Danny Westneat thinks that the defeat of I-912 means that "Voters tilt toward trust"
Hard to say what's really responsible for the survival of the gas tax. Westneat forget to mention that I-900, the performance audits initiative, is ahead by a much larger margin than I-912 is behind. Any trust people have in government is moderated by adesire to verify whether that trust is warranted.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 09, 2005 10:08 AM | Email ThisAlso, screw the Mariners. The money I was going to spend on tickets to see the pathetic, greedy Mariners will go to pay for this gas tax increase.
Posted by: AP on November 9, 2005 10:25 AMWas listening to KVI last night when they had Schramm on. He went down his positions - don't like the monorail, hates the CAO, thinks our election system is a "national disgrace".
And yet Ken turns around and votes for Ron Sims, the chief enabler of it all. He (and Seattle libs) are so blinded by their partisan hatred they can't see their hand in front of their faces. A democrat could steal these morons blind and they'll keep coming back for more.
Anyhoo, last night assured that Dino Rossi might as well not run for re-election. With Ron Sims perched high atop the new Tower of Elections and his bag man Dean Logan counting the votes, we can be assured that no Republican will win a statewide contest for the next 10 years.
Posted by: Steve_dog on November 9, 2005 10:27 AMThe opposition to I-912 ran a dishonest, disengenous campaign that frightened voters into thinking they were getting something that they're not. They spent 3.5 million dollars, had the DOT actively campaigning on their behalf, the PI running daily attacks and judges limiting the free speech rights of thier opponents.
The Yes on I-912 campaign didnt have a shot in hell with those things stacked against them. They were outspent 15-1 at least, and media presence consisted of a small radio buy in Eastern WA and then the talk-radio guys who were prohibited from talking about the race by the courts.
At the end of the day, Washington lost with I-912 failing.
Posted by: Gregoire Lied on November 9, 2005 10:29 AMOh, yes. The legislature doesn't have the slightest compunction about overturning the people's will. Why should they? They know they can get away with murder and not pay a price at the polls.
Posted by: Steve_dog on November 9, 2005 10:37 AMI'm sick of defeat after defeat. The guy needs to stand for something. We had a good opportunity in I-912 but he caved to big business, who despite their threats, wouldnt have done jack shit if the state party would have promoted a repeal of the gas tax.
Any thoughts on who could replace Vance? Diane Tebelius? Dino Rossi?
Posted by: Repeal Chris Vance on November 9, 2005 10:44 AMSHAME ON US!!!
Posted by: TACOMA PHLASH on November 9, 2005 10:52 AMAmen. Anybody who can't counter Paul Berendt isn't fit to be in charge.
AP nailed it below - after the Rossi election debacle, the time was ripe for the GOP to focus on a positive agenda for the state.
Instead, Vance couldn't get them to speak with one voice and let Finkbeiner and the 6 others vote for the gas package.
Posted by: Steve_dog on November 9, 2005 10:55 AMAfter they squeeze all the money out of me, I may lead the rest of the state to Seattle and start burning Volvos by the hundreds until they admit there is something in the budget we can live without before putting their hands on my money. This criminal enterprise called King county must be taken from the outside.
Posted by: doggfish on November 9, 2005 10:56 AMThe 2 Republicans who live here (me and some guy in Bellevue) eagerly await that day.
Posted by: Steve_dog on November 9, 2005 11:00 AMFact is, your agenda got clobbered because of YOU. A lot of liberal Democrats read your blog because I send them here, so they can see for themselves what we're up against.
It's like a coach posting trash talk from the next opponent on the locker room wall to fire up his team. That's exactly what we did with you and your "regulars."
Whatever happens, it's FRAUD, FRAUD, FRAUD! All FRAUD, all the time. How many times can you call FRAUD until people tune it out? Guess what? You just found out. It's like crying WOLF.
You overplayed your hand. You might not like hearing that, but it's the truth. The Lori Sotelo challenge was the nail in your coffin. We beat you like a drum with it.
I called as many challenged voters in my District as I could reach. I found several who not only were registered to vote at their home addresses, and not only had lived there for years and been registered there for years, but were REPUBLICANS, and told me so.
I told them that was their business, that my job was to help them get their vote counted if they were legal -- BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT DEMOCRATS DO!
They told me they appreciated that, and that they wanted whoever challenged their registration to PAY.
Do you think we will fail to use this against Rossi if he shows his face in 2008? Guess what, wingnuts? We start today. Right now.
We start with the biggest voter registration, voter information update we can put on. And yes, we will tell people that they must put the address of their physical residence on the form, wherever they get their ballots mailed to them.
And the votes of homeless people will count. Oh, yeah, they will.
Now, to 912. 912 failed because it did not solve any problems, but rather it would have made existing problems worse, and because too many people, including a whole lot of Republican business people, stand to profit from those road projects.
When will you people realize that John Carlson is a loser? He couldn't beat Gary Locke, who Democrats forced out of office because he was a wuss. He couldn't even beat Georgette Valle, bless her heart.
And 900? Don't break your arm patting yourselves on the back over that one as if it is some vindication of "conservative principles" (what an oxymoron). A lot of liberals, including me, voted for it.
I want all the audits I can get, because I'm predicting they will find very little waste, and that will drive another nail in your political coffins. That does not apply to Washington State Ferries, which is a cesspool of management incompetence.
So I hope you're all having a nice day. A special shout-out to Jeff Sax, loser.
We don't like your policies,and we don't like your politics. All the "Sharon Statements" in the world will not save your sorry asses in Martin Luther King County, Washington.
Posted by: Ivan on November 9, 2005 11:08 AMAngering the electorate three days before the election does not work. Putting up weak candidates does not work. Fragmenting your base does not work. I’d have to say by the results that you and your team do not work either.
Check back when you get a brain. We will all know when that happens--you'll be voting conservative!
Posted by: Matt from Olympia on November 9, 2005 11:14 AMwe will tell people that they must put the address of their physical residence on the form, wherever they get their ballots mailed to them.
And the votes of homeless people will count. Oh, yeah, they will.
I agree with you that every legal vote should count and I'm encouraged to hear that the Democrats will tell voters to obey the law.
I'm also pleased that we have common ground on audits as a tool to help government improve its performance.
Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on November 9, 2005 11:17 AMDon't kid yourself. Without Sound Politics you dems would never go there.
And as far as audits goes, we'd all like to see a Washington state that runs efficiently. Who doesn't?
We'll be back. If the political reality in this state tells us that the best the GOP can do is keep the dems reasonably honest, I can live with that. Becuase we've all seen what happens when the dems get out of control.
Posted by: Steve_dog on November 9, 2005 11:35 AMI agree with you wholeheartedly. After all, it's what I said to liberals when George W Bush scrubbed the kitchen floor with your pathetic candidate John Kerry. You lost because of you. You lost because the voters are smarter than you. You lost because you have no platform, no vision, and the voters don't trust you. It's always FRAUD FRAUD OHIO FLORIDA FRAUD and it's no wonder that the entire nation tuned you out. The Democrats should have their own radio station so people can turn them off! Oh, that's right - you do, and they do.
So we'll get to work on our state party, because we ARE the party that works. We are the party that listens and changes.
Get rid of Chris Vance; Run forward-looking campaigns of positive changes for the state; And have candidates that don't have their face next to the definition of 'milquetoast' in the dictionary.
Thanks for the tips, Ivan. Isn't it amazing that Washington is now a battleground state? Five years ago you wouldn't have even bothered to taunt us, you would have laughed it off. Now you're spending your time on Stefan's blog. Your actions speak far louder than your words.
Posted by: Larry on November 9, 2005 11:36 AMJDH - Ouch!
Posted by: Danny on November 9, 2005 12:10 PMI hear what you're saying about leaving. I, too, am a Washingtonian by birth, who for the first time in my life is seriously considering leaving this state when I retire early in 2007.
Outside of armed rebellion (which I am not promoting), there is little (outside of a miracle) that can be done to wrest control of the state from the Seattle left-wing power brokers. Gates, Allen and the rest just bought an election. They had help; the Seattle media, the courts, corrupt elections personnel; but most notably from the fools (someone called them sheeple) who believe the lies they are fed.
Washingtonians have lost control of their state and aren't likely to get it back, and quality of life will suffer as self-sufficient, moral, entrepreneurial, God-fearing people either give up the fight or pack up and leave.
The handwriting is on the wall (Old Testament, Daniel Ch 5) for the sewer called Seattle, and the perverts, carpetbaggers and welfare leeches can't read the words. Heaven help them.
God Bless You, Stefan, for the work you do in the name of honesty, integrity and accountability. It's a shame it falls, for the most part, on fools who can't read the handwriting.
Posted by: Saltherring on November 9, 2005 12:16 PMI do not fear you, or anybody else. I am a patriotic American, and I do not live in fear. I was working just as heard to defeat the right-wing agenda five years ago as I am today, and I do not intend to get coomplacent over one election and slow down any time soon. Do not project your own fear onto me, please.
Saltherring:
You are a sanctimonious hypocrite. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this state who are just as self-sufficient, moral, entrepreneurial, and god-fearing as you no doubt consider yourself, who also reject your policies and your politics.
Are you entrepreneurial, while posting from a US Navy e-mail address? On the taxpayers' nickel, maybe?
Danny:
The voters just poked YOU in the eye with a sharp stick. Enough said. Back to work.
Posted by: Ivan on November 9, 2005 12:52 PM912 is failing because of fear, and misinformation. Gregoire went on record saying our bridges were our levies. People saw rocks kill three women and they saw rocks take down the interstate. Gregoire claimed the rocks getting fixed were part of the gas tax hikes. Not true as Times or PI (can't remember which) reported, but it worked.
Sadly, the majority of voters don't read the voter's guide and the MSM media doesn't fully report the issues. Most people don't know that there is 80 million dollars planned for landscaped lids on 520, they don't know that 100 million is scheduled for critter bridges, they don't know that around 80 million dollars won't be spent on transportation because it will go into the general funds account via taxes on transportation, they don't know that 100 million is being spent on filmsy cable barriers that will have be replaced in a few years, and they don't know about the millions being wasted on sound barriers. And trust me, most working class people who are struggling trying to pay their bills don't know about Macon-Davis laws that pay union workers 25 bucks an hour to twirl a STOP/SLOW sign.
Voters want congestion relief and they want safe roads. The campaign ads against 912 worked along with their numerous mailings and the lazy media.
The more information I read, the less I trust anyone in local, state governments, and the MSM media.
Lastly, 912 didn't pass, because people are selfish. This state has the most regressive tax structure in the US. The rich elite want all the consumption taxes that they can pass, because they would get slammed paying a state income tax. The mass transit fans in urban areas who don't own cars love gas taxes, it pays for their transportation. Voters don't have a problem with approving taxes that someone else has to pay.
There's a article in the Olympian today about high heating bills this year. It's titled "Feds must help with heating bills." It says that Gregoire has promised 7.6 million dollars to help the poor in this state pay their bills......
Gregoire just signed a budget that gives 5.4 million to the Seattle Art Museum for their Sculpture park along with millions in other pork projects in this state. But the unidentified writer claims it will be the Federal government's fault if people freeze in their houses this year! Democratic Governor Gregoire really cares about the poor people......
yeah, right!
And this has to do with what?
Posted by: 5thColumnCure on November 9, 2005 01:02 PMI notice that you didn't disagree with my assessment of why you guys got the national smack-down one year ago, which was the same as your assessment of yesterday's King County results.
You must be a happy Patriotic American that Republicans own the White House, Congress, and Supreme Court! It must warm your heart to know that backwater liberal Washington is a battleground state while only election fraud by local Democrats and unions keep places like Michigan and Wisconsin blue for another year or two.
I'm sure you'll be out crowing like a rooster about winning a county while losing a country. Heck, you are right now!!
Posted by: Larry on November 9, 2005 01:06 PMBut anyway.
Jeesh, people, whine much? After Referendum 51, I-695, I-747, you were bound to lose one at SOME point. An argument that "Uh, in case you haven't noticed, a lot of work needs to be done on our state highway system" isn't THAT hard to believe might sell to people who are stuck in commutes every day. And DOT hasn't done bad work, lately- the flyover ramp at the 405-167 interchange was brought in UNDER budget, for instance.
As for Sims...welcome to King County, where the breakdown of D-R is 60-40. Irons wasn't the top-tier guy to break lose some D's, I guess. You might have better luck with Reagan Dunn, Rob McKenna or John Stanton in '09, maybe, except by then I think Bob Ferguson's going to be running, and unlike Ron Sims, I think he's a pretty competent guy (for the record, I voted to fire Sims. I might be a liberal, but the election debacle + Sound Transit + the payroll computer mess were too much for me).
As for Washington being a battleground state...hee hee hee. Good spin there. I don't think the election results really back that out, considering that a 9 cent gas tax increase got DEFEATED in the polls in 2002, and got APPROVED in 2005. I also don't think it means a Republican can't win a statewide race or get a statewide issue through, though (see: Gorton, Slade, Eyman, Tim and McKenna, Rob). So you R's, quit grousing about the voters, roll yoiur sleeves up and get to work with good candidates and issues. Washington isn't the best place to run but history shows you CAN get results if you work at it...
Posted by: eponymous coward on November 9, 2005 01:33 PMIt was an audacious strategy: take down the Governor by taking down the bipartisan transportation agreement, forcing every pol and every program to run backwards, while keeping up an incessant whine about rigged elections. (Dem's have the same chorus of whiners re Ohio etc.)
But it was a desparate strategy, an against-the-odds strategy from the start -- and it was a strategy that had to fail BIGTIME if it failed at all. It didn't quite work ... and now ya got what ya got.
Like Rumsfeld said, "Strategy? We have a strategy. And it's a brilliant strategy. But it's not MY strategy. It's Tommy Franks's strategy."
But was it Chris Vance's strategy? Really? Which part of this machine needs fixing?
Posted by: RonK on November 9, 2005 01:42 PMI was talking about the Danny who claims that 912 is failing because it's a matter of trust.
It doesn't have anything to do with trust....
LTG Honore said it best to a reporter:
"What are you, Stuck on Stupid?"
Posted by: sgmmac on November 9, 2005 02:05 PMSo, was Vance driving the bus?
Was the Shark driving the bus??
Was the Monkey driving the bus?!?**
** (the margin of this blog will not easily accommodate the gestures necessary to relate the joke in question)
Posted by: RonK on November 9, 2005 03:04 PMNot very bright, are you? Even a 2nd grade student (preferably not from Seattle public skools) knows 912 suc*ed on its own merits, just as Fraudoire does. But it is a quaint liberal lemming effort to try to reframe the discussion.
Posted by: Danny on November 9, 2005 03:16 PMBut was 912 a win or a loss? GOP was divided on 912.
Was Irons the best horse in the stable? Speaking of "stable", didn't every Republican in town know that Irons boy just ain't? Who else was game for the challenge? Wasn't that a COUNTY race ... and isn't Vance the STATE chair?
Vance got left holding the bagful of stuff spun up on KVI ... no?
But go ahead if it makes you happy -- throw Vance off the bus, and give the wheel another yank to the right.
Posted by: RonK on November 9, 2005 03:35 PMIn a war, it's better to behave as if it's a war. The state gop needs to stop bringing knives to a gun fight. The state gop is not united. That is not a failure of KCE. It is a failure of the party. (perhaps we agree)
Posted by: Danny on November 9, 2005 03:40 PMSo the question again is, who's driving the bus?
Who plotted the course, and who went along for the ride? Maybe it was Vance's chosen course ... but maybe it was KVI's ideas that lost. And after Vance, what do you do with the next guy?
Posted by: RonK on November 9, 2005 04:00 PMWish it was that easy
Posted by: Chris on November 9, 2005 07:27 PMHe split the R's on 912. He came out publicly saying the party was split when he knew that the only R's supporting the gas tax were parts of the business community - his big donors. Subsequently, instead of enforcing party discipline and convincing fellow R's that 912 was a referendum on Gregoire, he allowed the Mainstream Republicans to send out hit pieces on the initiative. Vance should have been throwing all the money and resources he could to 912 to hand Gregoire a defeat.
Posted by: Vance Must Go on November 9, 2005 09:23 PMSpeaking of Vance, he will be in Whitman County Monday.
Posted by: cc on November 10, 2005 07:02 PM