A shift in the narrative

It's about time, but the media portrayal of our governor has changed. A month ago, the headlines crowed " Governor energizes state GOP" and "Governor says he'll go to voters - He warns Dems in speech at state GOP convention". Even as recently as a week ago, the Chronicle showed us an activist Arnie: "Governor takes key step toward special election - Frustrated with lawmakers, he opens signature drive for initiatives".

In the last few days, however, there's been a shift in the way California's newspapers see the GOP's Great Right Hope. A quick tour through the state's newspapers gives us headlines like "Governor gets blasted on lack of federal funds ", "Governor facing a tough sell this year - Some say his ideas aren't addressing what the voters want" and "Snow can't stop nurses dogging governor's heels".

I think that several factors have combined to convince the print media, at least, that the gloves can come off. First, Arnie's shameless fundraising--both for his ballot measures and his reelection--have made his claim to be against "special interests" a little hard to take seriously.

While the donations will help boost his likely run for re-election in 2006, Schwarzenegger's latest fund-raising binge has raised questions about whether he is giving too much access to corporate interests with major stakes in his decisions as governor.

For example, the fund-raising luncheon Tuesday at the St. Regis Hotel, two blocks from the White House, was hosted by several partners of the Republican lobbying firm the Navigators, which employs Schwarzenegger adviser Mike Murphy. One of the firm's major clients is the Financial Services Coordinating Council, which has backed legislation in Congress to override California laws protecting consumers' financial privacy.

Second, it's becoming clear to many Californians just how bad his proposals are. This is reflected in the polls on Arnie:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's job approval ratings -- though still high -- have deflated markedly among state voters, who now see him as partisan and more tied to special interests, a new Field Poll shows.

Most importantly--and, I think, the reason the other two factors matter--is that there is a militant group of nurses, teachers, and public employees who are relentless in their criticism of Arnie and innovative in their approach. By consistently dogging the governor's every step--from his Super Bowl party in Malibu to yesterday's lunch in DC--these courageous and organized folks have punctured the image of Arnie as the darling of Californians left, right, and center.

Escalating the battle unions are waging against Schwarzenegger's plans to change the state's public-employees pension system and other policies, nurses and firefighters tailed him to fundraising events on the East Coast this week. They forced the normally media-friendly governor to avoid TV cameras awaiting his arrival and hustle into his events through side entrances.

"We're going to follow him wherever he is, and we want people to know who he is," said Beth Kean, who directs the division of the nurses association that deals with University of California hospitals. "Snow, rain, sleet, hail, whatever, we're going to be there."

They've made it impossible for even the most blow-dried Ken doll reporting live for some local station to catch an Arnie event without being aware of the opposition. Ken may not report the protests (although he and Skipper do more and more often), but you can bet he knows about them.

Let's hope that the media's newfound skepticism carries through to this November's initiative campaigns, cause we're gonna need it.