Anti-Smoking Legislation

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown has received over $250,000 from the tobacco lobby, yet he states that these contributions have not compromised his views on the issue of smoking.

I don’t blame him so much for taking the money; after all, that’s the way politicians are expected to raise funds in our “democratic” system. However, when he denies that he’s influenced by such large contributions, he displays a cynicism that I find very depressing: Does he really believe that the public is so naive, so incapable of basic critical thinking, as to accept his denial at face value? If so, his contempt for us must be very great indeed.

JAMES PICCO, Los Angeles