Schwarzenegger's Special Interests
Almost any time Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gets near a microphone he takes aim at special interests, CBS News correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"I have put the special interests on notice," Schwarzenegger said. "The only thing I have to say to them is 'hasta la vista baby.' "
That's been the theme ever since he announced he was running for governor.
"I do not have to bow to any special interests," Schwarzenegger said on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." "I have plenty of money. No one can pay me off."
"Trust me," he said. "No one."
But Doug Heller, who heads Arnold Watch, which is part of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, tells a different story.
"That was his Oscar performance," Heller said. "Because it turned out it was just a fraud. It was just fiction."
Heller and other government watchdogs say when it comes to raising special interest cash — the governor has far outpaced the man he ousted, former Governor Gray Davis.
"He's in hock to the special interests," Heller said.
Heller points to bills the governor vetoed on one day just last month:
Most of the money went to the governor's California Recovery Team, which supports his political agenda and initiatives.
The governor's spokesman rejected any claim money played a role in the vetoes saying, "It's a baseless accusation that there's some kind of connection between policy and donations."
All sides in this special election are raising record sums of cash and the governor's staff says he's being outspent by opponents, so he has to accept donations.
"I cannot be bought, that is the key thing," Schwarzenegger said.
The governor's office said he was too busy campaigning to sit down for an interview, but this is what he told a reporter at a CBS station earlier this year.
The reporter, Hank Plante, asked Schwarzenegger, "When you take $350,000 from the drug companies and then veto four prescription drug bills, you can't connect the dots on that?"
"Absolutely not," Schwarzenegger replied. "I vetoed the bills that are bad for California. It's that simple."
It's not that simple for many California voters. He's plummeted in the polls and according to one survey, half now believe he caters to special interests as much or more than other politicians.