Clean Money CAMPAIGN REFORM. California Prop. 87 shows a desperate need

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I am in CA. I have been working on a mayoral campaign,
and on Prop. 87 -- A tax on Oil Company production in California
to pay for clean fuels development totalling 4 Billion over 10 years.

Big Oil has pumped more than $100 million to kill an initiative
which initially had huge majorities before the campaign.

With Oil company profits in the trillions
nothing could be more overwhelmingly a no-brainer than Prop. 87.
Gore, Clinton, Redford etc. have all campaigned for it.

Yet the Oil Lobby have now made it seem like some scam concocted by
thieving bureaucrats out to pick you pockets. They have lined up a host of real
and recently-invented organization to support their position.

Similarly, the tobacco companies have made the Prop. 86 cigarette tax into a
criminal scheme.

It seems that without any mechanism to stop big money interests from
engaging in deceptive propaganda any public goal that goes against
Big Money will never be achieved.

We have been doing GOTV for the DEM vote hoping that at least Dems will
register Bill Clinton's or Al Gore's support and put aside all the false
"facts" that the Oilys have been pushing.

May be a late night!

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. We have clean elections in maine, and there are STILL people who

seek to end it. And yes, they're one note song is "they're trying to fleece the public".

Whiny crybabies who are scared to be in elections where the playing field is level.

[Kutjara]

2. I've seen all the ads here in CA.

The anti-Prop 87 one is sponsored by Chevron and the anti-Prop 86 one is backed by Philip Morris. Of course, those little facts are hidden in the small print, while some earnest firefighter or 'ordinary person in the street' tells us how it's all a con by fatcat bureaucrats to fleece the unwary.

As the ads have progressed, the sponsor information has displayed for shorter and shorter periods, until, in the latest ad, it shows briefly at the beginning and then disappears. The enormous number of names on the list of sponsors are all shell organizations or special-purpose committees which themesleves are most likely funded by oil or tobacco interests.

And, once again, the voters will fall for it.

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5. Big Oil ads may run for another month, so much money is on the table

[lapfog_1]

3. I voted for it

but christ I wish they had simply done a one paragraph prop that simply taxed oil companies for the oil that they extract from California like almost EVERY OTHER STATE.

Just put the money into the general fund.

Do a different prop to fund alternative energy... and do it with specific proposals, and likely as a bond measure (I figured $100 billion bond ought to do it). Call it the California energy independence initiative.
Let that bond replace our complete electric transmission system and buy each and every homeowner and business owner a solar panel system (or provide some tax credit or something).

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4. Hard to work around the threat of Big Money. They have the big profits

from pumping CA oil and a general bond measure just taxes the average joe.

Prop 87 is designed as the quickest way to get to the goal of
clean energy by puting money directly into alternative fuels R&D
on the basis of science not political pork-barrel considerations.

[TheDonkey]

6. hopefully the Clinton commercials helped. Swayed my opinion

and voted for 87.