The Outside chamber of commerce is trying to defend its dishonest attack on the Alaska oil tax initiative and failing.

Let me correct that.

The Alaska Chamber of commerce is trying to con Alaskans into thinking that Ballot Measure No. 1 is the work of evil Outside environmentalists trying to shut down the economy.

The chamber is spreading this lie with $800,000 from two Outside oil companies. It also has $500 from an Alaska company, the equivalent of a tiny tip at your favorite Outside restaurant.

As I wrote here last week, I believe that Calista gave the chamber a measly $500 so that the third highest contributor to the ConocoPhillips and Hilcorp campaign would not be a Texas oil company.

The chamber, which remains incapable of putting the apostrophe in the right place, tells Alaskans to “Reject Outsider’s Meddling in Alaska.”

That is one Outsider, in case you are counting. Punctuation aside, the chamber mantra is wrong on multiple levels.

The pro-initiative forces are largely from within Alaska. This is not Outside meddling, but a legitimate political point of view backed by many Alaskans that deserves honest debate.

If the chamber and the oil companies continue to lie about the measure, they will create more distrust and give Alaskans additional reasons to vote for the initiative.

The measure can be amended in two years and probably will be. The scare tactics used by the oil companies against it are exaggerated. The Legislature will not raise oil taxes, but any balanced fiscal plan requires some additional revenue from the oil industry. The companies hate the idea. No surprise there.

The comments by Kati Capozzi, president of the Alaska Chamber, are an attempt to deny the obvious.

“We certainly didn’t say the campaign is funded by extreme environmental groups,” Capozzi said. “We said an extreme environmentalist group has endorsed the Yes campaign and we want to make sure Alaskans understand,” she told the Anchorage Daily News.

Alaskans understand.

It’s almost as if Capozzi was watching an ad for the Mattress Ranch and hasn’t seen her own ad, which includes ominous music to convey danger and is designed to create the impression that the initiative is entirely the work of extreme environmental groups.

Then again, this is recycled material for her. Two years ago, while managing the campaign against the salmon initiative, she spoke about evil outsiders pushing that measure, “Outside with a capital ‘O,’” ” Capozzi said.

“Since statehood, we’ve fought the Outside interests,” she said in 2018.

The Daily News quotes her as saying that ConocoPhillips and Hilcorp are local companies, not Outside companies.

It may be that the Alaska Chamber of Hypocrisy is willing to pretend that Texas companies are Alaska companies because they are among the group’s most favored donors. The chamber is also willing to pretend that the message in its ad campaign is legit and it is not funded by Outside interests, “Outside with a capital ‘O.’”

There is room for real debate about the oil tax initiative and whether it should become law in November.

The board members of the chamber, listed here, should be embarrassed that they have allowed their organization to keep lying to the public about it.

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