McCain Gets Lungren, Schwarzenegger Media Guru

U.S. Sen. John McCain, not incredibly popular among fellow Republicans in Congress, has formed a team of House "whips" to build support for his possible bid for president. On the list, according to Roll Call, is former California Attorney General Dan Lungren, now a congressman from the Sacramento area. (Lungren also lost to Gray Davis in the 1998 governor's race.) McCain's team includes others from California, Roll Call noted:

"Both McCain and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) share a penchant for government reform and at least two operatives from Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election bid have migrated to McCain's presidential effort: Senior Adviser Steve Schmidt and Deputy Director of Strategy Sarah Simmons.

"California-based media consultant Fred Davis, who worked on Schwarzenegger's re-election, signed on to work for McCain in 2008. Lungren, a former California attorney general, served with McCain in the House in the 1980s. 'Honor is extremely important to him,' Lungren said. 'Both his own honor and the honor of the institution.' "

Six Degrees of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Somebody has a lot of time on their hands, including me. Click here for the freakiest Schwarzenegger video yet.

Deal On Living Wages, Etc.

• L.A. City Council reaches deal with business, labor over "living wage" ordinance.


• Barack Obama hires California fundraiser.


• Touch-screen voting machines on their way out in favor of optical scanners in Florida.


• Watch governor's press conference on health care today. He acknowledges he's looking at a change in term limits, dodges question on whether he would take a third term.

Revenge of the Nerds: Newsom Flak Under Fire

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's press spokesman, Peter Ragone, has been caught in a "nerd attack." The tough-talking Ragone has worked for some spectacular losers - Andrew Cuomo's bid for New York governor, the national Democratic Party during the Florida recount, and former Gov. Gray Davis during the 2003 recall. But he's found a winner in Newsom.

Now, Ragone is being swarmed. SFist, a blogger in San Francisco, has allegedly* exposed him for posting favorable comments about his boss on the website, along with slights about a "sad, sad" TV reporter covering the mayor. Seems Ragone's IP address matched the one from poster "John Nelson."

The "sad" TV reporter then produced a long and detailed hit piece on Ragone and his alleged "dirty tricks." The piece shows Ragone blocking the ABC camera when reporter Dan Noyes tries to interview the mayor. It also includes a reenactment of Ragone "trolling" the Internet to post favorable comments about the mayor and this exchange:

Dan Noyes, ABC7 I-Team: "I'm not the one who's looking like a jerk, Peter."

Peter Ragone: "Yeah, that's right. You are, actually."

Here is a list, from SFist, of the posts under the names "John Nelson" and "Peter Ragone." Including this: "who cares if he makes out with his girlfriend. he is just doing what normal people do." Ragone's denies posting under someone else's name, and says John Nelson is a good friend. "What can I say, we had a nerd attack. I've learned my lesson," he told Matier & Ross.

*UPDATE: Ragone now admits posting for his friend and as his friend.

(Photo: ABC7)

How Many Blogs Does It Take To ...

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has introduced bill to ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012. This was posted on DrudgeReport today. The blogosphere should pretty much go nuts over Crazy California again. In fact, a few have already started: Interior decorators say: ewww. The bill could destroy the country. Levine is evil. He is a dimbulb. Claims to know what's best for us. We have an overbearing Nanny State. Maybe we could spank our 2-year-olds with lightbulbs.

FBI Probing Gary Miller, Congressman/Civil War Buff

The FBI is asking hard questions about a land deal involving Inland Empire Rep. Gary Miller, Republican and Confederate officer in the 2003 Civil War flick, "Gods and Generals." According to a Times investigation, Miller possibly evaded federal and state taxes on a land deal with the city of Monrovia.

The land sale went something like this: Miller sold 165 acres to the city of Monrovia in 2002, and made more than $10 million, his reports show. State and federal taxes would have taken up to 31% out of that profit, the Times reported, but Miller claimed an IRS exemption that allowed him to keep his profits tax-free as long as he reinvested the money within two years.

Miller said Monrovia had forced him to sell his land under eminent domain, which allowed the IRS exemption. But FBI agents have requested a videotape of a 2000 city council meeting in which Miller asks four times for the city to purchase his land, the Times reports today.

Scott Toussaint, a spokesman for the congressman, told The Times: "Congressman Miller is tired of all the rumor and innuendo that has been in the press regarding his past real estate transactions." But Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, said: "It looks like this is not casual; it seems like quite a concerted effort. Miller has clearly acted illegally."

Miller seems proud of his efforts on behalf of the Confederacy, however. His government website has numerous photographs of him on the set of "Gods and Generals," which followed the exploits of Stonewall Jackson.

(Photo: Office of Rep. Gary Miller)

Wednesday Stew

• Antonio Villaraigosa surprised in Washington D.C.: asked about Arnold Schwarzenegger for L.A. mayor.


• "National Mom Expert" offers up herself for interviews on California's anti-spanking legislation, which HAS NOT BEEN INTRODUCED YET.


• Terrorized gay Mexican wins fight for asylum. A trifecta story for the wingers! Let the blogging begin.


• Early primary gaining steam, the MaviglioReport reports. Senate Rules Committee takes it up this week.


• Arnold Schwarzenegger anagram: "He's grown large 'n crazed." (This is even dumber than it looks.)

Annette Bening: Help Us Arnold

Annette Bening, the Oscar-nominated actress and wife of actor Warren Beatty, inadvertently provided a bit of comic relief during the 2005 special election when the couple tried to crash a rally with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Staffer Darrel Ng stopped them like a doorman from hell and asked Bening to spell her name.

Now the transmogrified governor has won over the couple, at least a bit. Beatty joked at the recent Golden Globes: "I asked Arnold to become a Democrat, and he did what I said."

And Bening says she has been encouraged by the bipartisan approach Schwarzenegger adopted last year," the AP reports, as she seeks more funding for the California Arts Council. (Bening was appointed to the 11-member board by her friend, former Senate leader John Burton.) At an Arts Council conference in Sacramento, Bening noted Schwarzenegger is taking on the environment and health care, and then pleaded her cause: "We are the folks in the corner who are quietly raising our hand, suggesting that we also need some attention and we also need some funding."

(Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

Beware The Flying Men

"Beware the flying men! Beware the flying men! The Bird men are coming!" --San Francisco Hobo in "Around the World in 80 Days," with cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Branson.

Only a few months ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cooed about helping to persuade Virgin America to open its U.S. headquarters near the San Francisco airport. "That means 1,700 new jobs in California and that is music to my ears," Schwarzenegger said in October. Luring Virgin to California became a signature example of Schwarzenegger's efforts to boost job creation in California. Nevertheless, Schwarzenegger's office carefully noted that all this was pending regulatory approval by the federal government.

Indeed, those federal regulators appear to have grounded the infant domestic airline and those 1,700 new California jobs. The Dept. of Transportation tentatively has rejected the application, ruling that Virgin America probably would violate the 1926 Air Commerce Act, which requires all domestic airlines to remain controlled by U.S. citizens. (Billionaire Virgin founder Richard Branson, pictured, was to have a minority share of the airline but veto power over decisions.) The company reportedly has revised its proposal and removed Branson's veto power over the company.

Schwarzenegger personally pitched the California location to Branson, wrote letters on the company's behalf, appeared at the unveiling of their first jet, and helped round up more than $15 million in development money as a sweetener. (City officials and state lawmakers invested a lot of political capital in getting the company to California as well.) The two men are connected beyond the airline. Branson, who personally has supported Schwarzenegger's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, bonded with the governor on the set of "Around the World In 80 Days." Schwarzenegger played the lascivious "Prince Hapi" and Branson played "Balloon Man."

(Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

Poll: Voters Want to Keep 'Living Wage'

The L.A. Times' Joe Mathews reports: Los Angeles voters favor keeping a new law extending the $10.64 an hour "living wage" ordinance to LAX-area hotel workers by better than 3 to 1, according to a poll commissioned by a nonprofit group affiliated with labor unions. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez had intervened to support hotel workers who had fasted to protest the referendum.