Free Republic

By Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Arnold Schwarzenegger has given Democrats thousands of dollars in political donations over the past two decades, including $1,000 to Massachusetts senator and liberal lightning rod Ted Kennedy. At the same time, campaign reports show, the GOP actor and gubernatorial hopeful has been a lukewarm financial supporter of Republican candidates. Ultimately, say political observers, Schwarzenegger's history of political giving indicates little beyond what already is known -- that he is a moderate Republican who married into the Democratic Kennedy clan via NBC news correspondent Maria Shriver. But conservative activists argue the pattern underscores a questionable political...

<p>He's vowed to "clean up Sacramento," but Arnold Schwarzenegger has hired a handful of campaign consultants who were heavily involved in the scandal that drove disgraced state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush from office.</p> <p>One Quackenbush consultant hired by Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial campaign, Jeff Randle, co-wrote a memo outlining how Quackenbush could enhance his image with money from insurance firms that mishandled Northridge earthquake claims.</p>