CA-GOV: Flashbacks

It's great that the Alliance for a Better California is stepping in with a major ad buy to add some muscle on-air to challenge Arnold's big dollars. But in my view, the ads are not what brought down Schwarzenegger in the special election last year. It was the tenacity of the various union organizations, who were at every public event, in Arnold's face at every moment, not allowing him a moment in the limelight without them right there with him. They started in January and they didn't give up. Arnold cracked under the pressure and said "the special interests don't like me because I kick their butts," picking a fight with the regular people who help Californians every day, police, firefighters, nurses, teachers. This was the key to victory last year.

So it's the return to that hounding that made me smile like it's 2005 today.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a plug Tuesday to the women in his life – his mother, his mother-in-law, his wife and chief of staff – during a women's conference that was being protested by female union members.

Although California governors typically preside over the event, Schwarzenegger made only brief remarks during a morning session – between presentations by financial adviser Suze Orman and Martha Stewart – before making his exit [...]

Meanwhile, several dozen protesters opposed to Schwarzenegger's re-election, most of whom were female union members, rallied outside the Long Beach Convention Center.

Shriver has made the conference her signature event as first lady, but it evokes bad memories for Schwarzenegger. It is the scene of his run-in two years ago with members of the California Nurses Association, when he famously remarked that he kicked the butts of special interests in Sacramento, after nurses disrupted his speech.

The unions have reprised the comment in a television commercial targeting Schwarzenegger.

This year, the governor is basking in an election-year embrace of Democrats and has tried to repair relations with the unions, including the nurses.

But the unions are using the conference to remind voters of the Schwarzenegger who last year went to war with them in a special election that jeopardized his political career.

Phil Giarrizzo, a spokesman for an alliance of unions that includes teachers, other school employees and firefighters, said Tuesday's rally is the first time the coalition has gathered to protest Schwarzenegger since last year's election. But he said it will not be the last.

“We'll be out there until Election Day,” he said. “We're intent on reactivating field operations from last year.”

Note that the protestors get billing in the lede along with governor. Nice. I would have liked to have seen them never stop those field operations, but I know how much that push cost last year. This time, it's contracted in length but should be just as tenacious. And it's this flashback that should have those who want to dump Arnold excited, not a bunch of ads.

UPDATE: This is an interesting postscript:

At a time when the governor is still deciding on bills affecting California businesses, the conference blared the sponsorship of companies that paid for it, including oil giant BP, Wells Fargo, AT&T, Yahoo! and Apple.

You mean the same people with business before the state are providing cash for an event run by the governor's wife? Stop it, you're killing me.