Puke politics: Prop. 30 forces pretend to moral high ground

Oct. 9

By Chris Reed

Call it “The Tales of Two Tax Hikes.”

So the pro-Proposition 30 campaign starts running dishonest ads that make it sound like there are strong protections guaranteeing its additional revenue for education won’t be hijacked by “Sacramento politicians.” It has no such protections, and “Sacramento politicians” control what it is used for. Ridiculously enough, this phony spiel is a carbon copy of the central pitch for Prop. 38, which actually does try to ensure its additional tax revenue doesn’t go to teacher pay raises. So Prop. 30 is trying to piggyback on Prop. 38 ads and create voter confusion.

Unsurprisingly, Prop. 38 sponsor Molly Munger says this is lame and promises TV ads that lay out the differences between the two measures.

And the Prop. 30 folks say, “Shame, shame, shame!” This is from the L.A. Times:

“If you launch these Prop. 30 comparison attack ads, you will be the second Munger spending millions against our students and schools,” the letter states. “In the end, the Munger family could be known as the millionaires who destroyed California’s schools and university.”

Munger has invested $31 million of her own money for the Yes on 38 campaign. Her brother, Charles Munger Jr., has dumped $22 million into a committee aimed directly at taking down the governor’s tax-hike plan.  

I was relieved to see Molly Munger wasn’t buying this garbage. Instead of holding the moral high ground, the pro-Prop. 30 campaign is pure puke politics, as Bill Lockyer would say if had one of his occasional candid spells, and he was willing to take on the CTA, not a lousy governor on the verge of being recalled.

But, really, what else are Prop. 30 folks going to do? They can’t tell the truth about California, or anything close. So what do they do? They lie. And they take school kids as hostages. Classy bunch.