They’re back.

If members of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association were feeling better about Governor Schwarzenegger, the return of what I call the “Sign Guys” might… well… be a sign that all is not well.

This afternoon, an SUV pulling a large billboard trailer could be seen driving a loop around the streets near the Capitol.

On both sides of the billboard were messages about Schwarzenegger.

On one side, a large photo of the governor’s head had been placed atop a weather vane that appeared to be spinning from one direction to the next, with the caption, “Thar He Blows.” On the other side, there was another large Schwarzenegger photo– with the phrase, “The Devil Is In The Details.”

The Sign Guys were last seen in 2005, when numerous prison guards took turns driving a similar billboard around the Capitol; that one featured a large less-than-flattering paparazzi photo of a swimsuit-clad Schwarzenegger on vacation in Hawaii.

In recent months, various news reports, and even a federal court-appointed investigator, have implied that the governor’s top advisers have been trying to patch things up with the guards. But the Schwarzenegger administration has yet to strike a deal on a new contract with the CCPOA; in fact, talks seem to have stalled. And on top of that, the governor’s massive prison reform proposals are expected to be introduced in the Legislature on Monday. And as such, the timing of the Sign Guys doesn’t seem like an accident.

I flagged down the two gentlemen in the SUV, confirmed that they were from the union, and asked whether the sign was about either of these issues, or both.

“It’s about him in general,” said the driver, who smiled and drove away.

The traveling message may be nothing more than a poke in the eye. But the guards union has long been a political powerhouse in California. And one of the current parlor games for politicos revolves around trying to guess what the CCPOA will do this election cycle: will the union keep its checkbook closed? Or will it launch a repeat of 2005 and go after the governor with millions of dollars in campaign activities?

The Sign Guys aren’t saying.