[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It's unusual when a government press office takes on the state's major newspaper. But that's just what happened last Friday.

The LA Times story noting that Gov. Schwarzenegger is exploring new taxes apparently struck a nerve, as the Governor's rapid response team went into full gear to try to prevent it spreading.

In a memo that was distributed to broadcast outlets only, the Schwarzenegger team called the story "inaccurate." "The Governor's staff HAS NOT been holding private meetings with stakeholders to prepare them for a tax increase -- that is 100 percent inaccurate," the memo read. "The Governor's staff has met with a variety of groups to discuss the budget deficit. The staff has said that all ideas are on the table, but this administration believes we cannout tax our way out of our systemic budget problem."

The memo also took aim at "another inaccurate story story that relied on unnamed sources." That one was about the Governor's position backing a story to run a transmission line through a state park. The memo didn't mention the Schwarzenegger version of that story.