“Panic Button for Higher Taxes”
Sponsor: Backbone Issues Committee
Type: Radio ads
The message: “Debbie Debt” and “Ray Revenue,” fictional characters who first appeared in ads this summer, return to satirize the campaign strategists working to pass Referendums C and D. In this new ad, they conspire to “frighten people with scare tactics and stories” in their ads encouraging a Yes vote on the proposed five-year suspension of spending limits under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. “Debbie Debt” calls the proposal “our $3 billion Democratic tax increase.”
Fact: The November ballot questions weren’t produced by Democrats alone. They are the result of negotiations between Republican Gov. Bill Owens and Democratic lawmakers, and they enjoy some Republican support. Owens has been the most visible spokesman for the Vote Yes campaign. Other Republicans actively campaigning for the plan include state lawmakers such as Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood; Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez; Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins; Sen. Ron Teck, R-Grand Junction; and Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial. Denver oilman Bruce Benson, the former state GOP chairman and a key party fundraiser, is co-chairman of the Vote Yes campaign.
The referendums would allow the state to keep an estimated $3.7 billion over five years that otherwise would be refunded to taxpayers under TABOR. They do not change the tax rate, but they are expected to raise the base from which future spending caps are calculated.
“Debbie Debt” and “Ray Revenue” describe the content of real Vote Yes ads accurately. But whether the potential reductions in government services described in those ads are “scare tactics” is up for debate: What they call scary stories, proponents call the inevitable consequences of future budget cuts, should the referendums fail. – Staff writer Jim Hughes
