Propositioning In California

Our phone in the San Francisco Bay Area has been ringing as often for one of the 11 propositions on the state ballot as for the President.  The most notable was one from a down-to-earth opponent of Prop 32 which pretends to be a campaign finance reform bill.  Nothing of the sort.  Deform would be a better word.  Here’s Dick Meister, long time labor reporter in the Bay Area, writing in the SF Bay Guardian:

 

The billionaire’s bill of rights

Billionaire corporate interests and other well financed anti-labor forces are waging a major drive to stifle the political voice of workers and their unions in California that is certain to spread nationwide if not stopped – and stopped now.

At issue is a highly deceptive measure, Proposition 32, on the November election ballot, that its anti-labor sponsors label as an even-handed attempt to limit campaign spending. But actually, it would limit – and severely – only the spending of unions while leaving corporations and other moneyed special interests free to spend as much as they like.

Unions would be prohibited from making political contributions with money collected from voluntary paycheck deductions authorized by their members, which is the main source of union political funds.

 But there would be no limits on corporations, whose political funds come from their profits, their customers or suppliers and the contributions of corporate executives. Nor would there be any limit on the political spending of the executives or any other wealthy individuals. What’s more, corporate special interests and billionaires could still give unlimited millions to secretive “Super PACs” that can raise unlimited amounts of money anonymously to finance their political campaigns.

or here is John Logan in the East Bay Express:

If You Liked Citizens United, You’ll Love Prop 32 

This year’s most deceptive ballot measure would enhance Big Money’s ability to corrupt California elections.

Finally, at the California Report dot org some NPR style evaluations of all 11 propositions.