Manipulating Grandma

In the past month or so, since the California recall circus rolled into town with Ah-nold "the lion tamer" Schwarzen..., etc. in the center ring, I've been kicking around a moral question: Is it wrong to mislead someone into doing something that's right?

My fascination with this ethical quandary has been prompted first by the entry of Conan into the gubernatorial race and second by my 80-year-old grandmother's off-the-cuff remark one dinner that she might vote for him. Shortly thereafter I heard about Ah-nold's father having been an ex-Nazi. Now, in fairness, I can't say that I've heard any evidence to suggest National Socialism runs in the Schwarzenegger clan; apparently Ah-nold himself outed his father when he pressed some Jewish organization to investigate Dad's muddled past, which turned up the story. I'm reasonably certain Ah-nold's not an anti-Semite, and he doesn't seem particularly fond of the Nazi past, but neither of which really qualify him as an exceptional human being

That said, is it wrong for me to make a big deal to my grandmother that Arnie's dad was a Nazi? Knowing Grandma and her worldview still stuck in W-W-2 (she continues to lovingly refer to the people of Japan as "Japs"), divulging this info about Arnie's dad is enough in her eyes to paint Arnie himself with the brush of Nazism. And that in turn should pretty well discourage her from voting Schwarzenegger. Unfortunately, being fairly conservative, she's likely to still vote Republican, my guess would be for Tom McClintock ("The choice of those who think young -- like the youth wing of the John Birch Society!"), but that would still help split the Republican vote and get Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante elected to succeed Gov. Gray Davis. Admittedly, it's still not so good as if Green candidate Peter Camejo won and instituted an honest-to-goodness progressive tax schedule for the state, but the sitting lieutenant governor has been dubbed "Cruz Tax Boostamante" by fiscal conservatives, and getting a bee in their bonnet still counts for something in my book.

But still, is it wrong to do such a thing? I suppose this is just another incarnation of the eternal "ends justifying the means" debate. Except that it adds a new dimension to it. Is it fair to say the ends justify the means when we aren't speaking in terms of mass murder or terror? Obviously I wouldn't say killing thousands of Iraqi civilians and hundreds of U.S. soldiers justifies paying higher gas prices, but then it takes some pretty funny logic to devise such a calculus.

I think it's a reasonable assumption that no human lives will be lost if I get Grandma to think Ah-nold's a Nazi so she won't vote for him. A reasonable assumption. The only really deleterious effects of such a means would be misinforming my poor, elderly grandmother and having her vote for someone even more repugnant. But the ends this is likely to promote would be sparing my home state from a new regime hellbent on implementing sweeping tax cuts -- particularly for the rich -- as an answer to a state budget deficit. (I hesitate to deem it a "crisis" as the $38 billion figure that keeps getting batted around seems predicated on some really questionable math when the projected deficit is more in the ballpark of $8 billion.)

Sure, they'll still try to balance the budget. But we know who'll foot the bill for it. That's right, John Q. and Jane X. Taxpayer. And since rich people do their damnedest, abetted nicely by most Republican legislators, to avoid paying taxes, most of the burden will fall squarely on the shoulders of middle- and lower-class Californians. Who, incidentally, will also see drastic cuts the level of state-provided services on which they depend heavily for their current survival.

So, there you have it. A pretty clear-cut, logical, reasonable case for saying the ends justify the means. Nicely wrapped with ribbon and a bow and everything.

Except that I'm not sure it's so simple. My conscience still tells me I can't manipulate Grandma for political gain, which probably places me on a higher moral ground than most politicians. And so I'm left to ask you, my loyal readers (both of you), whether you think the ends do justify the means.