Its strategy is simple. Pour enough money into Oregon, throw enough mud on the wall, and hope sooner or later an issue rallies the very voters who are looking for an excuse not to do what’s right. At the very least, confuse voters who are undecided.

It’s true Measure 50 will require a constitutional amendment. It’s true nobody really knows the impact of this. And it’s true our legislators lacked the backbone to do what was right in the first place, thus forcing their constituents - the very people who elected them to make the hard decisions - to decide the measure‘s fate. In doing so, our elected officials let the real concern here, the health of Oregonians, take a back seat to an emotional and twisted argument.  More…

In the run-up to the Nov. 6 election, voters also may have seen ads against Measure 50 in which black ink slashes across hand-penned words on parchment, followed by “new taxes …” typed across Oregon’s founding charter.

And who hasn’t caught a glimpse of a couple’s televised kitchen-table conversation that finishes with the presumed husband declaring: “Well, I’m not going to let them start messing with our constitution now. I’m voting no on Measure 50.” More…

Here’s a handy guide to sort out the issues swirling around the campaign.

What is the Healthy Kids Program?

A proposal by Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Democratic lawmakers to raise tobacco taxes and use the cash to offer health care coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured children, teenagers and some young adults. The money also will bolster campaigns to prevent smoking and help people quit and to expand rural health care.

Will it insure 10,000 more low-income adults under the Oregon Health Plan, as backers claim?  More…

Across town, canvassers armed with fliers of cigar-chomping tobacco makers and fresh-faced children hit Portland homes last weekend to pitch their case for a statewide tobacco tax increase.

It’s all part of Measure 50, on track to be the most expensive state political campaign in Oregon history.  More…

“The law school takes no official position on this or any other ballot measure,” Law School Dean Robert Klonoff said. “The opponents of Measure 50 who are improperly using the law school name to further their cause must stop this activity immediately.”

Earlier this week, Lewis & Clark confronted another political action group about its misuse of the School’s name in a recent anti-Measure 49 letter that was mailed to voters across Oregon. In that case, the group Oregonians in Action used the law school name on the return address. Lewis & Clark has demanded that the group send a letter clarifying that the mailing did not represent Lewis & Clark Law School.  More…

Portland-area religious leaders urged voters on Wednesday to approve Ballot Measure 50, saying it was the responsibility of all Oregonians to preserve “the life and health of 100,000 children.”

Nearly two dozen representatives of local religious communities and nonprofit groups told reporters during a gathering at St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church in Northeast Portland that voters shouldn’t be swayed by campaigns opposed to the measure. More…

Measure 50 is a tobacco tax bill, placed on the ballot by the Oregon State Legislature earlier this year. If passed, the bill will raise Oregon’s state tobacco tax by 84.5 cents per pack, from its current rate of $1.18 per pack to the proposed rate of $2.02 per pack. The legislature’s fiscal office estimates that, if passed, revenues for the state would increase by more than $150 million for the remainder of the 2007-2009 fiscal period. During the 2009-2011 fiscal period - the first full term in which the tax increase would be in effect - revenue would increase by more than $230 million. Seventy percent of the tax money would be allocated towards funding Oregon’s Healthy Kids Program. The rest would be distributed to healthcare programs for low-income adults, tobacco prevention and education, and health services in rural areas.  More…

Their proposal would raise state tobacco taxes to pay for the Healthy Kids Program.

While children’s health care would seem like something everyone can agree on, the campaign has attracted some criticism for its structure. It’s also in the crosshairs of the tobacco industry, which has shattered all previous state spending records for its opposition.

OPB’s April Baer sat down with Cathy Kaufman, head of the Yes on 50 campaign, to talk about what’s at stake.  More…

Listen to Congressman Earl’s statement here.

Congresswoman Hooley expressed frustration over Congress’ inability to override the President’s veto and voiced her support for the Healthy Kids Initiative. “It comes down to what kind of a society we want to be. Do we want to pull out all of a child’s teeth once they’ve rotted, or do we want to make sure that child gets to see a dentist for check-ups to begin with?” (more…)

With nearly a month to go before the ballots are counted, opponents of Measure 50 have spent $9.2 million on their campaign — a record for Oregon by any standard. Nearly all the money has come from big tobacco companies that hope to persuade voters that it’s a bad idea to tax tobacco products to pay for children’s health insurance.

The big spending means the tobacco companies understand that their message is a tough sell. They also know they’re on their own — no one will step forward to help them make their case. And they believe that with glitz and repetition they can sow enough confusion and doubt to turn voters against Measure 50. The tobacco companies wouldn’t spend so much unless they thought they could win. More…