GIVE ME A BREAK
There is an article today in the Los Angeles Times injecting some controversy into the hiring of 
Susan Kennedy. It is easy to find the whole thing on the main page. I will say that I know Governor Schwarzenegger to be an honorable and ethical person, and so I think any implication of being ‘for sale’ is without merit.. I don’t know Susan Kennedy, though I am troubled with the central role that she played in the Gray Davis administration. Especially when you factor in her close friendship with uber-slick lobbyist/developer Darius Anderson, who was widely known to be the fundraiser-in-chief for the recalled and disgraced former Governor.
That said, if you look at the volume of contributions that come into a Gubernatorial-level campaign, the money comes from all over the place — and especially from interests that do business with or are regulated by the state. You can take this Susan Kennedy story and repeat it a thousand times over with other contributions that came in around the time of other appointments.
I think the implication that the Governor took money from AT&T as some sort of quid-pro-quo for a vote by Kennedy on the PUC is bogus. That said, I still maintain as I have all along that a Republican Governor should have a Republican Chief of Staff. Susan Kennedy may be affable, capable, and more (I enjoyed meeting her briefly) — but she is still responsible for (unfortunately) defeating many solid Republicans, including the horrific election of Barbara Boxer over Bruce Herschensohn in 1992, when she was Executive Director of the State Democrat Party (Phil Angelides was her boss then). Equally troubling as having her run our GOP Governor’s office is her being associated with the campaign in any way. Well, I’ve already beat this dead horse about a hundred times.
My disappointment in this hire does not dampen my support for the Governor, it just makes me frustrated and sad. But just because the Governor has hired this Democrat (and others) does not make him unethical – not even close.
**There is more – click the link**
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:00 am
Jon,
This type of hit by the other side is meaningless, as it is the system that has been created with the blessing of both sides.
Since I have no business with the State and my business is not regulated, the Governor is free to use my campaign donations to pay Susan Kennedy.
I had the opportunity to sit next to Ms. Kennedy at a lunch in Los Angeles. I admit to being very skeptical about her appointment, and disappointed that someone like Scott Baugh was not appointed. I went away from our discussion understaning two important things; she is about strong organization and winning, (as you noted above) and she has in the past three years developed into a strong free marketeer. (the liberals hated her decisions on the PUC) She is a also a clear and effective communicator.
I enjoyed your article, and the ability to comment.
Best regards,
Tom Tucker
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:00 am
It must be nice to not have any principles. You fall for everything and stand for nothing. Maybe we’ll get lucky with Arnold and the political wind will blow back to the conservative side of the aisle the next few years. Oh wait, I don’t really care what’s popular today because my principles never change.