remained confident that Arnold can turn the tide:

“I don’t put any stock in any of this,” said Todd Harris, a campaign spokesman for Schwarzenegger, regarding the policy institute’s poll. “Right now, the public is only hearing one voice on TV, which is the voice of the special interests who are opposed to the governor’s reforms.”

Karen Hanretty, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, said the numbers reflect that “this election will hinge on turnout. And I feel very confident that the California Republican Party has a strong ground operation to turn out voters for the special election.”

Even a damaged Schwarzenegger is a dangerous opponent, what with his overflowing war chest, overwhelming name recognition and movie-star mystique. And while I fully expect to see Arnold regain some ground once he turns on the advertising spigot, People like Harris and Hanretty need to realize that, in a noticeably Democratic state like California, Arnold’s tenure as governor came about in large part because of promises he has since abandoned, promises like bipartisanship and staying free from the influence of special interests. While the Republican base might buy into it, simply catering to the Republican base will not win anyone statewide elections in California; the independants and Democrats that decided to give Schwarzenegger the nod over the milquetoast Davis have a right to feel betrayed by Arnold’s actions. Case in point: for months there have been numerous stories about the governor’s fundraising practices, which always seem to involve the special interests that he’s supposedly an enemy of. Such stories have surely contributed to the low polling numbers and the feeling that Schwarzenegger isn’t a man of his word. Yet Arnold continues to travel the country, collecting money from outside donors to force through initiatives that most voters don’t want; if a donor wanted to sit in the governor’s VIP box (which was gifted by the mortgage company Ameriquest, another Schwarzenegger contributor) during a recent Rolling Stones concert in Boston, it would only cost him a cool $100,000…and no, that is not a typo.

This isn’t the type of conduct that many Californian voters signed on for. It’s certainly not what his Democratic supporters expected, though maybe they should have. Like any actor, Arnold is good with a script and a role to play, but when it comes down to it he’s just as much of a politician as anyone, an outsider no more.