Los Angeles County is a big place with big problems.  Scientology is a big cult with deep pockets. With a stated goal of remaking the world into a Scientology-run planet, it makes good sense to cultivate politicians and other people in positions of influence.

L. Ron Hubbard made it quite clear that his intention was to control society. In a lecture entitled "Future Org Trends" given January 9th 1962, L. Ron Hubbard said: "You want to know what happens when you clear
everybody in that neighbourhood, the only thing that [Scientology] center can become used for is a political center. Because by the time you've done all this, you are the government..."

"Once the world is Clear - a nation, a state, a city or a village - the Scientology-organization in the area becomes its government! And once this has taken place the only policy accepted as valid is Scientology policy."

'1984' by George Orwell is a classic novel of life under a totalitarian regime. Here's Hubbard's vision of a Scientology-run world.

"Did you ever read poor old George Orwell's uh... 1984? Yes, yes, that's wonderful. That would be, could be, the palest imagined shadow of what a world would be like under the rule of the secret use of Scientology with no remedy in existence."                               -L. Ron Hubbard PDC Lecture #20

A quick look around the United States will demonstrate what happens when Scientology is able to influence politics and politicians. Scientology's attempt to groom and cultivate politicians is nothing new. It has been working at this ever since it moved into Clearwater, Florida under an assumed name, 'United Churches of Florida.' Hubbard well knew that, if the community knew the new neighbor was Scientology, it could derail his plan to make Clearwater the first Scientology-run city. This ongoing effort is reflected today by this website, which attempts to identify all Scientology-influenced politicians in Florida.
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/sp/FLA.html

There are obvious benefits for the cult, as a pet politican can not only promote Scientology programs, but also funnel public money to them.

There are many cases in which Scientology agendas, such as its insane opposition to psychiatry and the mental health industry, have been supported by cult-friendly politicians.

For example:

  Florida State Representative Gus Barreiro of Miami worked to insert Scientology beliefs into Florida's law and to fund Scientology programs in prisons.
Barreiro  promoted a provision to spend $500,000.00 on Scientology's Criminon program, which was vetoed by Governor Bush.

  Legislation dealing with mental health issues and how children are prescribed psychotropic drugs was sharply limited, but had it been enacted as it was presented by Representative Barreiro, would have mirrored Scientology beliefs on psychiatry and drugs used to treat mental illnesses.
Representative Gus Barreiro has coincidentally received significant campaign funds from very prominent Scientologists.

Also in 2005, was the case of Margarita Lopez, a New York City councilwoman who was running for Manhattan borough president. She got to meet Tom Cruise, Scientology celebrity, at the grand opening of the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project. This Scientology-based program uses the Purification Rundown, a confabulation of L. Ron Hubbard's uninformed "theories," which administers toxic doses of vitamins coupled with dangerously long sauna sessions. This is the same program at the heart of Narconon's "detox" program, which was debunked by the California review board and educators ! 

In February, 2005, Lopez, serving as chair of the Council Committee on Mental Health, heard testimony from Scientologist doctors.

And she apparently believed them.

"This is a program that should be funded," Lopez said, adding, "Who are the stupid people who are criticizing it?"

Indeed...who are the stupid people who are supporting it?

Lopez's campaign collected nearly $115,000 in contributions, more than one quarter of the total amount of money raised from sources that the N.Y.Post said were linked to Scientology, including $38,000 garnered at a Florida fund-raiser in January hosted by a Church of Scientology affiliate, just one month after the first half of the city's appropriation was secured by the detoxification center.

The New York Post's Stefan C. Friedman unearthed an e-mail suggesting strongly that the cultists have been soliciting their friends to kick in to the Lower East Side lawmaker's campaign kitty, on the grounds that doing so, "WILL DEFINITELY PAY BIG DIVIDENDS" - or so the e-mail reads. Quid Pro Cult, or business as usual for Scientology and its "friends" in politics.


Apparently, it worked in Scientology's favor. (However, despite Scientology support, Ms. Lopez lost her bid for the Manhattan Borough President position.) Despite all the solid information available on the Purification Rundown suggesting that it's nothing more than an ill-conceived, dangerous fraud, Margarita Lopez funneled at least $630,000 in public money to the 'New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project!'
This incarnation of the same old Purification Rundown was hastily created following the 9-11 tragedy, in a bald-faced attempt to profit from this disaster.
This was one of several attempts to use this event as a PR and recruitment tool by Scientology. This page features internal Scientology emails reporting their interference with rescue work at Ground Zero. Indeed, they boast about disrupting counselling volunteers and sneaking in under barricades!
http://xenu.net/archive/events/20010911-tragedy/
In the early years of 2000, there were efforts in the Four Corners states to place Scientology front group programs into prisons at taxpayer's expense. Sharron Angle, a Nevada legislator, worked very hard to convince her fellows on the legislature that a Scientology front group called Second Chance would be a good program for Nevada prisons. Second Chance is another Scientology entity which sells the dangerous Purification Rundown. After an email campaign to inform the legislators of the truth behind Second Chance, it was nearly unanimously decided that public money could be better spend elsewhere. Only Sharron Angle was still supporting it, expressing her bewielderment at the Legislature's refusal to adopt it into their state prisons. Had Ms. Angle done any research outside of listening to Scientology representatives, her confusion would have been easily cleared up.

Interestingly enough, Ms. Angle is a member of the National Foundation of Women Legislators, an organization which has been around since the 1930s. However, the NFWL's current treasurer is Bruce Wiseman, a Scientologist and president of the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights, a Scientology front group aimed at discrediting and destroying psychiatry and mental health programs. Also on a NFWL board is Joy Westrum, Scientologist, and president of Second Chance.

It is no coincidence that Scientologists are on the board of the NFWL. It gives them an opportunity to connect with legislators from all over the country. The NFWL claims to have several thousand members nationwide, and some of them wind up supporting and endorsing Scientology's fraudulent programs.