by Rex Wockner
Hollywood producer and real estate tycoon Steve Bing has given half a million dollars to the campaign to stop voters from amending the California Constitution to re-ban same-sex marriage Nov. 4.
And the California Teachers Association, the state's biggest teachers' union, has pumped another $1 million into the battle against the amendment. The group had given $250,000 earlier.
A spokeswoman said "equal rights for all" is what teachers teach.
The No on (Proposition) 8 campaign says it has failed to raise as much money as the forces favoring the ban and that, as a result, the "yes" side has aired more TV ads and flipped public-opinion polls from opposing to supporting the ban.
No on 8's four TV ads have been criticized by some gay bloggers and others as "tepid," "lame" and "underwhelming," but campaign strategists say the ads were tested on undecided voters and they "work" on those people.
No on 8 is expected to release one or two additional ads before Nov. 4, and it is likely the new ad or ads will be more aggressive than those that have aired to date, said knowledgeable sources speaking not for attribution.
If enough money is raised to keep up with the "yes" side's spamming of the airwaves with ads, gays will win the fight, No on 8 predicts. Otherwise, the situation looks grim, the strategists say.
The outcome is fully contingent on the TV ad battle, No on 8 has asserted. Visit their campaign Web site at http://noonprop8.com.
