Posted on 03/14/2006 11:29:16 AM PST by SmithL
BEVERLY HILLS - Facing a state audit and possible criminal investigation of the state commission he chaired, movie director Rob Reiner on Monday said his opponents are targeting him for attacks to avoid discussing the merits of the universal preschool initiative he put on the June ballot.
"They will do whatever it takes to knock this thing out," he said in an interview with The Bee. "So they will attack me because they know they can't talk about the initiative."
Opponents responded that they have discussed the shortcomings of Proposition 82, including their argument that raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for preschool for all 4-year-olds could harm the state economy.
"We are not the ones who have called for any investigations," said Joel Fox, the opposition campaign's co-chairman. "That has come from the legislators or the press."
But Reiner pointed out that the opposition campaign's original name was "Stop the Reiner Initiative."
"Stop Reiner!" he exclaimed. "Stop Reiner? Stop Reiner from what? From giving kids preschool?"
For the past three weeks, Reiner has been under fire from lawmakers because the First 5 California commission he chairs spent $23 million in taxpayer money on ads promoting preschool while Reiner was qualifying his "Preschool for All" initiative for the ballot.
Reiner sponsored Proposition 10, the 1998 initiative that created the commission he chairs and raised tobacco taxes to pay for early childhood programs.
"This money generated by Proposition 10 was not a private slush fund for Mr. Reiner to use," said Assemblyman Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks. "It appears that is what has transpired."
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Wow, that's very generous of him. I had no idea that his agent had scored him such a lucrative cut of those All In The Family reruns.
We should raise entertainment taxes for movies and television shows that go overseas.
The look of self-righteous indignation (and his "I don't have much of an appetite") is exactly the attitude I see in most liberals.
I think it's time we created a Hollywood Violent Movie Tax. Collect all the money and give it to friends...then run for governor...YEAH!
it'sforthechildrenjusttryingtosavelivesBushfault
Who does he think he is -- Clinton?
TAX the California RICH!!! Everyone in California is a millionaire now anyway (on paper)
say what it really is - free babysitters
meathead cradle to grave nanny state ping
If Reiner had campaigned for his socialized preschool in an ABOVE-BOARD manner, it still would have had a good chance of passing, in a leftish state like this.
But he wasn't satisfied, so it now he and his allies in this "cause" face allegations of using scores of millions of taxpayer dollars to fund an ad campaign that any child could easily see was meant to pump up support for the forthcoming preschool ballot measure.
What a meathead.
What a meatball...
(a better cavaman ad is the FedEx)
Yes, there is a lot of research that shows that privately-raised funds are used much more effectively and with many fewer consequences than publicly raised funds in terms of social programs.
How about Fed'l grants to the ACLU and anti-gun lobbies etc?
I saw a list of Fed'l grants and half of them work to destroy our freedom and enlarge Govt power.
What I want to know, is how much of a "salary", and how much in kick backs from his media friends did he get.
For fans of delicious irony and hypocrisy, Reiner opposes an initiative sponsored by the California Hospital Association which would raise tobacco taxes still further out of fear that it might cause smokers to quit, thus reducing revenues for his Prop. 10.
For fans of delicious irony and hypocrisy, Reiner opposes an initiative sponsored by the California Hospital Association which would raise tobacco taxes still further out of fear that it might cause smokers to quit, thus reducing revenues for his Prop. 10.
He's working for the children! [let's not talk about that criminal stuff...]
If he wants to give kids preschool, fine with me, but let him use his own damn money! But no, he wants the state to levy a new tax to pay for it! Socialist elitist a-hole!
Make that "scores of millions of smokers dollars." The ads came from First 5, Reiner's early childhood education program funded by a cigarette tax. If you want to see an example of a liberal managed program at work, check out the audits on that one. Lots of money spent on salaries, offices furniture, and P.R. A disproportionatly small amount spent on actually providing the services the program promised to provide.
Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, though. It keeps the 'goody two shoes crowd' gainfully employed and out of the way of the rest of us.
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