From Roll Call:
The Office of Congressional Ethics has closed its investigation into Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) and their relationships to the lobbying firm PMA Group, and the OCE advised against a formal House ethics investigation, the lawmakers’ offices said Friday.
George Behan, Dicks’ [...]
So, is Washington a high tax state, as folks like Tim Eyman so often imply? Well it all depends on who you are.
The Ten States with the
Highest Taxes on the Poor
The table above represents the effective rate of state and local taxes on the bottom twenty percent of [...]
I’ve written quite a bit about an income tax recently, prompting several readers to point out that such a measure would be unconstitutional, a standard rebuttal I routinely get from state lawmakers whenever I directly raise the issue with them.
The Washington Supreme Court has already ruled an income tax unconstitutional, [...]
I couldn’t help but be amused by the headline of this morning’s Seattle Times editorial: “Crushing the illusion of nonpartisan King County Council.”
IN an election overshadowed by gubernatorial and presidential contests, voters last year opted to change the Metropolitan King County Council from a partisan to a nonpartisan office. [...]
One of my biggest complaints with Washington legislators, even those who have long recognized the need for substantial tax restructuring, is their general lack of creativity in approaching the issue, both on the political level of how one might pass an income tax, and on the practical level of what [...]
As has been widely reported at Publicola, the P-I and elsewhere, the putatively nonpartisan King County Council deadlocked last night along partisan lines as they struggled to name a replacement to fill Dow Constantine’s vacated seat through the end of 2010.
Which raises a question. Were the Municipal League, [...]
I hadn’t realized it until I saw a link in the comment threads, but the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy recently updated its comprehensive survey, “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States,” and Washington once again tops [...]
Jon was too shy to name names, but the “well-known Republican personality” rumored to be weighing a run to replace Rep. Brian Baird in WA-03 is none other than crazy-conservative talk host Lars Larson.
That would certainly make the race, um, interesting.
UPDATE:
Did Larson just deny the rumor in the [...]
Earlier today I argued that Democrats need to take advantage of our current short-term revenue crisis to fix our long-term revenue deficit, by taking the budget crisis as an opportunity to win voter approval of a high-earners income tax. But how do we do this at the same time [...]
Much attention was paid to the Nov. 5th shooting rampage at Fort Hood, and rightly so. It was a terrible tragedy in which 13 were killed and 30 others wounded by a deeply disturbed U.S. Army psychiatrist.
Yet news today that 12 more Army soldiers committed suicide in November, bringing the [...]
I agree wholeheartedly with the headline, if not the text of a recent Seattle Times editorial: “Washington state’s finances require long-term solutions.”
Of course, the one long-term solution the Times doesn’t mention is tax restructuring… you know, reforming our tax system so that revenues actually keep pace with growth in [...]
With Sarah Palin arguing that a handful of 13-year-old emails are enough to discredit and refute the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01) hits back with perhaps the best quote of the day:
“Before Sarah Palin writes a book, she should try reading a few,” [...]
Here’s a free tip to those Seattle-haters in the rest of the state who just love to screw us big city folks: pass a high-earners income tax.
Really. Pass it. I mean, honestly, let’s say we levy an income tax on household earnings in excess of $500,000 a year… who do [...]
I hate to make it “Dump on Joel Week,” and I’ve got no big quibbles with the rest of his column, but this is the sort of conventional wisdom that really ticks me off:
A tireless practitioner of town meetings, Baird had a grip on his southwest Washington district, which [...]
There is one cut in Gov. Gregoire’s preliminary all-cuts budget proposal that the Seattle Times opposes:
The proposed cut the governor would buy back, and that we would, too, is in levy-equalization money for public schools. This is money that keeps a minimum level of schooling in property-poor districts. This [...]
The Seattle Times editorial board likes Gov. Gregoire’s initial all-cuts budget so much, they wish many of the cuts would go even further.
THOUGH Gov. Chris Gregoire does not like her no-new-taxes state budget, and would buy back some of the cuts with taxes, the budget has a good deal [...]
U.S. Congressman Brian Baird (WA-03), who has recently become a favorite punching bag of local progressives (you know who I’m talking about, Jon), just announced that he will not seek reelection in 2010.
The time has now come to pursue other options, other ways of serving. Hence, I am announcing [...]
As legislators struggle to close a 2.6 billion hole in this year’s budget, perhaps part of the solution might be to close loopholes like the billion dollar tax dodge Microsoft has been exploiting. More information at MicrosoftTaxDodge.com.
[...]A few years back, in covering the school closure controversy, I once quipped to a local elected official that the real problem with the city’s middle schools was all those damn middle school aged kids. If we could only get rid of all the students, I joked, the schools themselves [...]
Yesterday, I once again made the argument for legalizing marijuana and taxing the hell out of it. Today, Publicola reports that Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson is collecting co-sponsors on a bill that would do exactly that.
How’s this for a magical pot of revenue to help fix the state’s [...]
I’m in a meeting all day (and I mean all day… I hope my dog’s bladder is big enough), so it’s unlikely I’ll be doing much if any posting today.
Talk amongst yourselves.
[...]The Washington State Bar Association has endorsed a bill that would decriminalize simple marijuana possession, reducing the maximum punishment from the current $1000 fine and 90 days in jail, to a $100 ticket.
Well… um… yawn.
It’s not that I don’t support the WSBA’s resolution, it’s just that it’s hard to [...]
I guess as a Republican member of our “nonpartisan” King County Council, Jane Hague has an obligation to help out the King County Republican Party. But considering her own DUI problems, you gotta wonder if she was drunk at the time she contributed the following item to the KCGOP’s [...]
The estate tax is in the news again, and (surprise!) the Seattle Times is editorializing against it:
The supporters of this tax, which we call the death tax, like to talk about rich bankers, entertainers and other upper crustaceans who die with a moraine of stocks, bonds, cash and title [...]
Over at Publicola, Erica documents Rep. Dave Reichert’s many public statements in opposition to President Obama’s economic stimulus package, which, drawing upon his vast expertise as an economist sheriff, Reichert has repeatedly predicted would fail at its primary goal: creating jobs.
This week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a [...]
Last year, when university presidents lobbied for, the legislature passed, and the governor signed a 30% increase in college tuition over two years, promises were made that this would help keep higher education more affordable, not less. How? By increasing the total amount of financial aid dollars available, and by [...]
The Seattle P-I’s Chris Grygiel tells it like it is:
How did Dow Constantine beat Susan Hutchison so handily in last month’s King County executive’s race? As a Seattle Times map shows, he won Seattle handily and got more votes in the Eastside suburbs. Constantine’s strong showing in what, until [...]
Republicans rooting for the failure of the Obama administration will be disappointed by today’s unexpected jobs report that showed unemployment falling from 10.2% to 10%, while the U.S. economy lost only 11,000 jobs in November.
Not a stellar day for Mark Griswold.
Update [Darryl]: From the Bureau of Labor Statistics [...]
And of course, the best way to prove you are not a “sleazeball” is to try to get your son’s teacher fired for allegedly calling you one:
Hugh “Skip” McGee, one of Wall Street’s best-paid bankers, has launched an extraordinary attack on staff at his son’s exclusive private school after [...]
Here is the photo the media wants you to know about, but not see. I’ve cropped out just a small section, but click on the image above to view the whole thing. Or not. It’s your choice.
We’ve all seen a lot of dead bodies [...]
This is one of those bizarre journalism ethics things I just don’t understand. All over the local media this morning is news of a leaked photo of Maurice Clemmons dead body (here, here and here, for example). Yet nobody’s willing to actually show the controversial image. ([...]
Eight more deaths in British Columbia from H1N1. Not a stellar day for Mark Griswold.
[...]Carl has already thoroughly fisked it over at EFFin’ Unsound (yes, I know Carl, you hate the etymology of the term, but find me a better word that describes what you do), still, I just couldn’t let this Seattle Times editorial pass without comment.
METROPOLITAN King County Council members [...]
I know a lot of my fellow Dems are disappointed in President Barack Obama’s decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Not me. For unlike a lot of my fellow Dems, I’ve always held my expectations of Obama in check.
I can’t even remember what Obama promised on the campaign [...]
The folks at Seattle Weekly were doing some dangerous, investigative research, when they came upon this:
According to a “Safe Browsing” advisory from the search giant, Eyman’s site, www.permanent-offense.org [don't click, for the love of humanity!], is “listed as suspicious” and “may harm your computer.”
It seems that' [...]
Mark Griswold may not have much talent as a writer, journalist or rhetorician; in fact, he may not have much talent at all. But in his new role as (un)Sound Politics’ most prolific contributor, Griswold has certainly been an upgrade in the crazy department… and that’s saying something considering the proud legacy [...]
For all the drama of yesterday’s manhunt, in the end, suspected cop-killer Maurice Clemmons was shot and killed by a lone police officer on routine patrol in South Seattle.
Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said a Seattle police officer “was patrolling this area when he came across an unoccupied stolen vehicle. [...]
Officers on the police scanner say that a would-be vigilante flagged down a cop near Cowen Park. The man was carrying a handgun and wearing body armor. He apparently wanted help flush out the suspect from the park.
There’s a part of me that wishes the police had put his [...]
Since I spend an awful lot of time critiquing the press, I think it only fair to point out that the coverage thus far of the tragic murder of four Lakewood police officers, and the ensuing manhunt for the suspect has been pretty damn good. Both the Tacoma News Tribune [...]
Hey Erica… I have it from a very reliable source that you can add the name of my ex-wife, Maureen Judge, to the list of candidates jockeying to replace state Sen. Fred Jarrett in the 41st Legislative District after he steps down to take the number two position in [...]
Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.
Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy [...]
A question for the several disgruntled HA subjects and their attorneys who have threatened me with defamation suits over the past year alone… is this the sort of shameless, disregard for free speech you’d prefer become the norm here in the United States?
Italian authorities have served the parents of [...]
I guess value can be rather subjective, but if Mike McGinn’s recent mayoral campaign is any indication, it looks like Seattle may have snagged itself a deal that would put any Black Friday shopper to shame.
McGinn spent only $224,241 to win 105,492 votes in this year’s general election, about $2.13 [...]
Gov. Chris Gregoire is “seriously considering” legislation that would allow four-minute Keno games as a way to help deal with a projected $2.6 billion budget shortfall.
The games could bring in an estimated $30 million a year. That’s not much money compared with the budget gap, but lawmakers are [...]
The Seattle Times’ Bruce Ramsey is thankful that he doesn’t have to suffer through that damned, Canadian socialized health care system.
An American friend lives in British Columbia with his wife, who just had hip-replacement surgery, paid by the Canadian taxpayer.
My mother just had hip-replacement surgery, paid by the U.S. [...]
Few would dispute that one of the keys to the Seattle Times’ Darwinian triumph over the rival P-I was its success in altering the terms of their Joint Operating Agreement to allow the Blethens to shift publication from the afternoon to the morning. Afternoon papers had been declining for decades, [...]
I need to bake cookies, so in the meanwhile, here’s the video from last week’s roast of Geov Parrish.
[...]Of all the tidbits from last’s night’s post-mayoral-election consultancy tell-all, the conversation about McGinn’s tunnel “flip-flop” was the one I was looking forward to the most:
Just two weeks before the Nov. 3 election, McGinn shocked many by saying he would no longer oppose the controversial, $4.2 billion tunnel replacement. McGinn [...]
A curious happening greeted my cross-country news browsing this morning as I searched for something blog-worthy in Washington state. I looked to Publicola for firsthand coverage of last night’s Publicola-sponsored, post-election face-off between McGinn consultant Bill Broadhead and Mallahan consultant Jason Bennett, but found zilch. Yet there was [...]
“Bomb squad called to Bothell newspaper box Sunday morning.”
Turned out it was just the Sunday edition of the Seattle Times. Common mistake.
[...]I flew into Philadelphia yesterday in time to watch the Eagles-Bears game with my family, one of those typically frustrating Eagles performances where they can’t seem to get any rhythm going, yet show flashes of brilliance, only to eke out an unsatisfying win or a disappointing loss in the fourth [...]
With Senate Democrats securing the bare 60 votes needed to bring the healthcare reform bill to the floor for a full debate, it is important to note that had Washingtonians followed the Seattle Times advice, and elected Republican Mike McGavick over Democrat Maria Cantwell, healthcare reform would be [...]
I’ve been meaning to comment on David Brewster’s post-election analysis over at Crosscut — “A bad election for moderates” — but I just can’t work up the energy necessary to read it through a second time. So rather than a thorough, line-by-line fisking, I’d mostly just like to focus [...]
(Courtesy of Fake Ted van Dyk)
Why am I drinking Mike McGinn’s wine? Because he was out of beer.
Yeah, sure, I didn’t actually work for McGinn, and in fact, I voted for Mayor Nickels in the primary. But I gave McGinn my vote in the general election, [...]
Vote-by-mail advocates have long argued that the system increases voter participation, particularly in traditionally low-turnout off-year elections, and this recent general election certainly doesn’t provide any evidence to the contrary. Indeed, when compared to other cities, Seattle’s off-year turnout is simply off the charts.
HA comment thread regular N in Seattle, [...]
According to Publicola, Gov. Chris Gregoire told a Seattle audience last night that she would not accept an all-cuts budget in 2010… a 180-degree turnaround from her position heading into the difficult 2009 legislative session. What’s changed her mind?
Well, obviously, the $2.6 billion projected revenue shortfall is nearly impossible [...]
With only a smattering of ballots left to count statewide, it is interesting to note that Seattle voters have thus far turned out a 57.56% rate, four and a half points higher than the county as a whole, and nearly seven points higher than the state average.
To put that in [...]
Rightly or wrongly, Democratic elected officials are often maligned by their opponents as tax and spend, well, Democrats. And with the latest state revenue forecast now confirming a $2.6 billion shortfall for 2009 alone, it’s time for state Dems to finally live up to that reputation.
70% of the state budget [...]
According to a new poll, a majority of Republicans believe that ACORN stole the 2008 election, and that Barack Obama was not the legitimate winner.
The poll asked this question: “Do you think that Barack Obama legitimately won the Presidential election last year, or do you think that ACORN stole [...]
While Susan Hutchison did her best to blame Dow Constantine for the woeful condition of the Howard Hanson Dam, residents and businesses in the Green River Valley may have deeper pockets to sue should the worst happen during the current flood season.
In a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge ruled [...]
At only 42.96%, eight points below the statewide average, Pierce County had the lowest voter turnout in the state in the 2009 general election. Pierce is also the only county in the state without all mail-in elections.
Hmm.
[...]As of the close of business, Wednesday 11/4/2009, the day after the election, King County Elections had 572,611 total mail-in ballots on hand. As of the close of business yesterday, Tuesday 11/17/2009, two weeks after the election, KCE had counted 570,280 total mail-in ballots, with an estimated 1,400 [...]
Damn commie-pinko American public…
When it comes to paying for a health care overhaul, Americans see just one way to go: Tax the rich.
That finding from a new Associated Press poll will be welcome news for House Democrats, who proposed doing just that in their sweeping remake of the U.S. [...]
Then again, Jon, sexist or not, she did pose for the photo. And even if it was originally intended to grace the cover of Runners World, she had to understand that the shot was more likely to inspire lewd MILF comments than the kinda gravitas we’ve [...]
I’m too old to benefit from the Institute for a Democratic Future’s excellent six-month training program, but many of you are not, so if you’re between the ages of 21 and 36, and looking to make a difference through politics, I highly recommend sending in your application before the [...]
Washington state’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.3% in October… well, sorta. That’s the same rate that was originally reported for September, before being revised downward to 9.1%.
By comparison, South Carolina’s unemployment rate currently stands at 11.6%. Hey Palmetto State… how’s that race-to-the-bottom cheap labor strategy working out for you?
Pretty amusing video of an anti-immigration tea party in Minneapolis, where a prankster succeeds in getting the crowd to cheer the deportation of European immigrants. I especially enjoy the enthusiastic changing of “Columbus, go home!”
What a bunch of maroons.
[...]But wait… I thought the King County Council was officially nonpartisan…?
When Constantine is sworn in next Tuesday, that will leave eight councilmembers to decide his replacement: four Democrats and four Republicans.
Five Democrats, including Constantine, voted for the selection process while all Republicans voted against it.
Voters last year made council elections [...]
Why doesn’t this surprise me?
The state says Washington’s Republican Party is deadbeat in repaying legal fees associated with a failed challenge to the Top 2 primary system.
In a federal court filing Monday, the Attorney General’s Office wrote that while the Democratic Party has paid the $37,700 it owes, the [...]
A Moore Information survey released last week shows challenger Dino Rossi leading incumbent Christine Gregoire 48% to 42% in the 2008 gubernatorial contest, prompting the pollsters to speculate about the Washington state GOP’s rising prospects:
The fact that Rossi leads in this match-up is interesting and encouraging for Republicans in [...]
While Rep. Dave Reichert worked hard to appear more moderate in response to a tough challenge from Darcy Burner, he’s been veering hard back to the right ever since, culminating in his vote against the House healthcare bill, and his bizarre attacks on the AARP for endorsing it.
Of course, all [...]
HA contributors were unusually busy over the weekend, a typically slow time of the week when both posting and traffic generally dips, so here’s a brief summary of the posts you might have missed.
Even business guys befuddled about Baird’s vote
Spiraling healthcare costs is the number one issue for [...]
According to the headline in the Seattle Times, the “Airport link makes Sound Transit line the train to somewhere“…
The airport line is not expected to have a huge impact on near-term ridership, but routing to such a logical place squelches earlier complaints that light rail is the train to [...]
Now that’s rich… the Seattle Times editorial board advising organized labor on what’s good for workers and the Democratic Party.
THE revolt of organized labor within the state Democratic Party is a kamikaze effort that works against the interests of the Democratic Party and the workers of Washington.
Yeah, because nobody has [...]
I think it would have been funny if that guy carrying a gun into the West Seattle community center had been promptly shot.
Well, no… not funny, exactly. What’s the word I’m thinking of…? Ironic. That’s it.
Yes, I think it would have been ironic.
[...]Only one year after Barack Obama’s “change we can believe in” election, and in the midst of a crushing economic recession that has caused home prices to plummet, unemployment to spike, and state and local budgets to plunge into nearly unprecedented crisis, you might have expected incumbents to face more [...]
Just a reminder to join me tonight for a 5oth birthday roast of Geov Parrish, with all proceeds benefiting Eat the State!
I’ll be emceeing as Knute Berger (Crosscut), former school board president Brita Butler-Wall, Tim Harris (Real Change), Lansing Scott (ETS!), Maria Tomchick (KEXP) and Mike McCormick (KEXP) futilely attempt [...]
Ten days after the election the votes are still being tallied, but the outcome only grows murkier with every passing day, setting the stage for a constitutional crisis that could grind our nation’s capital to a halt. What looked like a comfortable margin on election night has been shrinking steadily [...]
Longtime conservative talk show host Kirby Wilbur got canned by KVI yesterday, and as much as we disagreed on almost every issue, you might be surprised to learn that I’m sad to see him go.
Back when I first stumbled into activism, my talk radio skills were mostly honed on [...]
Even less surprising than the revelation that the Ivar’s undersea billboard was an elaborate hoax, is the revelation of how far the Seattle Times actually has that stick shoved up its collective ass:
Times Executive Editor David Boardman says that while he can appreciate the initiative behind the marketing ploy [...]
As best as I can tell, there are two main arguments being offered in favor of changing the ballot deadline from the current postmarked by election day to the more restrictive received by election day: 1) candidates and voters deserve to know who won on election night; and 2) it [...]
Ross Reynolds will be talking with Secretary of State Sam Reed and Rep. Sam Hunt sometime between 12:20 and 12:40 PM today on KUOW’s The Conversation, about the ballot deadline debate, and since I’ve been covering it so obsessively they’re gonna give me a couple minutes to respond before going [...]
I just finished listening to KUOW’s broadcast of a special Veteran’s Day edition of BackStory… one of my favorite public radio shows. The episode, “Coming Home: A History of War Veterans,” along with links to additional material is available from the BackStory website, or you can just listen [...]
These things don’t happen in a vacuum, and so it is not surprising to see Gov. Chris Gregoire joining the chorus of establishment voices demanding that the ballot deadline be changed from postmarked on election day to received by election day.
Earlier in the day, Gregoire said that the [...]
I’ll be emceeing a couple of celebrations this week, and you’re all invited.
Geov Parrish 50th Birthday Roast & ETS! Benefit
On Friday evening, Nov. 13, join me, Knute Berger (Crosscut), former school board president Brita Butler-Wall, Tim Harris (Real Change), Lansing Scott (ETS!), Maria Tomchick (KEXP) and Mike McCormick (KEXP) [...]
State Sen. Fred Jarrett announced today that he would give up his seat to serve as Deputy Executive to former primary rival Dow Constantine. The newly enhanced position will make Jarrett the number two man in King County Executive’s office. It’s a good fit for Jarrett, who brings both extensive legislative [...]
Writing in the Washington Post in the wake of the 2004 presidential election, Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury pitched his own state’s vote-by-mail system as an answer to touch screen and polling place staffing controversies experienced elsewhere. But in doing so, he obviously felt the need to spin one [...]
Forget the fact that he ran the most impressive, effective, tireless, grassroots campaign I’ve seen since I started following local politics. According to the political sages at the Seattle Times, Mike McGinn mostly owes his victory to moody voters…
SEATTLE voters are in a testy mood. They turned down the [...]
Has anybody else noticed how thoroughly Susan Hutchison got her ass kicked?
With the latest ballot drop, Hutchison has fallen to 40.93% of the vote. To put that in perspective, that’s less than a point and a half better than admitted-Republican David Irons garnered in 2005, a race in which a third [...]
Forgive me for obsessing on the topic, but when our foils at the Seattle Times editorial board and our friend Joel Connelly at the Seattle P-I are both editorializing in favor of changing the voting deadline from postmarked on election day to received by election day, you just know [...]
King County dropped an additional 20,953 Seattle ballots this afternoon, with Mike McGinn expanding his lead to a 4,939 margin in what until recently was considered a closely contested mayors race.
Mike McGinn 96,514 50.88% Joe Mallahan 91,575 48.28%McGinn won 56.5% of this batch of ballots, most of which I presume to have been received after [...]
I’ve already spent some time joyfully fisking the Seattle Times’ “absurd” proposal to change the deadline on mail-in ballots from the current postmarked on election day, to the more restrictive received by election day, so there’s no need to do a line-by-line takedown of Joel Connelly’s own contribution [...]
My reliably liberal Democratic mother and stepfather both kinda like Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, as do many of their friends down there in the Sunshine State. Despite the fact that he’s a (gasp) Republican.
You know, you raise your parents as best you can, and then you have to let go.
But [...]
