The budget crisis isn't the only area where Schwarzenegger has to walk a fine line between the parties and his various constituencies. His choice of automobiles notwithstanding -- he drives a gas-guzzling Hummer -- Schwarzenegger put forth an aggressive and progressive environmental platform while running for office. It got little public attention -- fiscal matters, not the environment, were at the center of the race -- but environmentalists were optimistic that Schwarzenegger would be a friend once elected.

With the appointment of Terry Tamminen to the California Environmental Protection Agency, they saw a major sign that they were right. Tamminen is a respected environmentalist, the head of a Southern California environmental group, and one of the founders of Santa Monica BayKeeper, an organization that monitors water quality and other environmental issues related to the Southern California coastline.

Environmental groups hailed Tamminen's appointment, which came over the objections of Republicans in the state Legislature concerned that he was insufficiently solicitous of business concerns. On his return to the air Monday morning, no less a conservative eminence than Rush Limbaugh took time to criticize Schwarzenegger for making an appointment from a "left-wing, whacko environmental group."

But the news wasn't all good for the environmental camp. Schwarzenegger balanced the Tamminen appointment with three others that were significantly more satisfactory to the right. Schwarzenegger named Republican Bill Jones, a former secretary of state who has earned an "F" on one environmental group's scorecard, to serve as head of the California Resources Agency. And to serve as the second and third in command in Tamminen's Cal-EPA, Schwarznegger named a timber company lobbyist and a lawyer who has represented major corporations fighting enforcement of environmental laws.

"We're very pleased that Terry Tamminen was chosen as secretary of the Cal-EPA and we think he'll do a great job," said Sierra Club spokesman Bill Magavern. "Obviously, we wish the undersecretary and deputy who were appointed had not been at odds with the environmental agenda that Schwarzenegger campaigned on."

Magavern called the appointments -- particular the appointment of a timber-company lobbyist to the Cal-EPA -- "exactly the kind of special-interest politics that Schwarzenegger campaigned against."

The Sierra Club wasn't the only group keeping a wary eye out for the influence of special interests Monday. The nonpartisan Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights -- a consistent critic of Gray Davis when he was in office -- hired a truck to circle the inauguration Monday with a 20-foot sign bearing the Webster's dictionary definition of "special interest." Schwarzenegger struggled with the meaning of the expression during the campaign, ultimately suggesting that it applied only to groups -- like the labor unions and Indian tribes who were backing his opponents -- who would eventually have direct business negotiations with the governor. Jerry Flanagan, who was passing out fliers for the foundation Monday, said he hoped to keep a broader definition in voters' minds.

Flanagan cited the fact that the California Chamber of Commerce, a business lobbying group, sponsored a gala lunch for Schwarzenegger Monday, and that Schwarzenegger had named one of its lobbyists as his legislative director. He also raised concerns that other representatives of industries that had contributed to Schwarzenegger's campaign were finding high-power jobs in his administration.

But, of course, the Schwarzenegger issue that grabbed the most attention at the inauguration was the same one that dominated the final days of his campaign -- allegations that Schwarzenegger grabbed, groped and otherwise humiliated any number of women during the course of his Hollywood career. The issue arose again recently as state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, announced publicly that he voted for Schwarzenegger -- and then called for an independent investigation into the sexual harassment and assault allegations.

A small group of protesters from CodePink and other feminist groups took up the call Monday outside the state Capitol. Buffa, a spokeswoman for the group, said that the issue is still very much alive despite the convincing victory Schwarzenegger enjoyed last month. "The test of the law isn't whether people think it's important or not," she said. "It's what happened and whether he broke the law."

Schwarzenegger supporters appeared to ignore the protesters, and several said the sexual harassment allegations are a moot point now that the election is over. "Who cares?" said Tom Lucas, a nursery owner from Southern California who traveled to Sacramento for the inauguration. "These women never said anything prior to this, and now he gets elected and they come out of the woodwork."

Another supporter standing in line for the inauguration interjected: "It's time to put the bullshit behind us."

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