California attorney generals are supposed to provide ballot summary and titles of initiatives that fairly explain what they are about. But recent Democratic AGs -- Bill Lockyer and now Kamala Harris -- used their position to poison the political landscape by tilting the titles in a way that helps those they like and harms those they don't like. Advocates for pension reform withdrew their effort to place an initiative on the November 2012 ballot after Harris offered an absurdly slanted title. Troy Senik reported on this earlier. Now even the liberal Sacramento Bee, in an editorial published today, seemed appalled:
Her office's official description of the two measures reads like talking points taken straight from a public employee union boss's campaign handbook. The AG claimed the measures would reduce retirement income for current employees, which is not true. She also claimed that they would deny future government employees survivor and death benefits, also not true.It really is revolting when an AG engages in such patent dishonesty. Its a mockery of her office and a reflection of what reformers are up against in a state where unions control everything.
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