Category: Politics
Who funded Washington State campaigns and initiatives in 2016 and 2017?
I downloaded from the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission a spreadsheet listing contributions to political campaigns and initiatives. After loading it into a database, I ran some queries to see who’s spending the most.
Over $60 million was donated to campaigns and initiatives in 2017, according to the PDC data.
In 2016, over $144 million was spent.
MariaDB [contributions]> select sum(Amount) from contrib where `Receipt date` >= '2017-01-01'; +-------------+ | sum(Amount) | +-------------+ | 60918944.17 | +-------------+ 1 row in set (0.85 sec) MariaDB [contributions]> select sum(Amount) from contrib where `Receipt date` >= '2016-01-01' and `Receipt date` < '2017-01-01'; +--------------+ | sum(Amount) | +--------------+ | 144721261.22 | +--------------+ 1 row in set (1.29 sec)
2017 biggest spenders
Notice that you generally can’t tell from the names who’s paying for it — the individual contributors are hidden — and what they’re trying to buy. Stand for Children, Inc, which has the largest entry, is a pro-charter schools PAC funded by Connie Ballmer, among others.
Eastside Leadership Council (a pro-Manka Dhingra group) donated numerous times, for a total of $1,345,000. Here’s their facebook page.
Likewise, Working Families donated a total of $1,240,000. It’s a “pro-family, pro-life, pro-growth” PAC: https://www.cwfpac.com/
Use the scoll-bar further down to see the right side of the data.
MariaDB [contributions]> select `Filer Name`, Office, BallotNumber, ForOrAgainst,`Contributor name`, Amount from contrib where Amount >= 100000 and `Receipt date` >= '2017-01-01' order by Amount DESC; +------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+ | Filer Name | Office | BallotNumber | ForOrAgainst | Contributor name | Amount | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+ | STAND FOR CHILDREN WA PAC | | | | STAND FOR CHILDREN, INC. | 1000000.00 | | PEOPLE FOR JENNY DURKAN | | | | CIVIC ALLIANCE FOR A SOUND ECONOMY (SPONORED BY THE SEATTLE CHAMBER) | 475000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY EXEMPT | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 400000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | 350000.00 | | ORANGE DONALD J | PORT COMMISSIONER | | | WASHINGTON CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | 290000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 250000.00 | | CIVIC ALLIANCE FOR A SOUND ECONOMY SPONSORED BY THE SEATTLE CHAMBER | | | | AMAZON.COM | 250000.00 | | CIT FOR PROGRESS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | PHILLIPS 66 | 250000.00 | | REPUB ST LEADERSHIP COMM WA PAC | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE | 250000.00 | | WA CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | | | | LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS | 250000.00 | | CIT FOR PROGRESS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBS PAC | 235000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 225000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE | 200000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 775 QUALITY CARE COMM | | | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION POLITICAL EDUCATION AND ACTION FUND | 200000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 200000.00 | | EASTSIDE VALUES | | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY/EXEMPT ACCOUNT | 200000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 200000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 200000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | 200000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | 200000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 170000.00 | | MASTER BUILDERS ASSN OF KING & SNOHOMISH CO AFFORDABLE HOUSING COUNCIL | | | | MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF KING & SNO COUNTIES | 150000.00 | | GREENE KRIS L | PORT COMMISSIONER | | | VANCOUVER ENERGY | 150000.00 | | GREENE KRIS L | PORT COMMISSIONER | | | TESORO SAVAGE PETROLEUM TERMINAL LLC | 140000.00 | | MASTER BUILDERS ASSN OF KING & SNOHOMISH CO AFFORDABLE HOUSING COUNCIL | | | | MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF KING & SNO COUNTIES | 131238.00 | | CIT FOR PROGRESS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBS PAC | 130000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 125000.00 | | WA CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | | | | STEYER TOM | 125000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | STEYER THOMAS | 125000.00 | | EASTSIDE VALUES | | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY/EXEMPT ACCOUNT | 125000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | BLOOMBERG MICHAEL R | 125000.00 | | CAMPAIGN FOR TRIBAL SELF RELIANCE BY WA INDIAN GAMING ASSN | | | | WASHINGTON INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION | 125000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | BLOOMBERG MICHAEL R | 125000.00 | | URQUHART JOHN W | COUNTY SHERIFF | | | URQUHART JOHN W | 125000.00 | | GREENE KRIS L | PORT COMMISSIONER | | | ENTERPRISE WA JOBS PAC | 122314.40 | | COALITION FOR HEALTHY KIDS & EDUCATION | | | For | BLOOMBERG MICHAEL R | 115000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 115000.00 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU 775 | 110000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES | 110000.00 | | URQUHART JOHN W | COUNTY SHERIFF | | | URQUHART JOHN | 103000.00 | | REDUCE SEATTLE HOMELESSNESS NOW | | 126 | For | HANAUER NICK | 100000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 1199 NORTHWEST PAC | | | | SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199 NW | 100000.00 | | CIT FOR PROGRESS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBS PAC | 100000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | CIT FOR PROGRESS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | PHILLLIPS 66 | 100000.00 | | ENTERPRISE WA JOBSPAC | | | | CHEVERON POLICY GOVT & PUBLIC AFFAIRS | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | SENATE REPUB CAMP COMM | | | | JOHN BRAUN FOR STATE SENATE | 100000.00 | | ENTERPRISE WA JOBSPAC | | | | TESORO COMPANIES | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | ENTERPRISE WA JOBSPAC | | | | BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY | 100000.00 | | CIVIC ALLIANCE FOR A SOUND ECONOMY SPONSORED BY THE SEATTLE CHAMBER | | | | AMAZON.COM | 100000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | WASHINGTON CONSERVATION VOTERS | 100000.00 | | YES FOR VETS AND HUMAN SERVICES | | 1 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 100000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY EXEMPT | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 100000.00 | | DE-ESCALATE WA I-940 | | 940 | For | PUYALLUP TRIBE OF INDIANS | 100000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | WASHINGTON CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | 100000.00 | | ENTERPRISE WA JOBSPAC | | | | TESORO COMPANIES | 100000.00 | | KENNEDY FUND | | | | LABORERS POLITICAL LEAGUE EDUCATION FUND | 100000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | 100000.00 | | EASTSIDE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | 100000.00 | | WA CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | | | | BIG ORGANIZING ACTION FUND | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | EASTSIDE VALUES | | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY/EXEMPT ACCOUNT | 100000.00 | | JENSEN JAMES E | PORT COMMISSIONER | | | JENSEN JAMES E | 100000.00 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------+ 68 rows in set (0.84 sec) MariaDB [contributions]> select sum(Amount) from contrib where Amount >= 100000 and `Receipt date` >= '2017-01-01' and `Filer name`='Eastside Leadership Council'; +-------------+ | sum(Amount) | +-------------+ | 1345000.00 | +-------------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec) MariaDB [contributions]> select sum(Amount) from contrib where Amount >= 100000 and `Receipt date` >= '2017-01-01' and `Filer name`='Working Families'; +-------------+ | sum(Amount) | +-------------+ | 1240000.00 | +-------------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
2016
MariaDB [contributions]> select `Filer Name`, Office, BallotNumber, ForOrAgainst,`Contributor name`, Amount from contrib where Amount >= 100000 and `Receipt date` >= '2016-01-01' and `Receipt date` < '2017-01-01' order by Amount DESC; +------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | Filer Name | Office | BallotNumber | ForOrAgainst | Contributor name | Amount | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | 750000.00 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU 775 | 700000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM NON EXEMPT | | | | HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CAMPAIGN COMM. | 600000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY ACTION FUND | 500000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | BALLMER STEVEN | 500000.00 | | STAND FOR CHILDREN WA PAC | | | | BALLMER CONNIE | 500000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 500000.00 | | WA EDUCATION ASSN PAC | | | | MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS | 500000.00 | | ACCESS FOR ALL | | 1 | For | CULTURAL ACCESS WASHINGTON | 489332.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM NON EXEMPT | | | | WASHINGTON SENATE DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN | 433000.00 | | A SAFER SNOHOMISH CO | | 1 | For | STILLAGUAMISH TRIBE OF INDIANS | 400000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | 400000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 400000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | SOROS JONATHAN | 400000.00 | | COMMUNITY PROGRESS | | | | THE REAGAN FUND | 400000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COM | 375000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | HOUSE REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATIONA | 375000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | REPRESENT US | 360000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | OUR WASHINGTON | 360000.00 | | WA ST ASSN FOR JUSTICE JUSTICE FOR ALL | | | | WASHINGTON STATE ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE JUSTICE IN ACTION | 358150.66 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU 775 | 350000.00 | | GOOD GOVT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 350000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 300000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 1199 NORTHWEST PAC | | | | SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199 NW | 300000.00 | | CIT FOR WORKING COURTS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | VULCAN INC. | 300000.00 | | NO ON 732 SPONSORED BY THE ASSN OF WA BUSINESS | | 732 | Against | KAISER ALUMINUM | 300000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 775 QUALITY CARE COMM | | | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION POLITICAL EDUCATION AND ACTION FUND | 300000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 300000.00 | | COMMUNITY PROGRESS | | | | THE REAGAN FUND | 300000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 290000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | ALLEN PAUL G | 250000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 250000.00 | | OUR WASHINGTON | | | | DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSN | 250000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 250000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 250000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | BALLMER CONNIE | 250000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 250000.00 | | JUDICIAL INTEGRITY WA PAC | | | | FISHER KEN | 250000.00 | | MAINSTREAM VOTERS OF WA | | | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | 250000.00 | | NO ON 732 SPONSORED BY THE ASSN OF WA BUSINESS | | 732 | Against | AMERICAN FUEL & PETROCHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS | 250000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | BALLMER CONNIE | 250000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM NON EXEMPT | | | | ORR JAMES L | 250000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 250000.00 | | OUR WASHINGTON | | | | SEIU WA STATE COUNCIL PAC | 250000.00 | | WA CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | | | | LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS | 250000.00 | | SOUTH SOUND FUTURE PAC ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBSPAC | 250000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM NON EXEMPT | | | | BLOOMBERG MICHAEL | 248000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 239440.00 | | AUDUBON WA | | 732 | For | AUDUBON SOCIETY DBA AUDUBON WASHINGTON | 234000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 225000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 210000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 210000.00 | | SENATE REPUB CAMP COMM | | | | SENATE COMMITTEE FOR MARK SCHO | 205000.00 | | FAIRNESS PROJECT | | | | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT | 200247.00 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU 775 | 200000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION | 200000.00 | | STAND FOR CHILDREN WA PAC | | | | HASTINGS REED | 200000.00 | | OURVOTESCOUNT | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 200000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE SOLUTIONS PAC | 200000.00 | | GOOD GOVT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 200000.00 | | GOOD GOVT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 200000.00 | | CIT FOR WORKING COURTS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | GATES BILL | 200000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 200000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | REPRESENT US | 200000.00 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU LOCAL 925 | 200000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 200000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | REPRESENT US | 200000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | 190000.00 | | BRYANT WILLIAM L | GOVERNOR | | | KING COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY | 185000.00 | | WA REALTORS PAC | | | | NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS | 181830.35 | | BRYANT WILLIAM L | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY | 175000.00 | | KNOW YOUR JUDICIAL BALLOT PAC | | | | WEA PAC | 175000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION LOCAL 925 PUBLIC SERVICE PAC | | | | MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS | 174346.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 172000.00 | | BRYANT WILLIAM L | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY | 170000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 170000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION | 162000.00 | | CAMPAIGN FOR TRIBAL SELF RELIANCE BY WA INDIAN GAMING ASSN | | | | WASHINGTON INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION | 160000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | EVERY VOICE | 155000.00 | | STAND FOR CHILDREN WA PAC | | | | WA CHARTERS ACTION PAC | 153200.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | FISHER KENNETH L | 150000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | EVERY VOICE | 150000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 150000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | MICROSOFT | 150000.00 | | HOUSE REPUB ORG COMM | | | | FRIENDS OF DAN KRISTIANSEN - S | 150000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 150000.00 | | MAINSTREAM VOTERS OF WA | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 150000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 150000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | WA EDUCATION ASSN PAC / WEA PAC | 150000.00 | | WA REALTORS PAC | | | | NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS | 150000.00 | | NO SOUND TRANSIT 3 | | 1 | Against | FAMILIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSIT | 150000.00 | | MASTER BUILDERS ASSN OF KING & SNOHOMISH CO AFFORDABLE HOUSING COUNCIL | | | | MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF KING & SNO COUNTIES | 150000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | EVERY VOICE | 150000.00 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU 775 | 150000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | LABORERS' POLITICAL LEAGUE | 150000.00 | | KEEP WA ROLLING | | | | MICROSOFT | 150000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT | 150000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | UFCW LOCAL 21 | 150000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | WA EDUCATION ASSN PAC / WEA PAC | 150000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 150000.00 | | BRYANT WILLIAM L | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY | 150000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 150000.00 | | MCLAUGHLIN STEVEN A | PUBLIC LANDS COMMISSIONER | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY | 150000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | ELDRIDGE SEAN | 150000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM NON EXEMPT | | | | STEYER THOMAS F | 150000.00 | | SENATE REPUB CAMP COMM | | | | COMMITTEE FOR MARK SCHOESLER S | 145000.00 | | FUSE VOTES | | | | FUSE WASHINGTON | 145000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 140000.00 | | ALLIANCE FOR GUN RESPONSIBILITY ERP COMM | | 1491 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 140000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES (WFSE) | 140000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION LOCAL 925 PUBLIC SERVICE PAC | | | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION | 136762.25 | | SOUTHWEST COMMUNITIES ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBSPAC | 134000.00 | | CULTURAL ACCESS WASHINGTON | | | | SEATTLE THEATRE GROUP | 133732.00 | | LEGISLATIVE MAJORITY PAC - SPONSOR DEMO LEG CAMP COMM | | | | DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE | 130000.00 | | MCLAUGHLIN STEVEN A | PUBLIC LANDS COMMISSIONER | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY | 130000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 775 QUALITY CARE COMM | | | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION POLITICAL EDUCATION AND ACTION FUND | 129168.67 | | WA CHARTERS ACTION PAC | | | | BALLMER CONNIE | 125000.00 | | WA CHARTERS ACTION PAC | | | | BALLMER STEVE | 125000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 1199 NORTHWEST PAC | | | | SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199 NW | 125000.00 | | WA CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | | | | OREGON GIVING BACK FUND | 125000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 125000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | 125000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | DEDOMENICO MARK DR. | 125000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 125000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | SEIU WA STATE COUNCIL | 120000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 120000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 120000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION WA ST COUNCIL PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL | 120000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 119720.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | SEIU WA STATE COUNCIL | 117500.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | SEIU WA STATE COUNCIL | 117500.00 | | KNOW YOUR JUDICIAL BALLOT PAC | | | | JUSTICE FOR ALL PAC | 115000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | DEDOMENICO MARK DR. | 115000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL PAC | 115000.00 | | DENTISTS FOR PATIENT CARE (WA ST DENTAL PAC) | | | | WASHINGTON STATE DENTAL PAC | 112000.00 | | REAGAN FUND | | | | HOLLAND CLYDE | 110500.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | HANAUER NICOLAS | 110000.00 | | REAGAN FUND | | | | FISHER KENNETH | 103375.00 | | YES ON I-125 COMM | | 125 | For | SEIU 775 HEALTHCARE NW | 100000.00 | | SENATE REPUB CAMP COMM | | | | ANN RIVERS FOR STATE SENATE | 100000.00 | | REAGAN FUND | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 100000.00 | | COMMUNITY PROGRESS | | | | THE REAGAN FUND | 100000.00 | | BRYANT WILLIAM L | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY | 100000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES (WFSE) | 100000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | HOLLAND CLYDE | 100000.00 | | ENTERPRISE WA JOBSPAC | | | | CHEVERON POLICY GOVT & PUBLIC AFFAIRS | 100000.00 | | QUALITY COMMUNITIES COMM (REAGAN FUND) | | | | THE REAGAN FUND | 100000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | HOLLAND CLYDE | 100000.00 | | FAMILIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSIT | | 1 | Against | KEMPER HOLDINGS | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | VON MUEFFLING WILLIAM | 100000.00 | | INSLEE JAY R | GOVERNOR | | | WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE | 100000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | PUYALLUP TRIBE OF INDIANS | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | JUDICIAL INTEGRITY WA PAC | | | | FISHER KEN | 100000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | SEIU 775 QUALITY CARE COMMITTEE | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | AMAZON | 100000.00 | | SENATE REPUB CAMP COMM | | | | JOHN BRAUN FOR STATE SENATE | 100000.00 | | HOUSE DEMO CAMP COMM | | | | FRIENDS OF FRANK CHOPP SURPLUS ACCOUNT | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | MICROSOFT | 100000.00 | | SENATE REPUB CAMP COMM | | | | CURTIS KING FOR STATE SENATOR | 100000.00 | | WA CHARTERS ACTION PAC | | | | BINDER KATHERINE | 100000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | SEIU 1199 NW | 100000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT | 100000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 100000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 775 QUALITY CARE COMM | | | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION POLITICAL EDUCATION AND ACTION FUND | 100000.00 | | OUR WASHINGTON | | | | SEIU WA STATE COUNCIL PAC | 100000.00 | | MAINSTREAM VOTERS OF WA | | | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | 100000.00 | | OUR WASHINGTON | | | | WA FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES | 100000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | FISHER KENNETH L | 100000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE | 100000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | SEIU HEALTHCARE UNITED FOR QUALITY CARE 1199 NW | 100000.00 | | SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTL UNION 1199 NORTHWEST PAC | | | | SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199 NW | 100000.00 | | COMMUNITY PROGRESS | | | | THE REAGAN FUND | 100000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 100000.00 | | FAMILIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSIT | | 1 | Against | KEMPER HOLDINGS | 100000.00 | | WA ST DENTAL PAC | | | | WASHINGTON STATE DENTAL ASSOCIATION | 100000.00 | | QUALITY COMMUNITIES COMM (REAGAN FUND) | | | | THE REAGAN FUND | 100000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | WASHINGTON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION | 100000.00 | | MAINSTREAM VOTERS OF WA | | | | KENNEDY FUND | 100000.00 | | CIT FOR PROGRESS ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBSPAC | 100000.00 | | FAIRNESS PROJECT | | | | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | SOROS JONATHAN | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | DEVAAN JON | 100000.00 | | CARBON WA | | 732 | For | KELLY PETER | 100000.00 | | NO ON 732 SPONSORED BY THE ASSN OF WA BUSINESS | | 732 | Against | PUGET SOUND ENERGY | 100000.00 | | REAGAN FUND | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 100000.00 | | AUDUBON WA | | 732 | For | THE DURST ORGANIZATION LP | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | REPRESENT US | 100000.00 | | CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT FRAUD AND PROTECT SENIORS | | 1501 | For | SEIU 775 | 100000.00 | | HARRY TRUMAN FUND | | | | WA EDUCATION ASSN PAC | 100000.00 | | SEATTLE PROTECTS WOMEN UNITE HERE LOCAL 8 FOR YES ON 124 | | 124 | For | UNITE HERE LOCAL 8 | 100000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION | 100000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | WASHINGTON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PAC | 100000.00 | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | STRAT PAC | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | VULCAN, INC. | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | EXPEDIA | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | WASHINGTON ENGINEERS PAC | 100000.00 | | KENNEDY FUND | | | | SEIU LOCAL 775 | 100000.00 | | FAIRNESS PROJECT | | | | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | ELDRIDGE SEAN | 100000.00 | | WA ST REPUB PARTY NON EXEMPT | | | | HOLLAND CLYDE | 100000.00 | | SOUTHWEST COMMUNITIES ENTERPRISE WA | | | | ENTERPRISE WASHINGTON'S JOBSPAC | 100000.00 | | GOOD GOVT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES | 100000.00 | | OUR WASHINGTON | | | | WA FEDERATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | ELDRIDGE SEAN | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | ABRAMS JEREMY JJ | 100000.00 | | WORKING FAMILIES | | | | THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL | 100000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199NW | 100000.00 | | SEATTLE PROTECTS WOMEN UNITE HERE LOCAL 8 FOR YES ON 124 | | 124 | For | UNITE HERE | 100000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT WA PAC | 100000.00 | | KENNEDY FUND | | | | SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199NW | 100000.00 | | NEW DIRECTION PAC | | | | SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL PAC | 100000.00 | | OUR WASHINGTON | | | | WA CONSERVATION VOTERS ACTION FUND | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | ELDRIDGE SEAN | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | JOHNSON JOHN S III | 100000.00 | | WA ST DEMO CENT COMM EXEMPT | | | | PUYALLUP TRIBE OF INDIANS | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | IBEW PAC VOLUNTARY FUND | 100000.00 | | MASS TRANSIT NOW | | 1 | For | GATES WILLIAM III | 100000.00 | | REAGAN FUND | | | | REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP CO | 100000.00 | | RAISE UP WA | | 1433 | For | THE FAIRNESS PROJECT | 100000.00 | | NO ON 732 SPONSORED BY THE ASSN OF WA BUSINESS | | 732 | Against | KAISER ALUMINUM | 100000.00 | | INTEGRITY WA | | 1464 | For | WILSON FRED | 100000.00 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+-----------+ 223 rows in set (1.29 sec)
See Campaign money pours into Washington state races days before election.
Time to stop being polite to Repugs: Stop being Complicit
In society there are rules of etiquette that enjoin us to respect political and religious differences. For example, at work, at the store, and on social networks such as nextdoor.com, we are expected to be nonpartisan and to respect differences of opinion.
But given the racism, sexism, craziness, and all-round destructiveness of the conservative movement — especially as realized by Donald Trump — it is our moral obligation to loudly oppose conservative thinking in all its forms.
Just as we are morally obligated to oppose fascism.
Shout down and insult conservatives in your midst!
As Senator Jeff Flake said in his speech announcing his retirement, “I will not be complicit.”
Kushner admitted: “Trump thinks Republicans are stupid”: “So basically Trump was deliberately and successfully lying about his belief that Obama’s birth certificate was somehow false since 2011. He perpetuated this lie because it would appeal to Republicans — and it did — but he didn’t actually believe it himself.”
From The Atlantic:
In 2008, three-quarters of the major GOP presidential candidates said they believed in evolution, but in 2012 it was down to a third, and then in 2016, just one did. That one, Jeb Bush, was careful to say that evolutionary biology was only his truth, that “it does not need to be in the curriculum” of public schools, and that if it is, it could be accompanied by creationist teaching. A two-to-one majority of Republicans say they “support establishing Christianity as the national religion,” according to Public Policy Polling.
…
Before Trump won their nomination and the presidency, when he was still “a cancer on conservatism” that must be “discarded” (former Governor Rick Perry) and an “utterly amoral” “narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen” (Senator Ted Cruz), Republicans hated Trump’s ideological incoherence—they didn’t yet understand that his campaign logic was a new kind, blending exciting tales with a showmanship that transcends ideology.
…
The fact-checking website PolitiFact looked at more than 400 of his statements as a candidate and as president and found that almost 50 percent were false and another 20 percent were mostly false.
Conservative commentator George F. Will: “It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about President Trump’s inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft of information and married to stratospheric self-confidence. ”
James Madison” “The day will come when our Republic will be an impossibility… because wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a few.”
Valerie Tarico: “Trump is appointing a fox to every henhouse based on what kind of hens each fox most wants to eat.”
David Stockman (former Reagan budget advisor): “[T]he Republican Party was hijacked by modern imperialists during the Reagan era. As a consequence, the conservative party cannot perform its natural function as watchdog of the public purse because it is constantly seeking legislative action to provision a vast war machine of invasion and occupation.”
Our technology and progress are due to scientists. Repugs are science deniers.
Trump is dismantling the EPA.
Trump and the Republicans want more tax cuts for the the rich, despite record concentration of wealth.
Yet almost half the electorate are brainwashed into electing an obviously incompetent and unstable conman as president. So the problem is not just Trump. The problem is the conservative movement and the right wing media and billionaires that fund it.
Report on the AAPI candidates forum with state senate candidates Dhingra, Englund, Kuderer and Darnelle
On Thursday October 5, the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Eastside Candidate Forum was held at the North Bellevue Community Center. Sponsors included the Korean American Coalition – Washington, American Civil Liberties Union, MAPS-AMEN (Muslim Association of Puget Sound — American Muslim Empowerment Network), APACEvotes, Tasveer, Seattle JACL, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Eastside Asian Pacific Islanders, India Association of Western Washington, National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, and International Community Health Services.
The speakers were, from left to right are 48th LD state senate candidates Michelle Darnell (Libertarian) and Patty Kuderer (Democrat); Aneelah Afzali (the moderator, from MAPS-AMEN); and 45th LD state senate candidates Jinyoung Lee Englund (Republican) and Manka Dhingra (Democrat). There was a large turnout of mostly Asian people. Samosas and kofta were provided.
The format was: the (excellent) moderator asked each of the candidates questions. Each candidate had four minutes to respond. There was no time at the end for questions from the audience, though the candidates stayed and responded individually.
For a transcript of several of the speeches see this Bellevue Reporter article about education funding and this Bellevue Reporter article about hate speech.
Manka Dhingra wants to fund education by reducing some of the many tax loopholes that favor corporations and that don’t benefit the middle class by producing jobs. Dhingra said that state senate Republicans supported the creation of a registry of Muslim residents. (“Republican state legislative leaders, however, have been cool to the idea on proposals aimed at protecting against deportations” — source. See also this.) At one point Dhingra mentioned that the state senate majority leader (Mark Schoesler) once wore a “Make America Great Again” hat in the senate chambers. (Presumably, Dhingra was trying to associate state Republicans with the albatross of extremism of Trump and the D.C. Republicans). In response, a south Asian (Indian?) audience member rose and shouted, “What’s wrong with that?”. (What’s wrong with wanting America to be great again? Or what’s wrong with supporting Trump?) The moderator and several audience members worked to calm down the woman, who continued to mumble to the people around her. Dhingra mostly ignored the woman’s interruption. Asked what bill she would introduce first as a state senator, Dhingra said: a bill to close loopholes in gun laws that allows people convicted of harassment to continue to own guns.
Jingyoung Englund said there is extremism on both sides and repeatedly blamed one-party rule, in both Olympia and D.C., for our political problems. (But Republicans have controlled the state senate in Olympia since 2012.) She says that one reason to vote for her is that Republican politicians in D.C. would be more likely to listen to her pleas than to the pleas of a Democrat. (She is basically admitting that the D.C. Republicans are extreme.) She claimed Asian Americans would be the majority by some point in the 21st century. Several of Englund’s answers were vague or confused. She called for everyone to get together and have “conversations.” Asked what issue she would first address as state senator, Englund said: transportation. “The legislation that I would proactively pursue has to do with transportation. Because when I go door to door, the people in my district over and over the things I feel most about is I feel overburdened by taxes, I want to maintain quality education and public schools, and number three: traffic. Traffic is awful. Wherever you are in Washington State, it’s awful.” (Untrue! Traffic is not awful in rural areas.) But she offered no solution. Instead she proposed lowering car tab fees — which wouldn’t help traffic at all! She said one Romanian family pays $1200 in car tabs. “I would work with both Democrats and Republicans to find a way to bring relief to the families who suffered this year and then, moving forward, make sure that they don’t have to keep paying such high fees.” Here is a video of her remarks on transportation.
The moderator asked Englund about our regressive tax system. Englund avoided the question and didn’t give a straight answer. After the forum, I asked the moderator why she didn’t press Englund about it (the moderator made a point of interrupting the speakers if they strayed from topic); she said she ran out of time, but she encouraged me to ask Englund in person. So I did. Englund again avoided the question and just said that the voters don’t want more taxes. I said, it’s not a matter of more taxes, it’s a matter of fairer taxes. Still, Englund didn’t respond.
In her closing statement, Englund said that extremism is “deteriorating our democracy” and, overall, gave an impression of someone too immature to be a state senator. Below is her closing speech, in which she speaks like a high schooler:
Patty Kuderer, who was appointed to the 48th LD state senate seat, emphasized education and the state’s responsibility to amply fund it, per the state Constitution and state Supreme Court rulings. If we don’t educate the kids, they end up in the court system and we end up paying times as much to prosecute and imprison them. Kuderer wants to eliminate the real estate tax break for (oil) companies that was hidden in the last-minute budget deal designed largely by the state senate. Kuderer spoke of our regressive tax system and of the need for a capital gains tax, that would target only 1% of the population. Asked to name the first bill she would submit as senator she said she’d propose a state infrastructure bank similar to, but more limited than, Sen. Bob Hasegawa’s proposal for a state bank. Half the cost of infrastructure is debt servicing paid to Wall Street. The state pays $3 billion every year (or two) to Wall Street. But the state can finance projects itself and save a lot of money. North Dakota has a similar bank, and it survived the recession well. Such a bank would complement, not replace, private banks.
Michelle Darnelle is opposed to the the monopoly on government by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, which she said are corrupt. She claims to be sympathetic to the concerns of both many on the left (Occupy) and the right (Tea Party) who are fed up with the two main political parties. She called for “incentivizing” quality education via choice, charter schools, and vouchers. She suggested that a strong economy would reduce anti-immigrant views; she gave the analogy that crowded, starved rats become cannibalistic. Because of the Las Vegas massacre there will be calls for more government surveillance and meddling with Americans’ rights. She claimed the ultimate cause for such massacre is the widespread use of anti-depressants, which have nasty side-effects. Darnelle raised her voice in anger at several points. Her first bill as senator would be a homeowner’s bill or rights, to protect homeowners from foreclosure when the next recession hits. She claimed that Attorney General Bob Ferguson did little or nothing to protect homeowners in that way. (But see this and this.). When I asked her she would do about traffic suggestion, Darnelle suggested eliminating tolls on roads. (Wouldn’t that mostly just increase traffic?) I believe Darnelle has little chance of winning against Kuderer. No Republican candidate survived the top-two primary. This is Darnelle’s fourth run, I believe she said.
How the Seattle Times could prosper
I’ve never subscribed to the Seattle Times. The reason is that, as a progressive, I disagree with many of the political endorsements by the editorial board.
Yet when I speak with conservatives they often say they dislike the Seattle Times because it’s too liberal! The Seattle Times gets hit from both sides of the political aisle.
Admittedly, the editorial board is more libertarian than conservative. That is, they’re generally liberal on social and foreign policy issues and conservative on tax and fiscal issues.
And it sure is sad and dangerous that journalism is struggling and that the news room and the public have to pay the price.
Yet I have a suggestion about how the Seattle Times and other news outlets can win back subscribers: Stop endorsing candidates and policies. The main purpose of a newspaper should be to present the news as objectively and fairly as humanly possible. The editorial page can still be used to present opposing viewpoints by outside commentators, but except in cases of obvious incompetence or political extremism, the board should avoid partisan politicking.
Recognizing a Tyrant
Symptoms by which you may recognize a tyrant:
1. Fears losing their position; actions driven by this fear
2. Attempts to rise above the rule of law
3. Does not accept criticism
4. Cannot be called to account for their actions
5. Does not listen to advice from those who do not curry favor
6. Prevents those who disagree from participating in politics
If any of this sounds familiar, we are in trouble. By definition, a democracy rejects tyranny in all its forms.
[Paraphrasing Paul Woodruff, First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea]
In Bellevue, the issues of the homeless shelter and safe injection sites are wedge issues promoted by scared Republicans
In Bellevue and other Eastside communities, there is highly partisan debate underway, online and at city meetings, about the proposed men’s shelter in Eastgate, and about King County’s plan to have safe injection sites for the most addicted opiate users.
The real reason for the fervency of the opposition on these issues is that Republicans need wedge issues to distract voters from Donald Trump and from the fact that the Republican-controlled state senate just raised King County homeowners’ real estate taxes by up to $800 a year.
Republicans have lost control of the eastside in the state legislature: all legislators in the 41st and 48th legislative districts are Democrats (and female). That fate was sealed last year when Democrat Lisa Wellman defeated Republican Steve Litzow for the 41st LD state senate seat.
Likewise, in the 2016 election, every single precinct in the 41st, 45th, and 48th LDs preferred Hillary Clinton & Tim Kaine over Donald Trump & Michael Pence. (Source: database downloaded from: King County Elections) Opposition to Trump is what probably sank Litzow, who even sent out campaign literature stating his opposition to Trump.
Finally, in the recent primary election in the 45th LD, Democrat Manka Dhingra beat Republican Jimyoung Englund by double digits. (source) Check out this to see who’s funding Englund.
The real estate tax increase was a result of the need to fund education, to satisfy the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. Even Republicans agreed that the state needed to raise revenue. Rather than taxing the rich, as the Democrats wanted to do with their proposed capital gains tax and their plan to eliminate tax exemptions, Republicans insisted on funding McCleary almost entirely by raising existing regressive taxes (“no new taxes”). Another reason for the budget deal was to make sure that King County would subsidize the (mostly Republican) districts in the eastern part of the state.
All six Democratic legislators in the 41st and 48th legislative districts voted against the budget deal. But Democrats have only a two seat majority in the state house, so the bill passed, hours before the deadline that would have shut down the government.
This is the background that explains what’s going on with the opposition to the homeless shelter and safe injection sites.
The Eastgate shelter site is beside a transit center, a public health facility, and Bellevue College but is otherwise in a non-residential area. The closest homes are 850 away. But many citizens say they’re worried that the shelter — which would be “low-barrier” — would bring drugs and crime to the neighborhood and would lower real estate values.
Likewise, there is debate about whether safe injection sites should be located in King County, as has been proposed by the King County Council. The Council agreed that such sites would be located only in cities that welcomed them. City councils in Bellevue, Auburn, and Federal Way have voted to oppose such sites.
On social networks such as nextdoor.com, at town council meetings, in letters-to-the-editor, and at community meetings, some people are using their strong opposition to the shelter and the safe injection sites as wedges to attack politicians. There is a petition, I-27, to oppose heroin injection sites.
The petition and the opposition to the shelter are being driven by partisan Republican zeal to find wedge issues to win elections. Republicans are scared and need issues to win back votes.
The Seattle Times article Initiative proposed to ban heroin safe-injection sites in King County explains the origin of the safe injection petition:
The initiative campaign has been partly funded by major donors to Republican campaigns including Clyde Holland, Ken Fisher, Bruce McCaw and Skip Rowley. Signature-gathering began in Redmond and was focused on the Eastside suburbs, Sinderman said, though it was unlikely a site would be proposed there. And a spokesman for the I-27 campaign, Keith Schipper, is a former communications director for the Republican State Party…. Chris Vance, a former state Republican Party chairman, said he believes those leading the I-27 campaign sincerely believe safe-injection is bad policy. But they also see it as a way to make political gains. It is “absolutely the type of thing that’s been a wedge issue that allows suburban Republicans to differentiate themselves from Seattle Democrats,” said Vance, a former Metropolitan council member.
When I posted that quote on nextdoor, someone responded by telling a sad story about her niece dying in the hospital from liver failure due to drug use. I responded:
So sorry to hear about your niece. That’s why society needs to set up various kinds of treatment options. Surely you don’t think the supporters of safe injection sites like opiate use? Injection sites are one of many options for treatment, and only for the most addicted people. Besides, as the article points out, and as others have said, Bellevue and other Eastside communities are very unlikely locations for such a site. The City Council voted unanimously against it. Mostly, the issue is a wedge issue and a distraction from more pressing issues. For example, you point out “There are no beds. Medicare does not have coverage.” Why do you think that is? It’s because of our regressive, unfair tax system and corrupt political system. People are misled by propaganda. The issues of safe injection sites and the homeless shelters are distractions from more important issues.
Jared Nieuwenhuis, candidate for Bellevue City Council, used the issues of the shelter and safe injection site in his (nasty and dishonest) campaign literature. Here’s an image of the flier I got in the mail:
In theory the city council elections are non-partisan. In practice, they are anything but. Look at the highly partisan campaign literature distributed by Jared. What does “Loyal to Seattle Special Interest Groups” mean? It falsely claims that Karol Brown will bring heroin injection sites; she opposes them. I can’t speak for whether Ms. Brown supports an income tax, but she should, and so should you, because our regressive tax system is very unfair to the middle class. Indeed, real estate taxes in Bellevue are going up about $800 next year because the Republicans refused to support a capital gains tax and refused to eliminate tax breaks for corporations and rich people.
Many experts and informed politicians think there is a role for safe injection sites.
“An article published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine addresses the massive scope of opioid addiction in the United States, and discusses numerous benefits of giving drug users a supervised place to inject–something other countries have put into practice all over the world.” See “Opioid Activists Are Going Rogue To Prove That Safe Injection Sites Save Lives” (Opioid Activists Are Going Rogue To Prove That Safe Injection Sites Save Lives)
Safe injection sites are a radical new approach to battling addiction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supervised_injection_site
Yet I myself do not think Bellevue is the right place for a safe injection site. Besides, the issue is settled in Bellevue, since the city council has voted to oppose the site. Nor do I have strong opinions about the location of the homeless shelter.
I just think the massive opposition to safe injection sites, and to the homeless shelter, is blown way out of proportion. Both are being used as wedge issues. If people are so concerned about drug abuse, please support funding for other solutions to these problems.
How can we address the opiate crisis, homelessness, pollution, traffic, and our grossly unfair, regressive tax system that burdens the middle class and causes increasing concentration of wealth? Those are the real issues we face.
Review of Martin Nowak's Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed
How can cooperation emerge in a world of selfish individuals ruled by a Darwinian competition for survival?
This is the question that Martin Nowak, Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Harvard University, discusses in Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed.
Nowak and his collaborators have published a series of articles in major scientific journals that give partial answers to this question. The book provides a gentle overview of the technical results, with frequent comments about the implications for politics and economics. For example, Nowak repeatedly mentions climate change as an example of something requiring cooperation among humans.
The hope is that if we understand, mathematically, how cooperation emerges, we can better design policies and structures to promote cooperation and deter selfishness.
I propose that “natural cooperation” be included as a fundamental principle to bolster those laid down by Darwin. Cooperation can draw living matter upwards to higher levels of organization… Cooperation makes evolution constructive and open-ended.
The book has a few simple mathematical formulas, but the educated layman should be able to understand the gist of the arguments, thanks to generous use of example, analogy and simplification. Indeed, the book’s readability benefits from the aid of Roger Highfield, an author of popular science books, who helped Nowak with the writing.
Darwinian evolution is based on competition for survival, for resources, and for mates. Winners reproduce, losers leave few offspring. Due to mutations, individuals vary in their fitness. Over many generations, fitter (configurations of) genes proliferate, while weaker ones disappear.
In fact, fitness is defined in terms of ability to reproduce, so the fact that fitter individuals reproduce is something of a tautology.
Similarly to evolution, in an economy, people often act selfishly, trying to get paid as much as possible for what they sell, whether goods or their services, and trying to pay as little as possible for what they buy.
It would appear that cooperation is difficult to explain in a pure, evolution-based model or in a selfish profit-based economy. You’d expect that selfishness would always win out. But it’s clear that cooperation is common, both among non-human animals and among humans.
The basic reason is that, in the long run being nice pays off, for you or for your children, kin, or neighbors.
In the context of this book, cooperation basically means: an individual is willing to sacrifice some short-term benefit in exchange for a longer-term reward, either for itself or for related individuals (e.g., children or kin or members of the same group). In other words, cooperation is a form of reciprocity, or reciprocal altruism. This sense of cooperation isn’t as pristine or as self-sacrificing as some religious traditions’ ideals of pure selfless love. But even Christianity relies on a promise of reward and punishment in the afterlife to motivate moral behavior.
Albert Einstein once said, “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
Unfortunately, from the point of view of biology, all we seem to have is punishment and reward, where reward means reproductive fitness: produce descendants who survive and who likewise reproduce. (It is not sufficient to have children: if your kids are too weak to survive, or if they don’t reproduce, your reproductive fitness isn’t really high.)
Yet the bearer of fitness (the entity getting the reward or punishment and that gets to reproduce) isn’t necessarily the individual of a species. Richard Dawkins famously suggests that the unit of competition and survival may be the gene: animals exist to promote the interests of their genes, not the other way around. Moreover, genes, as well as gene networks, span individuals and species.
There are also theories which say the unit of the reward is the group: related kin, or cooperating subgroups, or (at a higher level) cooperating species who live in symbiosis with one another.
Indeed, group-based reciprocity seems to be the essence of cooperation.
We are all in it together.
We are interdependent.
Nowak thinks cooperation, and not just competition, is a fundamental force in evolution.
I have argued that evolution “needs” cooperation if she is to construct new levels of organization, driving genes to collaborate in chromosomes, chromosomes to collaborate in genomes, genomes to collaborate in cells, cells to collaborate in more complex cells, complex cells to collaborate in bodies, and bodies to collaborate in societies.
A set of genes working together is an example of cooperation. And in the primordial soup, sets of cooperating chemical reactions led to the origins of life.
Within biology, there have been attempts to explain cooperation in terms of kin selection (in which an individual is willing to sacrifice itself to aid close relatives who share many genes with it). The social insects are prime examples of cooperators; the worker ants who build and defend the nest are closely related to the queen.
A related notion is group selection (aka multi-level selection), according to which groups which are more fit (e.g., due to being better cooperators) out-compete groups which are less fit.
The idea of group selection seems intuitively correct, and Darwin was aware of the role of cooperation in evolution and of the apparent presence of group selection, both in biology and in culture (where ideas or what are now called “memes” reproduce).
But there are heated disagreements among professional biologists about whether the phenomenon of group selection really occurs and about the extent to which it occurs. Richard Dawkins has famously ridiculed both the idea and the biologists who support it. Nowak seems to be among the latter group.
Examples of cooperation among humans include: lending a cup of sugar to a neighbor, taking the bus instead of driving the car, paying taxes instead of cheating, contributing to the donation plate, bringing in your neighbors’ and garbage bins from the curb, as well as more dramatic examples such as risking your life to safe someone who has fallen onto train tracks. Most parents would instinctively risk their lives to save the lives of their (small) children.
In the mathematical and computer models of cooperation, various individuals interact with other individuals, either in a well-mixed pool; in a network of connections such as on social networks; in various sets of interests groups; or on a grid. Whenever you interact with another individual, each of you decides whether to cooperate or whether you will defect (be selfish). You are rewarded or punished accordingly.
Mathematically, cooperation is formalized in the form of such a two person game. The standard game of this sort is is called The Prisoner’s Dilemma. It models the situation where two prisoners who have been arrested by the police and are being interrogated separately. Each prisoner gets to choose, independently, whether to cooperate (keep his mouth shut and deny the crime) or defect (accuse his partner of the crime). If they both cooperate they each get only one year in prison on a lesser charge, because the police have insufficient evidence. If they both defect, they each get two years in prison. If one person cooperates with his partner and the other person defects, then the first person (the cooperator) gets three years in prison and the second person (the defector) gets off free.
From the point of view of each prisoner, it seems the smartest thing to do is defect.
Suppose the other person cooperates and stays mum. Then you should defect, because you get off free.
On the other hand, suppose the other person defects and accuses you of the crime, then you better defect too. For if you cooperate with your partner, you get three years in prison, whereas if you defect you get just two years in prison.
What could prevent defection is loyalty, or the knowledge that in the future, after you’re both out of prison, the other person could punish you. Likewise, in a future similar situation, where cooperation might help he will remember your betrayal.
The tragedy of the commons is a similar scenario.
In the more general game, where rewards and punishments can take the form of money or some other outcome, there are likewise four possible outcomes: Cooperate-Cooperate, Cooperate-Defect, Defect-Cooperate, and Defect-Defect. Each outcome has a (possibly different) payoff for each of you. If you both cooperate, you both get the same reward R for cooperating. If one person cooperates but the other person defects, the first person is punished (S for Sucker) bad but the other person wins a big reward (T for Temptation) If you both defect, you’re both punished slightly (P). Depending on the relative values of P,R, S, and T, and on the structure of interactions — specifically, whether you can learn about the reputation of the person you’re interacting with — cooperation may or may not emerge.The standard Prisoner’s Dilemma game has
- T > R > P > S.
Yet cooperation can emerge. This result is non-intuitive, because given the inequalities above, the values P, R, S, and T guarantee that in the short-term the smartest thing to do is to defect. Here’s why. Your opponent is either going to cooperate or defect (and you won’t know which he does til after you make your move).
Assume he cooperates. Then you can win big by defecting. Here’s why. If you cooperate, you get only R. But if you defect, you get T and T>R. So, it seems you should defect.
Likewise assume he defects. Then you better defect too, because if you cooperate, then you’ll get only S, but if you defect you’ll get P, and P>S.
So in either case, the best thing to do, in the short run, is to defect.
But in a community of people playing the game repeatedly, there are benefits from cooperation. A group of cooperating individuals will have a higher fitness (reward) than a group of turncoat defectors, because R>P.
If the last time I interacted with you, you cooperated, and if I remember that, I can try cooperating again, in the hopes that you will reciprocate.
So in the presence of repeated interactions, and memory, cooperation can emerge.
Cooperators are rewarded with help from other cooperators. Defectors are punished by future defection. If cooperators gain a benefit as a group that is unavailable to defectors, then cooperation can flourish. But cooperation is always susceptible to exploitation by defectors: a population of trusting cooperators can be taken advantage of by a few defectors. Such invasions by defectors are visible in computer simulations.
Cancerous cells can be modeled as defectors. So can tax dodgers and alleged welfare moms who drive Mercedes.
Using the formalization of Prisoner’s Dilemma, Nowak was able to prove mathematical theorems, and run computer simulations, that show under what conditions cooperation can flourish.
He showed that cooperation emerges if you meet the other person often enough in the future and can remember the previous interactions, so you can punish or reward him. It also helps if people have a reputation that is is public knowledge or that is shared between individuals (indirect reciprocity). Furthermore, it helps if people are organized into small groups; this allows cooperators to shield themselves from being taken of advantage of by nasty defectors; large groups are difficult to police. Finally, it helps if it’s possible to move between groups, to escape defectors.
Even if we can explain cooperation biologically, in terms of kin selection, or group selection, there is still a problem: how inclusive is the in-group? Does it include people of a different race or nationality? How about individuals of a different species?
As indicated above, the biologically inspired notion of cooperation is somewhat unsatisfying, because it still relies on a form of reciprocity, albeit at the group level. If someone chooses not to identify with the group, then why should they cooperate?
Indeed, conservatives are the consummate defectors: individualists who detest and ridicule cooperation and community endeavors, at least by governments. Conservatives detest the United Nations. They detest the International Court of Law. Conservatives avoid paying taxes, but typically like spending money on wars, both domestic (e.g., the wasteful and disastrous war on drugs) and foreign. Conservatives oppose laws and regulatory agencies that deter their antisocial behavior. They under-fund the IRS, encouraging tax cheats. And they under-fund Congressional staff, so that lawmakers are dependent on lobbyists and outside groups for information.
Like parasites, conservatives destroy the body politic, all in the name of “freedom.”
Conservatives and their ideology can be defeated only when enough people wake up to the lies and the half-truths behind their movement, and when enough people realize that we’d be better off in the long run by cooperating on building a government that works for everyone, that makes sound environmental, health, and safety policies, and that makes sure tax cheats pay their fair share.
The end of fossil-fuel powered cars
Strangers are poisoning you and your families with toxic chemicals.
Even if you don’t agree with the vast majority of climate scientists about human-caused climate change, you should believe what the American Lung Association says about the effects of vehicle exhaust on health.
In Living Near Highways and Air Pollution, The American Lung Association says living near a highway is bad for your health:
The number of people living “next to a busy road” may include 30 to 45 percent of the urban population in North America, according to the most recent review of the evidence. In January 2010, the Health Effects Institute published a major review of the evidence by a panel of expert scientists. The panel looked at over 700 studies from around the world, examining the health effects. They concluded that traffic pollution causes asthma attacks in children, and may cause a wide range of other effects including: the onset of childhood asthma, impaired lung function, premature death and death from cardiovascular diseases, and cardiovascular morbidity. The area most affected, they concluded, was roughly 0.2 to 0.3 miles (300 to 500 meters) from the highway.
Dementia in the elderly is also correlated with living near highways.
In short, driving a gas-powered car is like smoking a cigarette in an infant nursery.
But the solution isn’t for people to relocate away from highways, because that leads to sprawl and long commutes.
The solutions include: public transportation, more efficient vehicles, carpooling, electric cars, bicycling, shorter commutes, smarter walkable communities where residential areas aren’t separated from shopping and business areas. Instead of driving to big box stores to shop, people should walk or bike to the corner market, or at least drive shorter distances. Walkable communities are more pleasant to live in and tend to result in higher real estate values.
If you take public transportation, not only do you help save the environment and protect your and others’ health, you also get a chance to read books. Taking the bike, even to the bus stop, gives you exercise.
Cities should be built for people, not for cars.
A generation ago it was considered acceptable for people to smoke cigarettes in restaurants. Nowadays society has recognized the dangers from second-hand smoke and has restricted cigarette smoking in public places.
A generation from today society is likely to regard driving a gas-powered vehicle with similar disapproval. Indeed, the UK will ban sales of new gas and diesel cars by 2040. Petrol and diesel ban: How will it work?: “Poor air quality is the ‘biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK’ – thought to be linked to about 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK – the government says.”
The Three Splits on the Left
There are three splits on the left: 1. The Democrats are split from the Socialists, Greens,Anarchists and others on the far left, and (2) Within the Democratic Party, the progressive Dems and Berniecrats are split from the mainstream, corporate Dems, and (3) Within the far left, the various factions rarely agree and often have weird rules about needing consensus.
Why can’t groups on the left cooperate and horse trade on various issues?