On Meet the Press, Schwarzenegger says Nelson deal would be “illegal” in Sacramento

From the January 10 edition of NBC's Meet the Press (accessed from the Nexis database):

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes, it is. Right now it is. And I just cannot imagine why we would have, like I said, you know, for instance, you know, our senators and congressional people, how they would vote for something like that where they're representing Nebraska and not us. And by the way, as I said in my State of the State, that's the biggest rip-off. I mean, that is against the law to buy a vote. I mean...

GREGORY: You're talking about Senator Nelson, who got --

SCHWARZENEGGER: As Senator Nelson. That's like buying a vote to say, “Hey, it's--I'm going” --

GREGORY: The federal government will pay for their Medicaid expansion.

SCHWARZENEGGER: “I'm holding out my vote unless I get some extra kind of benefits here.” I mean, if you do that in Sacramento, you know, you will be sued. It is illegal to do that, to buy votes.

Van Susteren repeatedly highlights Schwarzenegger's comment without assessing its accuracy

Van Susteren: “Governor Schwarzenegger said last weekend that if you try to buy a vote in Sacramento that it's a crime.” On the January 12 edition of On the Record, Van Susteren said to Rep. Phil Roe: “Governor Schwarzenegger said last weekend that if you tried to buy a vote in -- buy a vote in Sacramento that it's a crime, and he was critical of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid getting the vote -- buying the vote -- for $300 million from Senator Ben Nelson.”

Van Susteren uncritically airs Schwarzenegger comments. From the January 11 edition of On the Record:

VAN SUSTEREN: Governor Schwarzenegger says it's a rip-off. That's what he calls the deal Senator Harry Reid gave Senator Ben Nelson.

[begin video clip]

SCHWARZENEGGER: I just cannot imagine why we would have, like I said, you know, for instance, you know, our senators and congressional people -- how they would vote for something like that, where they're representing Nebraska and not us. And by the way, as I said in my state of the state, that's the biggest rip-off. I mean, that is against the law, to buy a vote.

GREGORY: You're talking about Senator Nelson and --

SCHWARZENEGGER: Senator Nelson. That's like buying a vote, to say, “Hey --

GREGORY: The federal government will pay for their Medicaid --

SCHWARZENEGGER: -- I'm holding out my vote unless I get some extra kind of benefits here.” I mean, if you do that in Sacramento, you know, you would be sued. It is illegal to do that, to buy votes.

[end video clip]

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, Senator Nelson is now saying he accepted the sweetheart deal for Nebraska because he wants the same deal for every state. Senator Nelson says all states should get full funding from Medicaid or be able to opt out.

After Van Susteren highlights Schwarzenegger comment, Moore says, “Some might call it bribery.” Later on the January 11 edition of her show, Van Susteren said to Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore, “Governor Schwarzenegger says that if you buy a vote in Sacramento, it's illegal, you go to jail. You can't buy votes. And I realize it's, quote, always done in the Senate. But there's something funny about it. I can't quite -- I can't quite distinguish why paying $300 million to get Senator Ben Nelson's is different.” Moore replied, “Some might call it bribery.”

But AP fact-check found that “such political quid pro quos happen all the time,” in CA with Schwarzenegger's “involvement”

The Associated Press fact-checked Schwarzenegger's claim that such deal-making is “illegal,” and found that Schwarzenegger himself is involved with deal-making in his own state. In a January 12 article fact-checking Schwarzenegger's Meet the Press comments, the Associated Press reported that “such political quid pro quos happen all the time in the state Capitol, sometimes with Schwarzenegger's behind-the-scenes involvement.” Specifically, the AP reported:

Last February, the governor signed a midyear state budget that included $70 million in additional property tax revenue over the next two fiscal years and $50 million each year after that for Orange County. The gift was added to secure the vote of Democratic Sen. Lou Correa of Anaheim.

At the same time, legislative leaders included a $10,000 tax credit on the purchase of new homes to win the support of Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield.

The final vote on the February budget came from Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria. He was persuaded to jump off the fence after lawmakers agreed to place a measure on this year's ballot asking voters to change the election system to allow open primaries.

The change is important for moderate Republicans such as Maldonado who often find it difficult to win GOP primary elections, which are dominated by the party's conservative wing. Schwarzenegger recently nominated Maldonado to fill the lieutenant governor's position.

Such key negotiating points on the budget and other major pieces of legislation are worked out behind closed doors between Schwarzenegger and the top legislative leaders.

[...]

The $11.1 billion water bond Schwarzenegger signed last November is another example.

The legislation was stuffed with special interest earmarks at the last minute so it could win enough votes to pass the Legislature. In the final days of negotiations, lawmakers in both chambers padded the bond bill with nearly $2 billion in additional spending.

Some of those projects are only loosely related to issues of water supply and water quality. Schwarzenegger signed the legislation, anyway, calling it one of the Legislature's “great, great accomplishments.”