New Prop. 89 Ad Hits 50,000 Online Views

New Prop. 89 Ad Hits 50,000 Online Views

'Stop the Pounding' Ad Calls on Voters to End Onslaught of Ads Pounding Californians Into Not Voting

Generating Statewide and National Press

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A new ad for Proposition 89, Stop The Pounding, has just passed 50,000 online views (over 20,000 on YouTube, 25,000 on Crooks & Liars, and 5,000 on other sites) in addition to generating local and national press. It will also run in wide release through at least the end of the month in television markets around the state. The ad was produced by Bill Hillsman of North Woods Media and can be viewed at www.CleanMoneyElections.org/ad .

Stop The Pounding takes direct aim at what has become the dominant factor in many elections nationally, as well as in California elections: the ceaseless avalanche of misleading ads that distort our political process. In California, the vast majority of ads are financed by big corporations in an attempt to overwhelm voters and buy elections. Drug companies spent more than $80 million to defeat prescription drug reform in 2005. This year spending for and against Prop. 87 has already smashed that record, and Prop. 86 ads are not far behind. Among the contributors, Chevron, Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, all have spent over $20 million.

As Stop The Pounding notes: "Here's the idea behind all these political ads in California: Rich politicians, political parties, and lobbyists keep pounding you with lies, distortions, and half-truths, day after day, with millions of dollars of ads, until you believe their lies, or get beaten down and decide to stay home and not vote. But this year you can stop it with one hand. Just vote Yes on Prop. 89."

Proposition 89 would change this disturbing dynamic of California elections by capping contributions from corporations to ballot initiatives at $10,000; all additional contributions would have to come from a corporate PAC. It also restricts all contributions to candidate campaigns, and levels the playing field in elections so that candidates who reject private contributions can compete with candidates financed by the big money donors.

Opposition to the initiative is being bankrolled by the same corporate heavyweights that have long pounded Californians with political ads, including Chevron, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Assn., the Chamber of Commerce, Southern California Edison, PG&E, nearly two dozen insurance companies, and other big corporate interests. Proposition 89 has been endorsed by AARP California, the League of Women Voters of California, California Common Cause, the Sierra Club, the California Nurses Association, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, and more than 300 good government and community organizations across the state.

Source: Yes on 89 - Californians for Fair Elections

CONTACT: Charles Idelson, +1-510-273-2246, or Shum Preston,
+1-510-273-2276, for Yes on 89 - Californians for Fair Elections

Web site: http://www.cleanmoneyelections.org/ad

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