Get Satisfaction with Arnold & The Stones!
Buy A Magic Golden Ticket to Sit with Arnold!
Reported By: TheARNOLDFANS.com Staff
Thursday, August 18, 2005

"Don't Drink and Bake" but DO drive while under the influence of good rock music. In Raw Deal, Schwarzenegger was seen shooting up the bad guys while cranking up The Rolling Stones music in his car. In fact Arnold is a huge Rolling Stones fan and listens to them often while pumping up or cruising around in his Humvee. Now, a few wealthy fans may get to experience the best of both worlds: sit with The Oak while watching The Stones!

Fans can buy a ticket for a private evening rockin' the night away with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during the kickoff of the Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang'' U.S. tour on Aug. 21 at Boston's Fenway Park.

Here's the bottom line: $10,000 a pop to get in on a private preconcert reception and front-and-center seats to watch the show -- or $100,000 to sit with the governor in his luxury box.

The eyebrow-raising event is one of a cluster of glitzy fundraisers the star-power governor will headline in the next few weeks as he seeks to arm his campaign fund with $50 million in preparation for the Nov. 8 special election -- which will determine the fate of his political agenda and, observers say, his chances for re-election in 2006.

Marty Wilson, the governor's chief fundraiser, said Wednesday that Schwarzenegger has planned about half a dozen state events and other fundraisers coast to coast this month and next.

"We have a very ambitious finance plan that will go a long way to helping us meet our overall fundraising goals -- and be in a position to fund our television campaign this fall,'' Wilson said Wednesday.

The Rolling Stones benefit, limited to 40 lucky fans, comes thanks to a donation of a rare block of center-stage seats and a luxury box to the group's 2005 tour kickoff -- courtesy of mortgage lender and mega-political donor Ameriquest. The company, based in Orange, is the lead sponsor of the Stones' 2005 tour and has written $1.5 million in checks to Republican Schwarzenegger's campaign coffers to date.

In political circles, where competitive fundraisers are continually inventing new ways to vacuum up cash, the unusual Stones benefit looks like a first.

"Politicians are always looking for more ways to raise money -- but Schwarzenegger is one of those pushing the envelope and raising money in ways with a vigor that ... we don't often see,'' said Steve Weiss, spokesman for the Washington-based Center for Responsible Politics.

Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver liked the idea of sponsoring a Rolling Stones fundraiser because "he's apparently a big Stones fan,'' Massachusetts GOP activist Melissa Lucas told the Boston Herald.

The event was arranged after Ameriquest offered the governor more than three dozen center stage and luxury box seats for the Stones' first 2005 U.S. concert -- seats currently going for $1,600 each on ticket brokers' Web sites.

"We were offered an opportunity for some tickets we could have for fundraiser purposes,'' Wilson said. "It promised to be a very unique event and something our supporters would respond to.''

"In all my work, I've never seen anyone, anyone so enthusiastic and committed,'' said Kristin Heuter, a leading GOP fundraiser for Schwarzenegger. "He loves what he does. ... He wants to finish the job he started for the people of California.''

Some of the governor's scheduled fundraisers:

Aug. 17: A $500-per-person event at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino.

Aug. 18: A "private dinner" at the Sutter Club in Sacramento, where $100, 000 buys six VIP table tickets -- two tickets at the head table with the governor -- and three photos with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Aug. 19: A Lake Tahoe "evening of casual elegance" at Shakespeare Ranch in Glenbrook, Nev., sponsored by Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn and other Nevada politicians. The $25,000-per-couple "Platinum" tickets buy a host reception, cocktail reception, photo with Schwarzenegger and seats at his table.

Aug. 20: A $25,000-per-person fundraising barbecue dinner in New Jersey with GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester.

Aug. 21: An evening at a Rolling Stones concert in Boston.