(KTLA) After five months of failing to sway Democrats to his "year of reform," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has directed his political staff to prepare for a special election campaign that would attack the California Legislature and its union benefactors.

Escalating the governor's fight, chief political consultant Mike Murphy said Monday that Schwarzenegger would almost certainly call a special election that would include his package of reform initiatives, and possibly another measure that could disable the money-raising machine of public employee unions.

Murphy said the governor has asked him to conduct polling and voter focus groups on a so-called paycheck protection initiative that would require public employee unions to get permission from members before using their dues for political campaigns.