‘A California Carol’ Web cartoon skewers Schwarzenegger

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As if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t have enough problems with a teetering state budget that’s underfunded by $42 billion, lawsuits from unions and apocalyptic predictions for the state’s welfare, now he’s got to worry about needles from a punchy Web cartoon called ‘A California Carol,’ which paints him as the Ebenezer Scrooge of the Golden State.

The cartoon, which features cameos from animated versions of former Gov. Ronald Reagan, first lady Maria Shriver and outgoing President George W. Bush, was produced by the Courage Campaign, a progressive organization that wants Schwarzenegger to take drastic action (i.e. raise taxes) to solve the budget impasse.

The video comes with a petition that makes a hopeful invocation of the Scrooge from the Charles Dickens version of the story:

‘The original Scrooge eventually embraced the holiday spirit of giving and mended his miserly ways. Won’t you do the same by signing a budget that provides adequate funding for our state services’?

— David Sarno