Arnold Opens HQ in Santa Monica

Draws Protestors, Fans

Story and photos by
James Allardice
Mirror staff writer
  
   One side had an oversized pink slip declaring Arnold Schwarzenegger “Terminated.”
   The other side had an oversized bodybuilder adorned with little more than a “Join Arnold” sticker.
   The scene outside Schwarzenegger’s Santa Monica headquarters last Friday was somewhat surreal, as women’s groups – led by Code Pink – protested Schwarzenegger’s treatment of women as the Republican gubernatorial candidate cut the ribbon on his new volunteer headquarters at 1338 Fourth Street in downtown Santa Monica.
   Protests in Santa Monica are almost commonplace. The protracted fight over a living wage has made protests here practically routine. Groups taking stands on social or political issues have long used Santa Monica’s beachfront or popular downtown as a backdrop.
   But, given what is at stake and who the players are, Friday’s protest was anything but ordinary.
   California’s historic recall election is anything but ordinary, and the scene on Fourth Street was no ordinary demonstration.
   Dozens of people gathered outside the candidate’s new headquarters to denounce Schwarzenegger’s treatment of women, and give him a “pink slip” before he’s gotten the job.
   The giant pink slip was unfurled down the side of a building facing the candidate’s headquarters, reading “Arnold, You Are Terminated.”
   Protesters carried placards that read “Governor Gang Bang,” “Debate Chicken on Steroids” and “Bushinegger: All Robot, No Human Parts.”
   Shwarzenegger supporters stood in line to see the body-builder-turned-movie star-turned politician officially open his offices, and, all the while, Schwarzenegger workers – easy to spot in their suits adorned with “Join Arnold” stickers, strolled up and down the sidewalk.
   While a mariachi band warmed up inside and popcorn machines were brought in, a non-partisan singer straight off the Third Street Promenade entertained the crowd, and a bodybuilder, sporting a Gold’s Gym tank top, emerged from the storefront to pose for the large, international press corps that had gathered.
   At the urging of the photographers, he took off his shirt and continued to flex, while a campaign worker stuck a “Join Arnold” sticker on his chest.
   No, this was no ordinary protest.
   Schwarzenegger has come under fire from women’s groups, who cite quotes from a 1977 interview in the now defunct Oui, as well as recent incidents in which he allegedly harrassed women.
   Code Pink’s Karen Pomer said, “We’re trying to let him know that he might have gotten away with this behavior in Hollywood, but it’s over now.”
   Among the Schwarzenegger supporters was Liora Medeloff, who worked with him for more than five years.
   “In my experience, I’ve only felt respect and encouragement from him,” she said. “I watched him for six years be with people, and I know that his heart is in everything he does. That’s what I’m interested in.”
   When one woman yelled, “Women vote no on the recall!” another woman, en route to Schwarzenegger’s headquarters, responded, yelling back, “No they don’t! Only old women do.”
   It was a political protest that wasn’t political, according to one of the organizers. “I’m an independent and I won’t be voting for Gray Davis,” Pomer said. “This isn’t about partisan politics, it’s about being offensive to women.”
   For others at the protest, it was about politics. Stuart Chandler of Culver City, said he would be voting against the recall and for Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante. His decision to do so wasn’t an endorsement of Gov. Gray Davis, but rather a vote against the recall movement.
   “They have destroyed an enormous political structure,” Chandler said of those who have pushed hard for the recall. But, he also said there is a more fundamental problem with Schwarzenegger. “I really don’t think he has a sense of responsibility. Everyday you hear more and more stories of how disrespectful he has been to women. He hasn’t learned the monumental importance of respect.”
   Politics or not outside, it was pure politics on the inside. Schwarzenegger countered the women’s group’s protest with his wife, Maria Shriver. The Democrat, Kennedy and TV journalist made her first campaign appearance for her husband, effectively stealing the thunder from the protest by women’s groups.
   Calling her husband “kind,” “compassionate” and “smart,” Shriver’s appearance is what garnered most of the statewide and national media attention, not the giant pink slip dropped on the candidate. Schwarzenegger was able to avoid the protesters -- and the giant pink slip -- by entering his new headquarters from the rear entrance.