-- Re the fraudulent "voter guide" that REAPPEARS EVERY ELECTION --
http://www.signonsandiego.com/...
In the final days before the election, the "Voter Information Guide for Democrats" hit 4 million mailboxes around California. On its cover was a smiling picture of Dianne Feinstein, and inside it recommended the Democratic ticket -- for the most part -- UNTIL you got to the propositions. Here, the slate FRAUDULENTLY recommended a NO vote on Proposition 87, the alternative energy bill that Bill Clinton endorsed and the anti-smoking bill (Prop 86). The slate was tailored to each district, and, for example, also recommended to San Diego voters the re-election of a local repuglican official. Tiny asterisks were all that betrayed the fact that these "endorsements" were bought-and-paid-for.
Diane Feinstein protested the mailing, but her comments were lost in the hectic final days of the campaign. Almost certainly, many loyal democrats brought the slate with them to the polls. Progressive measures involving alternative energy, campaign finance, and antismoking all failed, at least in some part, due to this deception.
This "slate" is a recurring, sleazy, paid-endorsement scam, run by the family of Sherman Oaks Rep. Lloyd Levine (D). The oil companies and tobacco companies paid his father, political consultant Larry Levine, $375,000 to misrepresent the endorsement of the Democrat Party on their initiatives. God knows how much he took from the others who bought his "endorsements." (one estimate was $2M.) He's been getting away with this since 1971, according to his website. (Talk about a "cash cow"...) He also produces the "Golden State Senior Election Guide."
This is a business which is predicated on outright deception, and since this sorry situation recurs every couple of years, it might be a good idea to follow through this time, and confront this problem. You might want to contact the perp himself and let him know how you feel:
email: larrylevine@earthlink.net
http://www.levineandassociates.com
Larry Levine & Associates
13701 Riverside Drive, Suite 604
Sherman Oaks, CA 91316
Phone: 818.906.8747
Fax: 818.906.8079
AND (especially if you are a voter in CA-40), take up the matter with his son, California State Assembly Member Lloyd Levine, in Sacramento. Drop him a line from his website email form.
Rep. Lloyd Levine
State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0040
Tel: (916) 319-2040 Fax: (916) 319-2140.
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/...
- Call the California Fair Political Practices Commission at 866.275.3772 to complain about this and ask them to investigate.
http://www.fppc.ca.gov/
If we do nothing, the exact same situation will occur in two years, and the progressive voters of California will AGAIN be defrauded by money from big corporations trading hands with sleazy campaign managers.