http://ArnoldWatch.org Weblog February 20, 2004 11:30 am
Arnold's $100,000 per day habit & 1% Rebate
by Jamie Court
As the 100th day of the Arnold Administration approaches next
Tuesday, campaign finance reports show the Governor who said he
didn't need anyone else's money will have raised more than $100,000
per day for every day he has been in office -- ten million dollars
total.
On Day 100, Arnold won't be in California but high above Central Park
in the residence of Robert Wood Johnson IV raising as much as
$500,000, from New Yorkers who likely have a special interest in
buying and marketing a piece of California, or at least its $15
billion debt.
The governor, who ran on a platform of sunshine in government, owes
the public a guest list for the 100th day dinner at One Central Park
West. That would be a better return policy for the public than
Schwarzeneggerís recent return of a $100,000 contribution to an oil
distributor who Arnold purportedly perceived as too pushy about his
policy desires at a recent Sacramento fundraiser. Arnold's clearly
concerned that his prolific fundraising has too high a profile, but a
1% rebate on his $100,000 per day habit is a little like Caligula
turning away a virgin at the doors to the orgy.
The Gov. is desperately trying to show that there is no relationship
between his fundraising and his pending policy decisions, but tell
that to the more experienced kahunas in Arnold's $100K club like
Pfizer, Inc. which paid for its membership yesterday. That's the
same day the pharmaceutical giant announced that it would stop
selling its drugs to online Canadian pharmacies that re-import to
America; and of course Pfizer is also against two recently introduced
bills, one by Senate Leader John Burton, that would allow
Californians to re-import drugs from Canada.
Shouldn't Pfizer's 1% be returned, too? The company could use that
cash to pay its share of the $1.3 billion that the pharmaceutical
industry owes the state, according to a recent Bush administration
audit of Californiaís Medi-Cal program. The "Collectinator" has yet
to even ask Pfizer for that check.
