Democrats continue class attack against Whitman

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Democratic groups looking to lend a helping hand to Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial campaign have seized upon a message for their campaign ads against Meg Whitman: class warfare.

In the third ad released by California Working Families 2010, the group tries to make the connection between Whitman’s personal penchant for private jets and her economic policies for the state. The ad derisively describes “Whitman’s world,” -- a place with “tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, but nothing for the middle class.”

[Updated: 10:40 a.m.] Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei responded to the ad Monday. “Jerry Brown Incorporated is a political conglomerate of unions and special interests determined to defend Sacramento’s status quo and launch misleading attack ads against Meg,” she said. “Jerry Brown Inc. is learning that voters know Meg Whitman is the only chance for middle-class Californians to get meaningful tax relief, accountability in Sacramento and the jobs our state desperately needs. Meg’s plan eliminates the start-up tax for middle-class entrepreneurs and the capital gains tax for smaller investors, and it provides a new tax credit for middle-class homebuyers. What is Jerry Brown offering? Nothing.”

The ad is the latest in what has already become a nasty ad war -- more than four months from Election Day. Whitman unveiled a 60-second ad attacking Brown’s record last week, and the Working Families group has two other anti-Whitman ads on the air.

You can watch the latest ad below

-- Anthony York in Sacramento