Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has maintained a low profile on the state budget recently, so it was a surprise when he called up KFI-AM's John and Ken on Monday from his Santa Monica office.
He may think twice next time.
The Republican governor took a lashing from the popular conservative Los Angeles duo as they pressed him on his proposal to raise the state sales tax by one cent. The talk-show hosts and the governor talked over one another as their argument grew more heated, and one of the hosts asked if the governor was "still on anesthesia."
(The podcast is here. Click on the 3 p.m. hour for 8/18 under the John and Ken podcasts. The governor appears at the 12-minute mark.)
The governor, who is meeting today with all four legislative leaders in his Sacramento office, said Monday there was "absolutely no agreement" between him and lawmakers. He said the sales tax plan was not important as long as it remained conceptual.
"It is only important when it happens, but it is not important when there's a discussion at the Capitol," Schwarzenegger said. "There's many discussions at the Capitol."
Schwarzenegger tried to defend new taxes as necessary because the state was still paying off debts incurred by predecessor Gov. Gray Davis. But the hosts pressed further and suggested that Schwarzenegger abandoned his original mission of fixing the state's fiscal situation in order to pursue environmental goals.
That seemed to upset the governor, who maintained that his environmental policies had nothing to do with the state budget.
"This is absolutely absurd what you're saying right now," Schwarzenegger said. "....You're living in the Stone Age if you think that the environmental issue has anything to do with the budget or the declining economy worldwide."
"Don't lie to the people," Schwarzenegger added. "That's all I can tell you, don't lie to the people. Don't pull wool over their eyes. It's nonsense Republican right-wing talk."
That prompted the "anesthesia" joke. Schwarzenegger underwent anesthesia Saturday when he had arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee.
The hosts asked if he had regrets, suggesting that the state is no better off than it was under Davis five years ago.
"I made great decisions," Schwarzenegger said. "I have no regrets at all. It's just the regret I have is that not everyone is seeing it exactly as I see it."
After Schwarzenegger tried to defend his global warming policies, the hosts asked him why he still flies his private plane between home and Sacramento, saying that doesn't help the environment.
"I'm not saying it does," Schwarzenegger said. "You won't hear me arguing about it. But, I mean, this is the only way I get around so I can be everywhere at the same time. But I don't apologize for it. I fly my private plane, and that's the end of that."
Schwarzenegger's office said he called the show on his own after he heard Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines on air talking about the budget.
The governor tried to end the conversation on a happy note, telling the hosts that he just wanted to call them to welcome them back on air after a brief vacation. A couple minutes after Schwarzenegger hung up, one of the hosts said, "What the hell was that?"
@Nyx.CommentBody@