Morongo pulls ad campaign

Assembly Hearing to Governor: Re-negotiate California Casino Deals[O]n Saturday, the Morongo Tribe abruptly pulled its $20 million campaign aimed at Assembly Democrats. Morongo’s spokesperson, former Republican Party Communications Director Patrick Dorinson, claimed the campaign had accomplished its goals, but the word in the Capitol was that the hugely expensive campaign was backfiring badly. In addition to its bold attempt at bullying the Assembly’s political leadership, numerous commentators had remarked how the Tribe’s expensive campaign had somehow failed to mention that it was promoting a casino expansion with 22,500 more slots for a tiny group of rich tribes. The Tribe even hired door knockers to generate calls to Assembly offices, but failed to tell voters about the giant casino expansions. Capitol staffers reported that when they asked unsuspecting callers, “So you’re supporting casino expansions for five wealthy tribes?” the conversations changed dramatically.