Hi. All of us are aware of the increasing danger to the value of our vote and to our democracy, itself. This proposition doesn't directly touch the thuggery of Ohio and its corruption of the electronic ballot, or of Florida and its disenfranchisement of African-Americans and paper vote-switching, chads, et al. But it goes to the very core of the rot - the systemic, perfrectly legal control by the hugely wealthy to skew public information towards already bought-off candidates. Morover, it becomes part of a nation-wide revulsion to all of it, and contributes a critical dimension to our struggle for a democratic America.
Now, the big organizing and fundraising event is taking place next Saturday. The invite is attractive with additional info attached - too much to include herein, and I'd screw up the transfer, believe me. So, I'm sending it to you separately and hope you check it out, whether or not you can make the event. As said, it's free, but bring checkbooks. Happy New Year for the observant, warm wishes to all. Ed WHY PROPOSITION 89 AND CLEAN MONEY? Proposition 89 is opposed by the so-called "Taxpayers for Fair Elections," a group led by the California Chamber of Commerce, California Small Business Roundtable, California Taxpayers' Association, and California Teachers Association. They represent big oil, drug companies, HMOs, insurance industry, and other Big-Boss special interests that want to protect California's current dollar-based democracy. Here are some frequently-asked questions about Proposition 89: Q: Who qualifies for Clean Money? A: The initiative covers all statewide constitutional offices and state legislative offices - in other words, state Assembly and Senate members, and all statewide officers, including the Governor. The system is based on the successful model now in place in Arizona, Maine and other states and cities. Only candidates with true public support qualify. Q: How does a candidate qualify for Clean Money? A: Candidates must show a broad base of public support by gathering a specific number of signatures and $5 contributions from eligible voters in the candidate's district to qualify for public funding. For example: a candidate for Assembly would have to gather 750 ($5) contributions, and a candidate for Governor will need to gather 25,000 $5 contributions. Q: How much Clean Money can a qualified candidate receive? A. Elections in California are costly. The initiative provides enough funding to enable candidates to be able to run competitive campaigns without "busting the bank" of the clean money fund. Q: What if someone abuses the system? A: The initiative prohibits clean candidates from spending money on anything other than their campaigns and contains strict reporting requirements to assure that the public knows how the money is being spent. People who violate the clean money law can be sent to jail and prohibited from running for office or acting as a lobbyist or doing business with the state for five years. Successful candidates who violated the law can be removed from office. Q: How is the program funded? A: Funding will not come from individual taxpayers or the state's general fund. It will come through an increase in the corporate tax of 20 cents for every $100 of profit or 0.2%. This would restore the corporate tax rate to a figure lower than it was from 1980 to 1996. Individuals and the vast majority of small businesses would be completely unaffected. Q: Why should the public pay for candidates whose positions they might not agree with? A: The public currently pays for most expenses for our elected officials. We pay for their salary, staff, offices, and the ballots that people use to elect them. Why is it that the only thing we don't pay for is the thing that is most important in determining who gets elected? Worse, letting special interests pay for their races costs Californians billions in special interest giveaways. Q: Doesn't public financing of campaigns limit free speech? A: No, it is a completely voluntary system. If a candidate wants to run conventionally or with their own money, they can. In fact, Clean Money increases free speech because it allows people who cannot currently afford to run to have a voice in the political process. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, a voluntary system of public financing of election campaigns is constitutional. Q: Does Clean Money provide enough money for candidates to defend themselves against high-spending privately funding candidates or independent expenditures? A: Proposition 89 provides matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis when a candidate is outspent by non-participating candidates or independent expenditures. For example, it provides up to a cap of $1,250,000 in Assembly primaries and $2,000,000 in general elections. That would have completely matched over 99% of races in 2002 and 2004. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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