Schwarzenegger Hiding Behind His Goons From Nurses

[Itsthetruth]

CounterPunch
Weekend Edition
March 5 / 6, 2005

CounterPunch Diary
Dr Arnold's Diet: Take a Steroid, Kick A Woman; Flip-Flop Johnson: Now He Doesn't Want to Nuke Syria; Coakley, Romero, and the King of Nepal
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN

California's nurses have got him rattled, and it's already costing him. A February 23 Field Poll showed his approval ratings declining ten points since last September, a significant drop. One might have thought that it's a no-brainer to realize that kicking Florence Nightingale's butt is not a sure-fire way to the public's heart. But the Governor is so used to browbeating the press that he thought he could do the same to the California Nurses' Association (CNA), one of the most militant unions in the country, with 60,000 members and representing registered nurses at 171 health facilities throughout the state. Schwarzenegger has been trying to roll back the union's gains on nurse/ patient ratios, safety standards and kindred issues.

Schwarzenegger's version of Howard Dean's scream came in December in Long Beach. As the nurses barracked him during a speech, he denounced them as one of the "special interests" and said, "I'm always kicking their butt." This witty response from the breast-grabber got plenty of play, and did the nurses nothing but good. At a January Capitol protest in Sacramento the nurses carried coffins and had a New Orleans jazz group play a death march. During the Super Bowl they flew a small plane over the steroid-swollen Governor's party at his Santa Monica home. When he was in Washington they took out a full-page ad in Roll Call flaying his record. During a Schwarzenegger speech in a Sacramento hotel, nurses held up a banner saying RNs Say Stop the Power Grab.

On February 15, when Schwarzenegger and his platoons of body guards and flunkies trooped into a screening of Be Cool, 300 nurses demonstrated. Kelly DiGiacomo, 46 years old and 5'2", a nurse at a Kaiser hospital near Sacramento, had a ticket. She ensconced herself in the fourth row, wearing her nurse's scrubs.

A bodyguard rushed up, and under the pretext of a possible meeting with the governor, led her to a room with a California Highway Patrol cop at the door and began to grill DiGiacomo. A few days later a CHP investigator called. DiGiacomo asked why she should be considered a threat. The investigator replied, "Well, you were wearing a nurse's uniform." "Oh, sure, the international terrorist uniform," DiGiacomo scoffed. Californians scoffed with her when they saw the news stories. At least Bush and Cheney can claim they're being targeted by hairy men from the dark side of Mecca. Here's Arnold hiding behind his goons from the woman who cares for you when you're in the hospital.

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn03052005.html

[paineinthearse]

1. Doesn't that make him a.....girley-governor?

[seabeyond]

3. girley-governor?

bah hahahah. i will never let that girlie man go. use it al over the panhandle texas, saying how much i love my girlie man.

[BrotherBuzz]

2. I have it on good authority...

The heat the nurses are bearing on Arnie is just the beginning....It's going to grow and the message will be heard far and wide. I'm laughing. thinking he might have to get a restraining order to prevent the nurses from stalking him. LOL, now, who's the girlie-man?

[Liberty Belle]

8. Yep. Just wait'll schools out--& all those teachers have time to kill.

Arnold wants to privatize their pensions--and the teachers want to teach Arnold a lesson or two.

[BrotherBuzz]

9. Bingo

I just knew the teachers would join in this struggle. Heck, add union workers to the mix and you have a true trifecta! Hunt Arnie down and stalk him 24/7!!!!

[Liberty Belle]

10. We gave him a not-so-warm welcome in San Diego last week.

Not bad, considering we had only a few hours notice that he'd be in town collecting signatures in front of ClearChannel radio for his wretched ballot initiatives.

I forwarded the memo to a few hundred friends, many of whom showed up armed with protest signs. I also suggested calling the local media. This spontaneous protest wound up covered by at least two TV stations plus our local conservative newspaper.

Time to terminate the Terminator!

[BrotherBuzz]

14. Way Cool! You warm the cockles of my heart.

Do you know the person that has the website dedicated to following and protesting Arnold? I heard him interviewed on Christine Craft's radio show but I can't remember his name. I would like to find his website or any other watchdog clearinghouse that is following Arnold and his shenanigans. In the mean time, I will have to rely on Craft getting the message out in Northern California (Sacramento area) where Arnold is going to be next..

Oh, the teachers are, indeed, talking (well, mumbling) about getting organized and feel a little embarrassed that the nurses are doing all the work. Here's a little sample I stumbled onto on one of those internets:

"Everytime I open the newspaper I see another article/picture of the California Nurses Association (another group being wronged by Arnold) staging rallies and protests, flying banners from airplanes, writing letters to the editor, etc.--generally getting the message out. They follow Arnold EVERYWHERE he goes: his mansion, the state capitol, Washington D.C., etc. continually hammering him with their complaints. Meanwhile, teachers are also getting screwed and we are silent (other than grumbling amongst ourselves). We should follow the example of nurses."

[caligirl]

15. Arnoldwatch.org is one and I can find one other

[caligirl]

16. http://www.therestofus.org/

Thursday, March 03, 2005
FPPC Investigation Dogs Schwarzenegger's National Fundraising Efforts

As Bob Salladay reports in the Los Angeles Times, on Friday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attends the first of a series of high-priced fundraisers around the country to raise money for his 2005 California ballot agenda and 2006 re-election campaign. Friday he is feted by Bush mega-donors Mercer Reynolds and Carl Linder in Cincinnati, then on to New York on Monday to be wined and dined and lavished with millions by Governor Pataki's rich friends, then on to the St. Regis Hotel in Washington D.C., where apparently no one has the stature large enough to be the official host for Arnold.

All this so that national donors can further their agenda in the state of California. Despite the willingness of national donors to no doubt give Arnold millions of dollars, the Guv is limited by California law to collecting donations of $22,300 for each of his committees. Despite this law, Arnold and the Citizens to Save California ballot committee, which was started to pursue Arnold's ballot agenda, have been seeking sums in excess of $100,000 from donors.




In response to the complaint filed with the FPPC by TheRestofUs.org, Arnold and his minions filed a lawsuit against the law which limits the committee's fundraising. Seems he likes those trial lawyers after all.
snip

http://fortherestofus.blogspot.com/

[BrotherBuzz]

19. Thanks for the links, but I'm looking for one specific to...

hounding and haranguing Arnold at all his public appearances in California, an activist/protester site so to speak. I would like to be kept abreast of where the next protest-the-Gropenator event is going to be held. Hey, it's where all the cute nurses and teachers are going to be hanging out, no? :).

Help, wife nurse is attacking me :spank:

[caligirl]

20. I haven't seen one like that, but at arnoldwatch.org in the RSVP to invite

heading is a pdf link with the dates for his fundraising dinners in LA and Santa Ana, The sites says they will be outside these events. Sorry I don't have anything more specific. I would like that too. I did get to the Hayward protest last week.

[BrotherBuzz]

22. Liberty Belle has convinced me that arnoldwatch is the one...

I signed up for their email alert thingy which may be exactly what I desire. Thank youfor your help.

[Liberty Belle]

21. Visit www.arnoldwatch.org. You'll love It!

They guy you heard on the radio is probably the one who runs this site. Be sure to ask them to add you to their e-mail list, so you'll get the latest articles on how the nurses are giving Arnold hell.

I especially liked the airplane and banner that they flew over the Super Bowl Party at his mansion--and the nurse in scrubs who showed up at an Arnold premier.

Miriam

[BrotherBuzz]

23. Convinced and done...

Thanks!

[blondeatlast]

12. Teacher's unions are pretty pissed as well.

They don't tend to mess around when they have a legitimate gripe.

Pass the popcorn, and I'll take a diet drink, thanks!

[skids]

4. Watch out Ahnee!

Their coming to getcha!

[walldude]

5. Moran better hope he doesn't get sick.... n/t

[Warpy]

6. He's got reason to be terrified.

Nurses also know how to HURT you.

Considering how many people are employed in health care, he'd better watch his step very carefully. Oh, and if he's smart, the party's over. No more of those big green cigars. Don't want to have that MI when all the nurses in that state think he's an asshole.

[PsN2Wind]

7. Ya think we can expect

a video of his next colonoscopy on the web?

[blondeatlast]

13. ROFLMAO! I'm in tears... can't breathe!

Talk about poetic justice!

[onecitizen]

17. Yes indeedy!

ya never wanna pick a fight with a nurse.

[ck4829]

11. Big ol' Arnold scared of nurses

I wonder if he would run and scream like a GIRLY-MAN if he saw Ann Coulter coming his way.

[dv8]

18. I'm surprised he didn't try and grope her