Letters: Give California voters some credit
Re “Keeping the secret money out,” Column, Oct. 25
George Skelton is outraged that the public doesn’t know the funders of an Arizona group that contributed to ads about Propositions 30 and 32. But the notion that Californians will be incapable of deciding how to vote unless they know the funders behind Americans for Responsible Leadership is absurd.
Dozens of organizations, including The Times itself, have publicly endorsed or opposed Propositions 30 and 32, which means that voters face no shortage of advice when figuring out how to cast their ballots.
Skelton obviously thinks he can vote intelligently on California’s various ballot propositions without knowing who’s behind Americans for Responsible Leadership. Too bad he doesn’t think as highly of his fellow Californians. If he did, he’d be calling for more debate on the merits of these proposals rather than insisting that the government use disclosure laws to enable ad hominem attacks.
Paul Sherman
Arlington, Va.
The writer is an attorney at the Institute for Justice, which litigates campaign disclosure cases nationwide.
ALSO:
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
