On his website today, Hugh Hewitt shares more pearls on the startling revelation that Rob Reiner sits as Chairman of the State Prop. 15 ($$$) Commission solely, at this point, at the discretion of Governor Schwarzenegger, who can terminate Meathead by merely naming a new commissioner to replace Reiner.
I’ve already suggested that Reiner be replaced with Hewitt! Another FR reader has suggested that FR contributor Mike Spence, a local school board member, be named in Reiner’s place.
FR READERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO POST THEIR FAVORITE SUGGESTIONS FOR WHO WOULD BETTER SERVE CALIFORNIANS ON THIS COMMISSION THAN ROB REINER!
Here is the beginning of Hugh’s latest, which contains and excerpt from an interview he had on the air with LA TImes political reporter Dan Morain on Reiner. Click through to Hugh’s site to read more.
Rob Reiner’s "Mass Media Communications Account" and the MSMby Hugh Hewitt
February 22, 2006 05:10 AM PST
Here is the transcript of my interview with Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Morain
on the $230 million in taxpayer funded advertising and public information campaigns run by the state commission chaired by Hollywood big Rob Reiner. Judging from the e-mail, Morain did not impress my radio audience with his investigative instincts, but you can be your own judge of his curiosity and preparation or lack thereof. Here’s one part of the exchange that should interest any serious investigative reporter, and not just those stationed in California:
HH: [The Reiner-led Commission] spent $23 million dollars from when?
November to mid-January?
DM: Well, that’s…it went on through January, correct.
HH: And that was coinciding with the time that Reiner’s political arm was circulating petitions to gather what? 600,000 signatures to qualify Prop. 82?
DM: Well, something like that, sure.
HH: How much…what did that buy for them, that $23 million dollars?
DM: Well, it was a big ad campaign. I mean, you saw it. I think most Californians who turned on their television in November, December and January saw ads that were paid for by First 5 tobacco taxes.
HH: Did you get any sense of the number of spots that ran in which markets, and how much went to radio and how much went to television?
DM: Well, it was…I mean, by far, the bulk of the money was spent on television ads. I mean, that’s what costs the most. You know, I didn’t break it down by…in any sort of percentage, but I mean it’s clear that the bulk of the money was spent on television ads.
HH: Did they provide you details as to that campaign?
DM: Yeah, actually, I do have some details as to that. But it seemed to me to be kind of, you know, minutiae that general people who pick up the L.A. Times, you know, probably wouldn’t care much about.
HH: Does…did it compare in scale to previous ad campaigns in intesity? In other words, they’ve run a lot of campaigns. This was their first pro-preschool campaign, right?
DM: Well, they ran preschool ads earlier, previously. This was, I believe, the largest, but you know, in terms of comparison to other ad campaigns, I mean, this was a big ad campaign for the state of California, without a doubt.
HH: I agree. And I’m wondering within the context of what the state commission led by Reiner funds, whether it was 100% bigger or 10 times bigger than any previous ad campaign, because that would stand out as very unusual, given the petitions circulating, correct?
DM: Yeah, well, sure. I mean, I did not do that piece of research, Hugh. It sounds like something you care to do.
HH: Well, I have been doing it. I’ve actually been reporting on it for a long time. That’s why I can’t understand the lack of detail here, because for example, you suggest that..
DM: Well, here’s the…lack of detail. I mean, the story did what the story sought to do, which is to take a look at this ad campaign, and at the firms that have received these media contracts. I mean, my job is not to, you know, my job is not to grind an axe. My job is to find stories and write them in a fair and balanced way. It’s not to go on a crusade, and you know, the story did what it sought to do.
HH: But it’s also not to whitewash a serious situation involving…
DM: Okay, so…
HH: …I mean, your paper led its editorial page today…
DM: Uh-huh.
HH: …with a blast at Rob Reiner, not calling for his resignation. But did you ask him if he would resign from the commission?
DM: No.
HH: Were you aware he’s a holdover appointment?
DM: That he was appointed by Gray Davis? Sure.
HH: But that he could be replaced at any time by Arnold. Were you aware of that?
DM: Well, he’s got 8 years to serve, and…
HH: No, he doesn’t. He’s a holdover appointment, Dan.
DM: Uh-huh, okay. I believe what the initiative says is that they serve two four-year terms…
HH: No, that’s not what it says. You can serve two four-year terms, but his first service expired, and now he’s a holdover. He hasn’t been reappointed.
DM: Okay.
HH: So did you ask Arnold or anyone in Arnold’s office if they had concerns about him?
DM: No.
HH: Think that makes sense to do?
DM: You know, Hugh, feel free.
HH: Well, again…
DM: I mean seriously, feel free.
READ THE REST HERE.
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
I’ve already gotten four suggestions:
Ron Nehring, CRP Vice Chairman and local school board member.
Ron Unz, the silicon valley entranpranuer who championed Prop. 227 in 1998.
Marian Berguson, State Education Board Member.
Any more suggestions? Post ’em or send ’em!
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
Actually, there are 2 appointments the governor could make to the First 5 Commission.
He could immediately replace Reiner, whose term expired in December of ’04, and there’s an OPEN SEAT that’s been left vacant since December of ’04 just waiting for a gubernatorial appointment.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has a tremendous opportunity to bring accountability to this commission, which has been accused by no less than the Los Angeles Times editorial board of misusing taxpayer dollars. Actually, they called it a “gross misuse of funds” for “campaign propaganda.”
Talk about the chance to blow up boxes!
Also on the board is Eliseo Medina, the International Executive Vice President of SEIU, which has contributed $300K to Reiner’s initiative. Medina’s term expires in December of 2006. Let’s hope the governor doesn’t reappoint Medina to this commission at the end of the year.
On April 19, 2005, Sac Bee Columnist Dan Weintraub connected the dots between Reiner’s pre-school for all initiative and organized labor. (Keep Eliseo Medina in mind as you read this excerpt.)
“In a small coffeehouse near the trolley tracks a block north of the Capitol, Hollywood director Rob Reiner took a table by the window one day last week and sat down with a handful of operatives from the Service Employees International Union. The subject: preschool for all.
Reiner, his voice booming through the room at times, was negotiating the final details of his proposed ballot initiative to raise taxes on the wealthy and use the money to provide free preschool for any 4-year-olds whose families choose to enroll them.
Among the issues Reiner and his guests discussed was to what extent the army of new preschool employees his measure would create would become members of public employee labor unions. And which labor unions. The folks from the Service Employees wanted assurances that all the new members wouldn’t be scooped up by the California Teachers Association, a potential rival.”
If ever we needed Gov. Schwarzenegger to be a strong fiscal manager for the state of California, the time is now. These are easy pickins for the guv. Let’s face it, when the LA Times Editorial board can a “gross misuse of public funds” from a mile away, it’s hard to turn a blind eye to the problem that will quickly be tagged to the administration if immediate action is not taken.