Democracy for Dummies
Ventura County Star: Columnists
Ever hear of the Save Proposition 13 Committee? How about Citizens for Representative Government or the Council of Concerned Women Voters or the Coalition for Senior Citizen Security? Who runs Parents and Teachers for a Better California; who produces the Official Non-Partisan Voter guide and whom do they represent?
For example, the energy companies that have ponied up some $65 million to beat Proposition 87, which would impose a severance tax on oil extracted from California, have already paid $180,000 for a slot on the Voter Information Guide, which is pitched to Democrats, and $120,000 to the Police Officers Research Association of California Official Law Enforcement Guide.
Backers of Proposition 86, the tobacco tax increase designed to support health programs, have shelled out $100,000 to the COPS Voter Guide.
You may wonder what cops have to do with oil severance taxes or why they’d be against the alternative energy technology that the tax would support. But money talks, and as every political operative knows, it’s always good to have cops on your side.
This is what worries me. Prop 86 is designed to tap into the smoker-haters prevalent in California but closer scrutiny shows that almost none of that $2.60/pack tax goes to anti-smoking initiatives (less than 10%). It’s a backdoor way to fund hospitals with no accountability.
Prop 87 is the only ballot initiative on there that truly works to the benefit of Californians, yet so much money is being thrown at it in the form of negative campaigns and bought endorsements that it isn’t getting the kind of attention it deserves.
The political technology has now become more sophisticated, principally through “microtargeting,” which melds commercial databases with voter lists to identify and niche-market to particular subgroups of voters: Christian conservatives, for example, in predominantly Democratic districts. But the idea’s the same.
Like Santa Claus, the political ops now know when you’re sleeping and when you’re awake — know your age, what magazines you read, how many kids you have, what church you belong to and where you shop. If you’re a Wal-Mart customer, you’re more likely to be a Republican; if you drive a Volvo and sip lattes at Starbucks — well, you know.
Don’t be a dummy. Take time and get informed about who is funding these initiatives, what the true motive is behind them and why you choose to vote for and against them.
Otherwise we’re just microtargeted sheep.
Technorati Tags: California initiatives, Prop 86, Prop 87