If you had any doubt that Prop. 23, the California initiative that would suspend the state's greenhouse-gas-reduction measures, is going down in flames (PDF), take a gander at the people who lined up against it Tuesday:

Big-money, Brooks Brothers-suit-wearing, country club-membership-having investors said to be overseeing $415 billion in assets. Yep, they, like you regular folks, want nothing to do with the big-oil-backed proposition.

According to the campaign against 23, 68 of those blue bloods have come out to oppose the measure that would suspend greenhouse-gas reductions (but would back off if unemployment in the state went below 5 percent — a rarity).

Obligatory group quote from said investors:

“If Proposition 23 passes …[it] would cause California to lose billions of dollars of investment and thousands of jobs to competitors like China, Japan, Germany, or other U.S. states that have more stable commitments to clean energy policy.”

Of course, both sides are talking jobs. The pro-23 campaign says California's greenhouse-gas reductions would really crush manufacturing and other “dirty” jobs.

The pro side says the reductions would simply accelerate the fast-growing green-job sector.

Alan Salzman, CEO and managing partner of California-based VantagePoint Venture Partners says:

“The impact Proposition 23 will have on the future of clean technology investing cannot be overstated. If passed, this proposition would seriously impact our clean tech industries and send exactly the wrong message to investors and businesses across the state, the country and the world. A NO vote on Proposition 23 is a vote in favor of our clean-energy future.”

What do you think?

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.