CALIF POLITICS - While the Yes on 32 team would have Californians believe that Prop 32 is just a good ol' political reform measure, any notion of that should go by the boards now:
Look what just arrived in the Friday-afternoon-news-dump: A $4 million contribution to Prop 32 ... So what's the connection between the donor - the Des Moines, Iowa-based American Future Fund - and the billionaire conservative financiers the Koch brothers? Because of opaque campaign finance laws, tracing the money is a challenge. Politico makes the case here.
(SF Chronicle piece here)
If you follow that Politico link you will see that AFF is connected to the Center to Protect Patient Rights, a Koch-funded "nonprofit" that gives out money to other groups that do much of the dirty work.
What we now have in Prop 32 is not only a deceptive measure, but one that is being supported by the very folks that want to obliterate all campaign finance regulations. This clearly puts the lie to this being about anything other than an anti-labor scheme. More than ever this is the time that we need to roll up our sleeves and make sure our neighbors understand what this tricky measure really is.
(Brian Leubitz, the editor of Calitics.com where this piece was first posted. Disclosure: He also works for the No on 32 campaign.) –cw
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 75
Pub: Sept 18, 2012