The Road Kill Caucus is a group of conservative Democratic Washington State legislators who regularly vote with Republicans to block progressive legislation, especially on bills involving fiscal matters and the BIAW. Because of the recession and because of the passage of Tim Eyman’s regressive I-1053, which requires a 2/3 super-majority vote for legislators to raise…
“Tea Party” sounds so much nicer than “Koch-funded, Fox News-enabled mob of racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes, and anti-government nutcases.” (adapted and modified from here) AKA= Also Known As (Video from MoveOn.)
After three sleepless nights, Uncle Sam goes to see his psychiatrist. On the couch, he tells the Doctor, “I spend all my money on wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya. I have no money left to spend on highways, social-security, hospitals, schools and libraries at home.” “My Pentagon budget is growing exponentially, year after…
Two headlines in today’s Seattle Times tell an important story about Boeing: Boeing will refurbish flight-test 747-8s in Texas Boeing: S.C. work won’t stop despite NLRB complaint Yet in the 2008 biennium alone, tax breaks for Boeing cost the state $195 million (reference) in return for taxbreaks meant to keep jobs in Washington State. According…
There’s a straightforward way for our state legislators to work around Eyman’s I-1053, an initiative that conflicts with several provisions of the state constitution. Will they pursue it? On Feb 29, 2008, Senate Bill 6931 was brought before the Washington State Senate for a vote. SB 6931 would have imposed a 42¢ per liter surcharge on the sale of…
[Note: For later news on this topic, see: State Republicans fined for violating reporting requirements in 2010 elections.] In October, 2010 a formal complaint was filed with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission against the Washington State chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers-funded organization that has promoted the Tea Party and that has…
MyNorthwest.com is reporting that Eyman honored for Washington initiative activism SEATTLE (AP) – Initiative activist Tim Eyman won a $20,000 award from the Sam Adams Alliance. The group calls him a modern day Sam Adams for his commitment to cutting the size of government in Washington state. The Seattle Times reports the “Sammies” awards were…
Here are two online tools that help you evaluate the performance of your state legislators: Washington Conservation Voters legislative scorecard Washington Labor Council Legislative Voting Records. Each tool shows ratings for House and Senate members, with the Labor Council having a year-by-year analysis. Anyone know of other scorecards? [Yes, Brian Gunn pointed me to Legislative…
I subscribe to the email list of BlackBoxVoting, the nonpartisan voting integrity organization whose director, Bev Harris, lives in Renton, WA. In this article I’ll give a very brief taste of the issues. Visit Black Box Voting and read To The American Media: Time To Face The Reality Of Election Rigging for more information. The…
[From top right, clockwise: House Chair Rep. Frank Chopp, Sen. Steve Hobbs, Rep. Judy Clibborn, Gov. Christine Gregoire, House Ways & Means Chair Ross Hunter (on bottom left), Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, House Majority Floor Leader Larry Springer, Lt. Governor Brad Owen (on upper-left)] During the run-up to the 2010 election, our Democratic leaders…