That was a PR blunder for the VCRCC, no doubt about it. It will cost them a lot more than $50,000 to fix it.

Since Strickland's "alternative energy" company hasn't quite gotten off the ground yet, maybe they can turn it into a cancer research company instead. I suggest a new series of ads:

"Tony Strickland has discovered a cure for lung cancer.

That's independent leadership. That's Tony Strickland."

Not so much. Especially when the fact that the Dems are getting money from Altria gets the same amount of press coverage that Strickland's donation did. It all started today with the barrage of letters in the Star highlighting this fact.

The Republican candidates are addicted to the money. They get a rush when a big tobacco company, insurance company, or casino makes a huge contribution.

Tony Strickland isn't taking money from tobacco companies because he thinks the citizens nicotine levels are dangerously low. He did it because he gets a rush from it. It's addicting.

Hanna Beth Jackson is a candidate that appreciates the citizens. She rather have a small contribution from someone that believes in her. The big tobacco company that gave Tony Strickland a contribution doesn't believe in him they only want something.

Somebody,

Do you think that tobacco companies give to democrats because they support their policy preferences or are they buying access?

And what about the Ventura County Republican Central Committee? Do tobacco companies support their policy preferences or are they trying to buy access?

I am guessing they are buying access to Democrats and trying to help a candidate that supports their issues ( less taxes on cigarettes, less restrictions on marketing, stopping the process of banning cigarettes from public places etc.)

Do you think the VCRCC supports their policy preferences?

Sorry, Somebody (Mongo), Hannah-Beth hasn't taken any money from cigarette companies and won't.

HBJ needs to quit bragging about all the legislation she has passed. Republicans and independents want smaller government not Big Brother.
Stricklands do stupid legislation saving tigers, special parking for pregnant women (we get to pay for enforcement of that!???) and inventing license plates.
HBJ needs to promise to only participate in important legislation, not LOTS of legislation - what will improve quality of life, not take away freedoms.

Here is a clue about what the tobacco industry wants from Tony. What product is heavily taxed, but could sell a lot more product if sold on Indian reservations without tax? Clue No. 2: What do Tony, Indian tribes and big tobacco have in common?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Come on Tiger, tell the truth!

Hanna Beth Jackson, as all politicians; think of people as a number. The difference is Hanna Beth Jackson's number for the people is one, as in they come first.

So what happens when BOTH parties take political contributions from a business or industry? Will that insure passage of measures and goals? Specifically, I am speaking of Waste Management and G.I. Rubbish - WM has contributed to both parties. Will this insure their goals are placed in front of which ever politician gets elected? In our case, it will be the landfill expansion. Take a walk through www.campaignmoney.com and look to see who is getting what. I think the every day citizen is aware of the fact that politicians run their campaigns based upon political contributions, and those that contribute more will get their agendas pushed through if someone gets elected. But again, what happens in the landfill expansion case when both sides of the bread are being buttered?

So what happens when BOTH parties take political contributions from a business or industry? Will that insure passage of measures and goals? Specifically, I am speaking of Waste Management and G.I. Rubbish - WM has contributed to both parties. Will this insure their goals are placed in front of which ever politician gets elected? In our case, it will be the landfill expansion. Take a walk through www.campaignmoney.com and look to see who is getting what. I think the every day citizen is aware of the fact that politicians run their campaigns based upon political contributions, and those that contribute more will get their agendas pushed through if someone gets elected. But again, what happens in the landfill expansion case when both sides of the bread are being buttered?

So what happens when BOTH parties take political contributions from a business or industry? Will that insure passage of measures and goals? Specifically, I am speaking of Waste Management and G.I. Rubbish - WM has contributed to both parties. Will this insure their goals are placed in front of which ever politician gets elected? In our case, it will be the landfill expansion. Take a walk through www.campaignmoney.com and look to see who is getting what. I think the every day citizen is aware of the fact that politicians run their campaigns based upon political contributions, and those that contribute more will get their agendas pushed through if someone gets elected. But again, what happens in the landfill expansion case when both sides of the bread are being buttered?

So what happens when BOTH parties take political contributions from a business or industry? Will that insure passage of measures and goals? Specifically, I am speaking of Waste Management and G.I. Rubbish - WM has contributed to both parties. Will this insure their goals are placed in front of which ever politician gets elected? In our case, it will be the landfill expansion. Take a walk through www.campaignmoney.com and look to see who is getting what. I think the every day citizen is aware of the fact that politicians run their campaigns based upon political contributions, and those that contribute more will get their agendas pushed through if someone gets elected. But again, what happens in the landfill expansion case when both sides of the bread are being buttered?

Sorry about the triple comments - the website kept erroring out and wouldn't show acceptance of the text!

Osborn and Strickland have now ordered their loyal lemmings to write letters to the Star crying like little babies about how Timm Herdt should not have exposed Osborn\Strickland/Kunicki for being the scumbags they are. Instead all the letters which are based on the same talking points, try to divert attention. Not one of them had the guts to say no one should accept money from tobacco companies that kill a million americans a year, drive up healthcare costs and market to children!

Mary Pallant should stage a rally outside the Strickland/Romney event. It would make a bigger difference than her antiwar rally. I can see the signs---
Romney supports tobacco!
Romney supports gambling!
Romney supports alcohol!
No Romney for VP!

Fact: Regular use of tobacco (smoked or chewed) causes illness and/or death.

Regardless of the morality of taking money to promote the use of or protect the distribution of such products in general, it is the height of hypocrisy and apparent conflict of interest to do so if:

You are a state legislator who advocates cutting budgets allocated by the state for health care for hospitals, the disabled and the needy;

or

You are a school board member with responsibility "in loco parentis" for the health and safety as well as education of underage students.

Logic and good government dictates action against such people regardless of party.

This is a race between two individuals. One takes huge sums from Alcohol, Tobacco & Gambling. The other does not. The one who owes favors to the Three Sluts would have you believe that the one who doesn't is equally guilty because other members of her Party take blood money from Strickland's money masters.

Strickland's attack on Jackson is a tacit admission that it's wrong to take money from the Three Sluts.
Now that his campaign's admitted as much, shouldn't they return that money?

gs and others,

You guys just can't be that simple! Jackson takes the same money through proxies, and even goes Strickland one better by taking logging money through Patty Berg.

If you look through her large contributors you will find Calderon, one of the largest recipients of tobacco money in the Dem side, Padilla, gambling and big pharma, Liu, big oil, alcohol, gambling and Berg, alcohol, gambling, big pharma and logging.

And that's from just 20 minutes of investigating.

When you lump those folks in with the trial lawyers, the unions and the Hollywood elite you get a picture of just how "for sale" Jackson is.

I'll take Strickland in a minute.

I don't care about logging, alternative energy, supermarkets or any of the scors of other lobbies. I care about the Vice Pimps: Tobacco, Alcohol & Gambling.

Calderon, Padilla and all the others that suck at BigTobacco's tit should be voted out of office. Strickland should give the money back. He should pledge to NOT ACCEPT campaign money from the Three Sluts. Otherwise he's as bad a Vice Pimp as they. End of argument.

Voter,
Let me try and understand your argument.
You concede that Tony Strickland has been bought and sold by gambling interests and tobacco companies but you justify it by saying his opponent is doing the same thing.

Isn't Greg Totten considered a trial lawyer for suing Ventura County? Doesn't it still count if you're suing the taxpayer and not just huge tobacco companies that kill people for a living?

Voter,

Beyond pointing out what you see as hypocrisy are you saying it is right to do because Hannah Beth Jackson does it? Is she the moral guide in this campaign?

My main question was 1. are they attempting to buy access with unfriendly legislators or 2. do they share policy preferences with the candidates?

Please answer for both Hannah Beth Jackson and Tony Strickland.

Voter,
There is a huge difference here. Hannah-Beth does not solicit nor has she taken money directly from tobacco companies. Nor has the Democratic Party of Ventura or Santa Barbara. She is not beholden to tobacco companies, oil companies, gambling interests or alcohol interests.

Strickland and the Republicans have solicited that money, and, one might predict, would continue to vote against cigarette taxes and health care. The distinction is very sharp.

Strickland is bought and paid for. Hannah-Beth is independent. Almost half her contributors are residents in the 19th. Just over 10 percent of Strickland's are.

Hannah-Beth Jackson was a horrible legislator when she was in the Assembly. She was totally inaccessible to her constituents and unresponsive to inquiries and suggestions.

You're not getting this second hand either. I used to live in her district and have personal experience dealing with her and her staff.

I thought I had escaped Hannah-Beth when I moved to Ventura, but, lo and behold, she's back.

Regarding the tobacco donations, this company, Altria, is the parent company of SABMiller (beer distributorship), a major securities and investment firm, and has many other spin-off companies in its portfolio. Phillip Morris tobacco is just one of the products in its vast portfolio.

So, stop with the moralizing attitudes.

What was Tony Strickland's sales pitch to the Tobacco Companies? What covenants and promises were agreed upon? How much of a threat does it constitute to the American people?

History has shown what is good for the tobacco companies is disastrous for the health of the America people. The voters have a right to know.

Brian et al,

The anti Strickland group has attacked Strickland for fundraising. I responded that, following their logic, if he's wrong so is Jackson, and everybody goes nuts. Marie's making a distinction without a difference. When Jackson takes a stand against the unions or the trail lawyers or racetracks I'll concede the point. Until then she's feeding at the same trough as everyone else.

My guess is that campaign cash gives you access. Why else would institutional givers give? Do you think the Professional Engineers In California Government (pecg-pac)cares about Hanna Beth and the 19th SD? Do you think that either candidate can raise the money that will have to be spent from their friends and neighbors in the district? Of course not. Strickland and Jackson will probably spend 5-6 million dollars, that's not coming from Aunt Marge or Bob across the street.

Hanna Beth is taking the same money as everybody else, she's just using proxies. And as far as the Dems CC's in VC or SB are concerned no one in their right mind would give them any serious money.

Garbage said is garbage nevertheless. Strickland takes huge sums from insurance, petrochemical, tobacco and gambling. Jackson takes money from trade unions, teachers, fire fighters and police. Strickland makes promises to the international mega corporations, tobacco and casinos while Jackson makes promises to the middle class workers. Given that choice, my support goes to Jackson any day of the week. Strickland is a whore to the tune of $50,000 given by a company that kills over 200,000 Americans each year from lung cancer. I don't view Jackson's benefactors as killers.

CAP

You're raising denial to an art form.

Either that or you're suffering from cognitive disconnect of monumental proportions.

Jackson's taking money from the same companies, she's just disguising it.

Prove it CAP. You are full of it. That is like saying that you and I are brothers; we both came from Adam and Eve. More nonsense; all money comes from the US mint. More nonsense; your Mother is a whore because your great Uncle went to a whore house. Get off your box, CAP. Strickland is soliciting gambling and tobacco money. Jackson is not. No one is questioning 3rd and 4th party sources of campaign funds. We are talking about direct solicitation of huge funds; huge beyond imagination; huge way beyond legal limits when made above board directly to candidates. Your psycho nonsense will go no where. Your candidate and his stooge Kunicki are taking huge sums of money from a company that is responsible for killing more than 200,000 Americans every year. Jackson is not. If you don't agree, prove it.

Voter,

So, tobacco companies are trying to buy access to both Tony Strickland and the Democratic leadership in Sacramento?

Would you prefer that all groups reject tobacco donations?

Also, it is Hannah Beth Jackson, not Hanna Beth.

Mongo, you used to live in Port Hueneme. That's not in the 35th. Why, that's in the 37th. The Stricklands were your representatives.

Hannah-Beth was a great representative for Ventura! As I have written in my blog, she was incredibly responsive to our concerns over the pesticide issue. She brought money to both Ventura County and Santa Barbara County for open space preservation and local projects, such as the $15 million for the City of Ventura's California Street offramp, money for coastal pollution prevention when none had been provided before her intervention, money for San Buenaventura State Beach improvements, and a grant for a 75-acre open space acquisition in Ojai.

Finally, even though Ahmanson Ranch and the Rocketdyne facility were outside her Assembly District, Hannah-Beth provided leadership, participating in demonstrations against the Ahmanson Ranch development and speaking out about the hazards of perchlorate as Chair of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Waste Committee. Where was Tony Strickland? Oh, that's right. He was busy passing a bill to get those Reagan license plates made. But they were never made.

BTW, voter, it's your boy who has taken from racetracks.

You must know an awful lot about me, Marie. Even more than I know about myself. How interesting...

FYI, I lived in Santa Barbara for 3 years. You seem to have omitted that from my resume.

I'll say it again. Hannah-Beth was horrible. I couldn't even get her staff to return a phone call. Santa Barbarans may accept this type of shoddy performance, but we don't need someone like this representing Ventura County.

Mongo,

Do you think Tony Strickland agrees with the tobacco companies policy preferences or are they trying to buy access? What about with the state Democratic Party?

Sorry, Mongo, just going by what you told me awhile ago, that you had lived in Port Hueneme for more than 12 years before moving here.

The only horrible person on this blog is Mango, he never met a lie he did not like. Mango is the kind of loser who could watch Bush hold up the Constitution and burn it and Mango would fall to his knees and thank Bush and then attack anyone who said Bush was wrong. I would never believe anything a wacko like Mango had to say. How many times a day do you kiss your Tony Strickland poster Mango?

Recipe for Phools Pie

Combine 1 tbs Strickland with 3 tsp Kunicki. Add 1 cup Osborn and a pinch of Mongo. Stir and bake for 30 min. at 375F.

Prepare frosting of lies, deceit and fraud mixed with 1/4 cup water (luke warm).

Apply frosting after cool.

Feeds eight phools who crave bull.

Hanna Beth is not telling the truth on her new add against Tony Strickland. Lets be honest!