The Repercussions of Kitsch
After Schwarzenegger’s victory in
the special California recall election, maybe it’s time
we reassess democracy. Or is it?
Is it time to reassess democracy when entertainment is an
integral part of politics? Is America fundamentally a farce?
A comic charade?
Is there a line between politics and political satire?
Much like Reagan, must you have starred in possibly the worst
films to be a contender in American politics?
If democracy can only work when it feels like a movie trailer
for the next high-budget, straight-to-video comedy, it should
make us question what a country that is run “by the
people and for the people” really looks like. And while
California’s recall election enjoyed a high kitsch factor,
the repercussions it may leave in its wake are beginning to
unravel.
If Schwarzenegger isn’t a politician, who is going to
run his office? The web that weaves through this story is
rather tangled, yet makes clear why Schwarzenegger won.
The story begins when Schwarzenegger met with former Enron
chieftain Ken Lay. On October 3, 2001, investigative journalist
Greg Palast reported that the Foundation for Taxpayers and
Consumer Rights (FTCR) discovered internal emails of the Enron
Corporation from May 2001. The memos detail meetings that
were scheduled as an opportunity to gain business community
support for Enron’s “comprehensive solution”
to the energy crisis. The crisis in question was California’s
manipulated energy shortage of 2001. In fact, the meetings
were scheduled ten days after rolling blackouts occurred in
California.
The meetings also came as a response to the deregulation of
energy companies and how best to handle it. The California
energy crisis was one example of how deregulation can affect
a state. In one of the emails, Enron’s VP of Public
Relations makes it clear that “We’d like to position
this meeting as an insider’s conversation of what’s
going on with the energy situation. This meeting should be
for principals only.”
| Related Links: |
To view the Enron memos found by FTCR: consumerwatchdog.org To view Greg Palast’s articles: gregpalast.com |
| To view Gov. Schwarzenegger’s energy proposals: joinarnold.com |
Among the people on the list of attendees at the Enron meeting
in Los Angeles’ Peninsula Hotel on May 17, 2001 were
Schwarzenegger, Ken Lay (Enron CEO and close friend of George
W. Bush), and Mike Milken, a felon convicted of securities
fraud violations who was sentenced to prison and forced to
pay a fine of $1.1 billion.
Fast-forward to 2002, when Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamente
filed a lawsuit under the “Unfair Business Practices
Act” in a California court against major power companies.
The lawsuit was to compel major energy companies, including
Enron, Reliant, Dynegy, Williams Company, and other Texas
corporations, to repay California customers for fraudulent
services. The evidence mounted against them in the form of
falsified reporting of sales transactions, megawatt “laundering,”
and fake power delivery scheduling.
At the same time, the administration of Governor Gray Davis
was demanding George Bush’s energy regulators FERC to
order a $9 billion refund.
So what does this all mean? Is it really a conspiracy? Is
California’s new governor really a spokesman for major
energy companies? 
At press time, during his first week in office, Schwarzenegger
is advocating the deregulation of the state’s electricity
markets. As one of his first moves this push seemed to come
as a surprise, given that Schwarzenegger made hardly any mention
of deregulation during his campaign. Furthermore, three days
after the new governor was elected, a Schwarzenegger aide
announced that the governor-elect intends to settle the pending
energy fraud lawsuits. How the 
lawsuits
are going to be settled, however, has not yet been mentioned.
So what was Schwarzenegger’s response when questioned
about this meeting between himself, Lay, and Milken? The Governor-elect
says he doesn’t remember the details of the meeting.
And, according to Palast, when Schwarzenegger was asked directly
by a woman in Bakersfield, “Are you in bed with Ken
Lay?,” the Governor responded, “I certainly wasn’t
in bed with you.”