Incompetent Politics

We have a ballot measure battle out here in the sticks. Measure 50 would raises taxes on a pack of cigs by $.85. This money would be used to provide health care for the poor.

Big Tobacco has been running ads against it. Brilliantly, they have framed the issue as a huge give away to HMOs. More people with health care = more money for health insurance companies. They are also going with the "we must protect the sanctity of our Constitution" and "what's next? Coffee??!?!?!??"

The Yes on 50 people, or the Healthy Kids Initiative, just fired back with their first commercial. They have decided to go the (troubling) nativist route and attack the out-of-state tobacco companies that don't care about our kids. Not only should we on the left be deeply troubled that the best weapon our allies have is a claim to "homeland," but Health Kids manages to screw the pooch by having their narrator mispronounce "Oregon."

You out-of-staters may not know this, but we Oregonians are very, very, infinitely very touchy about how "Oregon" is pronounced.

The Healthy Kids folks are running a commercial that has one message, "vote yes because the 'no' crowd is from out of state." Then they manage to fuck up the pronunciation of the state name. How the heck did this get by anyone who actually lives in Oregon? Why was it run? Why? Why? Why?

I wish I could show you the video, but the Health Kids folks are also not competent enough to post their freakin' commercial on the YouTubes, let alone post it to their website.

Boobery.

And lastly, very prominent on the website is the message that Lance Armstrong(!) endorses Measure 50! That's right, out-of-state adultering cheaters think this is a great idea! You should too!