Recall three years ago, there were several state Supreme Court elections in which conservative interests made a concerted effort. Campaign money was raised and spent, and the media reacted fiercely. There were news articles, editorials, op-eds, and cartoons--the whole nine yards--warning about the injection of big money into an election.

Here is one example of the reporting. An AP story that starts out thusly:
"OLYMPIA - Power of incumbency, meet the almighty dollar.
Well-heeled donors across the political divide are throwing piles of money at Tuesday's primary election, with the heaviest efforts aimed at unseating both a maverick Democratic state senator and the Supreme Court's longtime chief justice. "

Now we have a similar (albeit even bigger) story, with almost no notice paid by Seattle media. 'No on 1033' has raised $3,470,319.87, while the yes side has raised $670,171.15. That yields a five to one disparity. But if we consider that 'yes' spent (as far as I can find out), about $625,000 just to make the ballot, the ratio becomes an insane eighty-six to one.

Eighty-six to one! Yet I find nothing about it in the Times, PI, or other usual suspects. There was an AP article from several weeks ago Flood of last-minute cash against Wash. I-1033. If you compare the lede of this story, you will see that it has nowhere near the drama of the story quoted above. The story blandly notes that Eyman 'typically' spends little. Maybe that's because he cannot raise much--ya think? Eyman supporters do not stand to gain oodles of revenue if the election goes their way, unlike the pro-big-government forces. Hence, Eyman supporters are unwilling and unable to invest as much in a campaign.

The last polling I've seen still shows I-1033 passing. Even 'No on 1033' admits, in their literature, that it will be 'incredibly close.' So I-1033 has at least a 50-50 split in support among voters, but a 86-1 split among money donors. That alone should be headline material. That alone should spawn a score of op-eds, eds, cartoons, etc, But we get zip, zero, nada.