The Los Angeles Times' Team Schwarzenegger--Bob Salladay and Peter Nicholas--report that the Governor of California is receiving free rent and unreported campaign contributions from a variety of corporate interests cloaking themselves as non-profit organizations.

They write:

"Other elected officials also raise money through nonprofit groups. But Schwarzenegger campaigned on creating an open government answerable to the public. His use of the nonprofit groups has the opposite effect, ethics watchdogs said.

State and federal laws allow groups performing a broadly defined "public benefit" to operate tax exempt. But the lack of disclosure requirements means potential conflicts of interests between the governor and his contributors remain hidden, allowing powerful donors to curry favor with Schwarzenegger behind the scenes, they said.

"This is an end run around the campaign finance laws," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. "It does away with the contribution limits and it avoids disclosure, and it's a way for the special interests who are supporting him to buy access and buy influence."

Nicholas and Salladay make very clear that people who are making these virtually-unlimited contributions have pressing business before the state.  They write:

"The $1 million came from a variety of firms affected by state actions. Wells Fargo Bank, which regularly lobbies the government on mortgage issues, student lending and identity theft, gave $100,000. This year, Wells Fargo is pushing for or actively opposing two dozen bills in the Legislature, state records show.

Catholic Healthcare West, a group of 40 hospitals in California and the Southwest, also gave $100,000 to the jobs commission. Last year, Schwarzenegger issued an emergency order to relax nurse-patient ratios at hospitals — a move meant to reduce the financial burden on a hospital industry facing a nursing shortage.

Last week we learned that the Governor's top aides, who work for the state full-time, also get checks from his campaign arm--checks supported by the corporate donors.  This week we learn that Schwarzenegger doesn't know which of his donors are the ones who are ponying up to pay his rent.

This is the issue.  The people of California have a unique opportunity here. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger can and should be  driven from office because of excessive corporate fundraising, and all the deceitful webs that it creates.  It will directly benefit the millions of everyday Californians who have suffered as a result of his hard-hearted policies, and it will be a seminal event in the much larger battle to reclaim our democracy from free-spending corporations.  California will never have true democracy until we get the dirty money out of the system--which ironically was a point Schwarzenegger made during the recall.  The momentum we build by terminating Schwarzenegger can be turned into momentum for an Arizona or Maine-style clean elections.