Betsy Butler for Assembly, California's 50th Assembly

Big Corporate PACs Issue More Crazy Lies in Smear Campaign Against Betsy Butler.

Or how many insurance, tobacco, oil, pharmaceutical, and banking companies can you fit in a mail box?

April 28, 2010

Yet another in a continuing series of corporate-funded mudslinging mailers was received by voters in Assembly 53 yesterday.

This one, paid for by the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), a coalition of insurance, oil, tobacco, banking, and pharmaceutical companies, made a number of demonstrably false charges against Betsy Butler.

1) The mailer claims Betsy has "accepted thousands of dollars from lobbyists representing big oil, drug and insurance companies..."

This is a flat out lie.  Betsy has accepted no contributions ($0) from lobbyists.  Not one cent.  This is a particularly ludicrous claim coming from, well, big oil, drug and insurance companies.

2) The mailer claims Betsy "organized numerous lavish junkets and golf outings for California legislators..."

Another lie.  Butler has never organized a junket or a golf outing for legislators.  In her work for the Consumer Attorneys, she did organize a golf fundraiser for members of the association - but no legislators.

This claim by CJAC has a footnote that references a newspaper article.  The CJAC mailer cites the article's headline as "Firms help fund legislator retreat" (Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2010).  But the ACTUAL headline (and subhead) read as follows:

Firms, trade group helped fund GOP legislators' retreat

Companies pressing an agenda in Sacramento, including oil and tobacco firms, funneled $120,000 to a group that covered much of the three-da event at a luxury resort in Santa Barbara. (continued...)

The article was about a corporate sponsored junket for Republican legislators paid for by the CJAC guys!  The article does not even mention Betsy Butler.  In the article, a Republican leader tried to deflect criticism by saying, in essence, that the Democrats do the same thing, citing a bi-partisan policy retreat organized by the Senate leadership for both Democratic and Republican state senators.  A number of groups helped defray the $12,000 costs of the meeting, including the Consumer Attorneys.  And Betsy Butler had NOTHING to do with that meeting.

3) The corporate PACs have moved to Mail Boxes Etc. in Torrance!

But the single most absurd part of this mailer is that CJAC, which is located in Sacramento at 1201 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.  That is the address officially listed on their campaign filings and the address they used on several of their earlier smear mailers.

But they've apparently moved!  Now they list their address on the mailing as 21143 Hawthorne Blvd., Unit 436, Torrance, CA.  Hey!  That's a Mail Boxes Etc!  How many Sacramento PACs can they pack into a tiny post office box?

Big oil, insurance and tobacco interests launch smear campaign against Betsy Butler in AD 53.

Begin with $147,000 expenditure targeting strong consumer and environmental champion Butler

March 30, 2010

Corporate Independent Expenditure Committees have launched a full-scale smear campaign against Democratic candidate Betsy Butler in Assembly District 53.

These corporate interests are led by the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), a coalition of large businesses working to deny consumers and workers their right to seek legal remedy against corporate misdeeds.

Corporations on the Board of CJAC include Chevron, Anthem Blue Cross, AIG, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, Shell Oil, British Petroleum and Altria.

Over the last couple of days corporate PAC Independent Expenditures totaling $147,224 have been filed in opposition to Betsy Butler. Their expenditures have been for polling, opposition research, campaign consulting and cable TV time and production.

Also involved is an affiliated group, the California Alliance for Patients Protection, a coalition of large insurance companies.

“Why have these corporate interests picked Betsy Butler to be the target of their smear campaign?,” asked Butler’s consultant Parke Skelton. “Maybe it has something to do with her proven leadership on consumer protection and environmental issues.”

“CJAC has hired an ‘opposition research’ firm in an effort to dig up dirt,” continued Skelton. “Voters should brace themselves for a blizzard of untruthful and negative mail and TV.”

CJAC brags in their promotional materials that they spent over $2 million in the 2008 election cycle in efforts to defeat pro-consumer candidates for California state legislature.