The possibility that California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is simply a Bush/Big Business puppet asked to go to Mexico to try to drum up support for a massive illegal alien amnesty increases with his latest outbursts. He had a "private" meeting with Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderon. Then, his helpers played a portion of the video tape recording of the "private" meeting to reporters.

Arnie says of the fence:

"It is crazy for the federal government not to simultaneously ... also create a law where we can bring more people into the country legally."

Some other quotes from that meeting or from before:

"The good thing is that new blood comes to Washington, new Democrats, new Republicans... I think there is a better chance to move immigration reform forward much quicker... ...It is insane ... not to have been able to accomplish ['comprehensive' 'reform'] this year..."

Oddly enough, I'm reminded of George P. Bush's big trip to Mexico during which he dissed the Border Patrol.

UPDATE: There's a longer Arnie quote from the "private" meeting in this article from Kevin Yamamura:

"We can't get enough workers into our country, so it has a direct effect on our economy... You have to literally simultaneously go and also create a law where we can lift the cap and bring more people into the country legally so they can hire people legally. ... It's, like, insane not to go and not to have been able to accomplish that."

The last also contains this passage in which Arnold gets a cookie from Calderon, and racial demagogues then try to sell him on passing Mexico-friendly proposals:

...The governor also boasted to Calderon that he received 40 percent of the Latino vote in Tuesday's election. Told that Republican governors historically have received less than that, the president-elect replied, "That's amazing. The Latino people really, really like you." Three exit polls showed the governor receiving between 33 percent and 41.5 percent of the Latino vote in Tuesday's election, though at least one political strategist said those numbers seemed high.

State Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Montebello, said those numbers show that Schwarzenegger is doing "very well" for a Republican governor, but she suggested he has room to improve. Escutia was one of three Democratic Latino state legislators joining Schwarzenegger on the trip.

"Frankly, if I were them, I wouldn't settle for 40 percent," she said.

"I would want to get more. However, on key issues of concern to the Latino community, I think the governor needs to improve. We have outstanding the issue of the driver's license. We have outstanding the issue of tuition assistance for undocumented immigrant kids. And what are we going to do about English-language learners?"

In his meeting with CalderAln, the governor reiterated his opposition to issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants until the federal government approves regulations under a national identification card act. The governor vetoed a bill this year to allow licenses once the federal regulations are approved. Schwarzenegger told CalderAln that the driver's license issue had depressed his support among Latinos.

"I could have gotten way over 40 percent of the Latino votes but the sticking point is the driver's licenses," Schwarzenegger said.

Another traveling legislator, Sen. Gloria Romero, said that driver's licenses were taken away in 2003 because of "some anti-immigrant hysteria." She said the issue is not the most important for Latinos, who are concerned about jobs and education, but that it is a symbolic one.

"Now is the opportunity, as the governor has demonstrated on so many issues before, is the time to lead," Romero said...