Phillip Matier
Arnold Schwarzenegger is Bohemian Grove's pick for Californ
Fri Jul 25 17:30:12 2003
208.152.73.189


From what we've hear, the Republican hierarchy -- especially those close to former Gov. Pete Wilson -- would favor Schwarzenegger. At least that's the word that came out of the Bohemian Grove this past weekend, where a number of state and national GOPers, including presidential adviser Karl Rove, happened to have gathered at a club getaway.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/23/BA253080.DTL

Source:
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/07/23/BA253080.DTL

BEHIND THE COUNT: All eyes will be on the California secretary of state's office today for the big recall count -- but the real plays are going well behind the scenes.

The biggest question, of course, is whether Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who just got back from a European promo tour -- will make this the biggest story of the year by jumping into the fray.

And now that the clock is ticking, the time for playing cute is rapidly coming to an end.

"Everything is set up to go if he says 'yes,' but it's do-it-or-get-off-the- pot time," admitted one source close to the Terminator. "My expectation is that he's talking it over with his wife right now."

One of the keys in all this will be the final round of words between Schwarzenegger and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan -- who is being urged to run by more liberal Republicans.

"The bottom line," our source told us, "is if Arnold goes, Dick won't. If Arnold doesn't do it, then it's highly likely Dick will -- it's between the two of them to hash out."

From what we've hear, the Republican hierarchy -- especially those close to former Gov. Pete Wilson -- would favor Schwarzenegger. At least that's the word that came out of the Bohemian Grove this past weekend, where a number of state and national GOPers, including presidential adviser Karl Rove, happened to have gathered at a club getaway.

None of this would be good news for Gov. Gray Davis -- who hopes his opponents will be limited to conservatives like Bill Simon or San Diego-area Rep. Darrell Issa.

"There's no question Riordan would be the biggest problem of them all," said one Davis operative. "He's the most liberal, he has a strong name ID in Southern California and you can't pin him as a right-winger -- which is the whole key to the Davis strategy."

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. They can also be heard on KGO Radio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Phil Matier can be seen regularly on KRON-TV. Got a tip? Call them at (415) 777-8815 or drop them an e-mail at matierandross@sfchronicle.com .

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Behind Closed Doors
Metroactive : Metro Santa Cruz This Week - 7 KB - Found: 19 hours ago
The 23rd annual Bohemian Grove protest, called the "Fat Cat's Festival and Parade," was held July 19 in the Monte Rio Amphitheater.
http://www.metroactive.com/cruz/

100 march on Bohemian Grove
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat - 30 KB - Found: 2003-07-20, 16:36 GMT
From the dim interior of the Pink Elephant bar in Monte Rio, Jim Hall looked out into Saturday's bright sunlight at protesters marching to the gates of the Bohemian Grove.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/20boho_b3.html

100 march on Bohemian Grove

Protesters' numbers dwindle after several hours of skits, speeches

July 20, 2003

By JEREMY HAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

From the dim interior of the Pink Elephant bar in Monte Rio, Jim Hall looked out into Saturday's bright sunlight at protesters marching to the gates of the Bohemian Grove.

Hall, a San Quentin prison guard in his mid-40s, shook his head slightly. He'd planned to march, he said, had driven from his Marin County home to join in, but several hours of protest theater turned him off.

"I was disappointed," he said. "The speakers were not informing, they were just denouncing."

The Bohemian Club's annual encampment draws government and corporate officials, entertainers and others to a 2,700-redwood grove along the Russian River. It also draws protesters, who say public policy is being secretly made at the grove.

Saturday's march along Bohemian Avenue, like the Fireside Talks inside the grove, is an annual fixture of the three-week gathering that began 10 days ago.

About 100 people took part in the march, 50 percent fewer than last year and a small fraction of the turnout in 2001, when the demonstrations resumed after an eight-year hiatus during the Clinton administration.

Through the afternoon, speakers and performers attacked the Bush administration before about 200 people at the Monte Rio Amphitheater.

"I think (the Bohemian Grove) captures why capitalism is fundamentally undemocratic," said Skip Spitzel, 39, an audience member waiting for the march to start.

"It allows corporations to amass enormous wealth in a way that can inordinately influence government, said Spitzel, who traveled from Santa Cruz to join in the protest.

Hall, the prison guard, said he's "extremely concerned" about the issues demonstrators have raised in connection with the grove, what he termed "the aggregation of power of all sorts into a few hands."

And earlier in the day, he said, he'd found the sort of "intellectual content" he'd sought in discussions with Sonoma State University Professor Peter Phillips and a few others manning information booths set up in Monte Rio before the march.

But a lineup of often-profane stage presentations sent Hall to the Pink Elephant. "It was the antithesis of an intellectual discussion," he said.

Waiting for the march to start, and watching clutches of people leave the park, activist Mary Moore, who started the protests in 1980 but has stepped aside from a lead role, said the theater may have gone on too long.

"I do wish the march had gotten going earlier," she said.

The rally aspect of the day served a purpose, said Moore, but "I think that's less effective, the whole idea is to have a presence at the gate."

The protest, titled Fat Cats' Festival and Parade, was sponsored by the local chapter of Not in Our Name, a group formed to oppose the Iraq war.

"People are used to this event pretty much being only march," said Susan Lamont, an organizer. "But we're just as interested in the education aspect."

About 70 Sonoma County sheriff's deputies and CHP officers monitored the protests, and reported no problems or arrests.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 521-5212 or jhay@pressemocrat.com .

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