Two things are certain. 1) The column was approved by the editorial staff or it wouldn't have been published and 2) the advice wasn't offered to further conservative goals.
My guess is that McClatchy would like to see the Austrian stick around because, at heart, Schwarzenegger is a typical Eurowienie who will capitulate when "our" programs are threatened.
You must not be very familiar with Dan Walters, as I would hardly describe him as a "liberal columnist". He is one of the most fair and tough-minded and accurate columnists in the state. The Claremont Institute describes him as having his "his right of center moments tempered by pragmatism." ARN says Dan Walters "is known for generally conservative views and most of all for exposing the maneuvering for political advantage and self-serving dealings of California politicians." And Tom McClintock's biograph quotes Dan Walters as saying that Tom has "consistently been one of the very few legislators who has been right about what California is experiencing."
The SacBee may be a liberal paper, but it employs great non-liberal columnists like Dan Walters and Daniel Weintraub. So stop jumping to false conclusions.