Redefining "Pay for Play"

It's sad how many people (myself included) were willing to buy into the Governator's populist and socially liberal campaign rhetoric. His election had an inevitability about it from the start, so at least he looked a hell of a lot better than the current crop of neo-fascists in Washington. Wrong. So these days, having learned that he's just as much of a fraud as the president, nothing comes as a surprise. Last week it was Hollywood-style product placement in his political ads. This week, it's the revelation that big donors were given access to a direct phone line into his office.

The good news is that-- unlikethe White House press corps-- the LA Times reporters are doing their job. And on top of the access scheme, stumble across a plan to manipulate the public into turning against such ruthless, evil bastards as... public school teachers. From the story:

Top contributors to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have been rewarded with a private telephone number that gives them access to his closest advisers — and even to the governor himself.

The Los Angeles Times on Sunday reported that major donors are invited twice a month to participate in conference calls featuring information about the governor's campaign strategy. In turn, donors who dial in can give the governor or his advisers advice.

The Times said it was given access to the conference call Thursday by a participant. The newspaper did not identify that person.

In the half-hour call, Schwarzenegger media strategist Don Sipple outlined a plan to create a "phenomenon of anger" to turn voters against public employee unions that have been among the governor's harshest critics, the newspaper said.