Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has railed against unspecified “special interests” since entering politics about a year ago. It’s his stock line as governor, just as it was during his campaign.
“I do not have to bow to any special interests,” he said. “I have plenty of money.”
Wealthy or not, the governor can’t seem to scrape enough nickels together to finance a trip to New York and is instead relying on some interests that seem awfully special to pay his way (via Cursor).
The trip to New York by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California to address the Republican National Convention is being financed by a variety of major corporations.
Mr. Schwarzenegger, who is scheduled to speak in a prime-time slot on Tuesday night, came to office promising to rid Sacramento of “special interests.” But he has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from companies and interest groups with business before state government.
Schwarzenegger aides said Wednesday that the estimated $350,000 cost of his excursion to New York next week would be underwritten by a number of entertainment, pharmaceutical, oil and telecommunications concerns with major business interests in California….Among the corporate sponsors of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s trip, according to a list provided by the governor’s office, are Fox Entertainment, NBC Universal, News Corporation, Paramount, TimeWarner, the Walt Disney Company and Viacom. Other donors include Abbott Laboratories, Amgen and Pfizer, ChevronTexaco and Conoco Phillips, and Outback Steakhouse, SBC and Visa.
Two important entertainment trade groups, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, also contributed toward the trip. The two groups are also sponsoring a tribute to Mr. Schwarzenegger in New York after his speech.
Special interests aren’t just sponsoring his trip, they’re paying for a tribute to him at the convention? Doesn’t this seem a shade hypocritical considering Schwarzenegger’s rhetoric?