FTCR: Airplane Banner Tells Arnold's Neighbors & Friends Gov. Betrayed Nurses, Patients & Students as Elite Meet at Gov.'s Home for Super Bowl Sunday Party
2/6/2005 5:00:00 PM
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To: National and State Desks, Entertainment Reporter
Contact: Jamie Court, 310-874-9989, or Jerry Flanagan, 415-497-1710, both of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights; Solomon Rivera, 323-899-6794 of Californians for Justice; Chuck Idelson of the California Nurses Association, 415-559-8991
BRENTWOOD, Calif., Feb. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The California Nurses Association (CNA), Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), Californians for Justice, and Democracy for America protested outside the gates to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's mansion before the governor's Super Bowl Sunday party for the nation's political and Hollywood elite. An airplane hired by CNA and FTCR will buzz the neighbored into the evening pulling a banner reading: "It's No Party For Nurses, Patients and Students -- Arnoldwatch.net"
Nurses -- who are featured in a national television ad criticizing Schwarzenegger's rollback of patient safety laws -- discussed how Schwarzenegger's donors are the real special interests, not nurses and patients who will suffer under his policies. The ad -- produced on a volunteer basis by Robert Greenwald (director of "Outfoxed" and "Uncovered") can be viewed at
http://www.arnoldwatch.net -- where visitors can also fax the governor on the issues.
In the California Nurses Association television ad, veteran nurse Melita Dionosio-Temple warns: "The one thing the public should know, is that one day you will be in that bed and realize that because of the number of patients one nurse has to take care of, you may be calling, and there's nobody there."
Students decried Schwarzenegger's mislabeling of them as special interests as an excuse to hike their fees. Consumer advocates expressed concern that Governor Schwarzenegger has betrayed the public trust and abused his power by raising $40 million in his first year in office -- an average of $80,000 per day -- after claiming in his campaign for office that such campaign contributions corrupted policy decisions. FTCR also took issue with the Governor's recent plans to violate state campaign fundraising limits by coordinating with a committee, called Citizens to Save California, controlled by big business leaders and created to support Schwarzenegger-backed ballot initiatives in an expected 2005 special election.
The party hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger for Tom Brokaw is expected to include a who's who of Hollywood and political figures. The groups protested to alert friends, neighbors and Super Bowl guests that the governor has violated promises he made to protect the public from special interests.
For example, Gov. Schwarzenegger:
-- used his emergency powers to repeal hospital safety rules requiring that there be enough nurses on duty in hospitals to take care of patients (for more information visit
http://www.calnurses.org);
-- announced plans to raise college student fees instead of blocking an $80 million taxpayer-funded giveaway to some of the state's largest corporations who did not pay taxes last year (for more information visit
http://www.ftcr.org/corporate/pr/pr004833.php3);
-- announced plans to forced the disabled to join HMOs who'll be allowed to limit access to health care;
-- supported overturning the "Consumer Bill of Rights" it had approved last year to protect consumers against cell phone overcharges, unfair practices, poor connections and other abuses;
-- has proposed to dissolve dozens of public oversight boards that protect the public from consumer rip-offs, dangerous doctors, and other special interest attacks.
For a Web log chronicling Governor Schwarzenegger's betrayal of the public trust visit
http://www.Arnoldwatch.org (run by FTCR).
"The Governor has raised twice as much money in his first year than Gray Davis did, who Schwarzenegger replaced for being a cash- register politician," said FTCR president Jamie Court. "Schwarzenegger owes Californians an apology and to put an end to his $80,000 per day fundraising habit. Instead, he just announced he would raise up to $50 million from outside California for his pet ballot initiatives, which presumably includes raising big bucks from Wall Street for an initiative to privatize public pension funds that will put hundreds of millions of dollars in the hands of Wall Street financers. Arnold is the ultimate special interest who thinks his celebrity is big enough that he can lie to the public and avoid accountability. Students, nurses, patients and real people who struggle daily will be reminding Schwarzenegger at every fundraiser that representing the people is about rejecting campaign cash, not raising it at a record pace."
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The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is the state's leading nonprofit and nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization. For more information visit FTCR on the Web at
http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.orghttp://www.usnewswire.com/
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