This season's most deceptive, cynical political TV ad - the Fairy Tale that is the No on Proposition 45 campaign

Young people rallying in favor of Proposition 45

If you live in California, you've seen it, probably multiple times. The earnest looking not-too-attractive Asian female doctor saying Proposition 45 is evil and you must vote against it or you will rot in Hell. Well, not in those words exactly, but that's the gist. Vote against this or the "independent commission" will not be able to lower your health insurance rates. Instead a nasty vile politician who can take millions from special interests and has blood on his hands, maybe even fangs dripping with the blood of innocent victims, will make your health insurance rates go up.

You've been witness to possibly the most deceptive ad since the 1988 Willie Horton ad against Massachusetts Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis and that one was wildly successful. (Of course Dukakis didn't help himself any by appearing in that tank, but I digress).

This ad claims that voting for Prop. 45 will prevent an "independent commission" from regulating our rates by putting all the power into a single politician's hands, one who is free to take millions in special interest money. (Similar ads have been exposed by Consumer Watchdog and others, already.)

That's an out and out lie. a) There is no independent commission. What there is is the Covered California board, appointed by the governor and the legislature to oversee the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It has no power to regulate rates. It can only negotiate with insurance companies.

b) The single politician is our elected (not appointed) insurance commissioner, Dave Jones. Dave Jones has never taken one dime from insurance companies. However, the legislators who appoint the Covered California Board can and many do take money and lots of it from those self-same companies.

c) By allowing our elected insurance commissioner to do his job, that is make the insurance companies justify their rates (something that is out of his purview now) will actually help Covered California negotiate for the benefit of ratepayers. The insurance commissioner already can regulate auto insurance and home insurance, why not add health insurance to the mix?

d) Guess who paid for that ad? You may have trouble reading the fine print. Even if you can read it, you may miss the fact that the groups listed on the bottom of your screen are actually insurance companies and big business. Not to disclose this information is actually illegal under California's campaign finance laws.

Or are the insurance companies too big to follow the rules?