Arnold taxes the truth

Arnold's willing to deceive the public in order to push his ballot initiatives:

One day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the state will have a special election in November, he launched his campaign to promote his reform initiatives.

Schwarzenegger kicked off the campaign in a San Diego homeowner's back yard, but he wasn't talking about any of the initiatives he is backing. Instead, he warned a group of property owners to pass his ballot measures or risk seeing rollbacks to Proposition 13, the property tax measure voters passed 30 years ago.

(snip)

However, the move raised the eyebrows of political observers because there is no pending legislation that would raise property taxes.

Arnold must be really worried about his prospects for success if he's willing to resort to unfounded scare tactics to push his goals.

It's going to be a long California summer once again.

*UPDATE* Heh:

Schwarzenegger was already out and about this week telling elderly homeowners that his Democratic opponents are plotting to change Proposition 13 in a way that could deprive them of their homes. In the old days, we would call that statement a baldfaced lie; today, I suppose, we're supposed to accept it as merely a charming fabrication.

Fifty years ago, during another period in which lying and stupidity passed for fine political discourse, a courtly Boston lawyer said to the Republican star of the day: "Have you no sense of decency?" It looks like we'll have plenty more opportunities to ask our political leaders the same question in the weeks to come.