Schwarzenegger is Left With Defending Dirty Money and Issuing Dirtball Attacks on Angelides Through His Operatives
By Frank D. Russo
Yesterday, Phil Angelides came out forcefully and
forthrightly for campaign finance reform. Along with
Assemblymember Loni Hancock who broke her pick the last two
years trying to get her clean money measure, AB 583 through
the state legislature, he appeared before the California
Nurses Association and stated:
"I've thought a lot about this initiative, and
it’s the right thing for California..
It’s time in California to return to
true democracy, where the power of a
person’s beliefs again reigns
supreme...Prop. 89 is the best shot we have at doing that.
So I’m going to fight hard for this
with each and every one of you.
The special interests - big oil companies, drug companies,
insurance companies, HMOs - spend millions of dollars
hoping to earn special favors like tax breaks and corporate
tax loopholes. It has become a dialing-for-dollars
democracy, with the unjust influence of these special
interests silencing the voices of Californians. The people
of California deserve a state government worthy of their
trust, one that hears the voices and attends to the needs
of hard-working families, not the special interests."
Phil was eloquent and spoke from the heart. He spoke of his
college years, what got him into politics, and even his
Greek heritage, saying “Greeks are in
favor of democracy†to a few chuckles. He said
“When I was a college student, I got
involved in politics at a time when what mattered most was
your energy and your enthusiasm, not the size of your bank
account.â€
His statement, delivered without notes, and his answers to
reporters and others questions, brought about a warm
feeling in the room. He drew strength from the hugs he
received from Deborah Burger, the President of the nurses
and Loni Hancock who has championed this issue.
Rose Ann DeMoro, the Director of the nurses association,
who was sitting in the audience rose from her chair, and
told Angelides she was proud because
“You dared to stick your head above the
crowd.†She warned that
“The entrenched special interests who
are against this like the status quo and they fear
change.â€
Well it didn’t take long after the glow
of the event for the Governor, hiding behind his surrogates
to begin the counter attack. Matt David,
Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson, said
“This was absolutely a publicity stunt.
Phil Angelides has no standing when it comes to campaign
finance reform.†Other more unkind words have
been uttered about this.
The problem isâ€"that Arnold Schwarzenegger has
no record when it comes to campaign finance reform. While
it is easy to take jabs at any candidate who has lived in
the real world of politics where money must be raised,
“the mother’s milk
of politics,†as former Assembly Speaker Jesse
Unruh called it, that doesn’t take away
from the need to reform the system. Also, while it is easy
to find fault with any proposal that tries to deal with
this area of reform, one has to askâ€"What is
your proposal? The Governor has none.
Speak Governor, speak. Let’s hear from
youâ€"not your handlers and spokespeople. When
you were at the Commonwealth Club last month and asked
about this, you said you hadn’t read
the ballot initiative and usually
didn’t take positions on ballot items
until later. You never took a position on AB 583. You
haven’t crafted your own solution. You
are left defending the status quo.
Not a great position to be in from someone who ran in the
recall saying “I will go to Sacramento
and I will clean house. I don’t have to
take money from anybody. I have plenty of
money.†After that pledge you have raised a
record of $94 million in campaign contributions. No wonder
you are not speaking on this publicly yourself.
By the way, that comment of your guy, Matt David, about
“publicity stunts,†this is
the headline and story you got in the press yesterday while
Phil was discussing the substance of reform in this
areaâ€
See the article on California Progress Report website