With Obama spanking Billary and the politics of racial division in concert with the endorsement of Sen. Kennedy and a stirring endorsement and essay in the New York Times by Caroline Kennedy making headlines today, it looks as if Obama has some wind against his back pushing him towards February 5th and Super Tuesday.

But the establishment is just as likely to push back and the formerly decisive wave of delegates awarded on Super Tuesday, according to the AP amongst others, is now (gaffs and major news-cycle changes aside) unlikely to provide a knock-out punch to either campaign.

That means Washington State's February 9th Caucus will likely turn out to be crucial to either campaign. (If you haven't registered to vote, or if your registration needs updating, you can do it in person until February 4th. Click here, select your county, and you can see where to register!)

You can find your caucus site using the Washington State Democrats Caucus Finder, which is someone useful, but not entirely correct. I'll keep looking for a better site.

Get out there and make your voice heard. It's generational change we're talking about and, for once, Washington State can have a serious impact on the primary race.

Although everyone reading this likely knows already, the Democratic Party will not be using the results of the election which will take place to award any delgates, so don't think that by voting you're making a difference. You are making your voice heard for the future of Superdelegates (more about that in a bit) but you really need to Caucus to make your voice heard in any meaningful fashion!)

So this is what happens when a party denies global warming and evolution and is increasingly seen as the extension of a religious movement...

Seattle Times : Once-mighty GOP on the Eastside takes another hit
State Republicans, who've seen their grip on the Eastside suburbs weaken over the past decade, have now been vanquished to the hills. Thursday's defection by Republican Rep. Fred Jarrett to the Democratic Party leaves only the Eastside's most rural legislative district with any GOP state lawmakers.

Holiday season stuff, finals and life in general has kept me busy the last two weeks, but I promise some bloggin' about Washington State tax reform soon!

A long time ago, when BD first started out... Well, things were different. A lot has changed, but one of the first things BD did was call for the elimination of the Supermajority. We talked about it a lot.

Hopefully, it helped get other people talking. And then they told two people, and they told two people... blah blah blah. And, a little over a week ago, Washington State, a state in which education is the constitutionally mandated first priority of government, finally put school funding on the same footing as politicians, propositions, presidents (well, most of them) and stadiums (oopss... again, most of them).

I always thought that ending the supermajority was one of the biggest steps that Washington State could take in making real, structural change towards a more equatable and prosperous future.

And, I always thought that the bigger issue, and the one that should be tackled next, is the elimination of the sales tax and the implementation of a progressively indexed income tax. Once again, it means a change to the state consitution. And, once again, the fight will have to be waged over several years to convince people that this is the direction the state needs to go in.

And don't think that this can't be done... the Supermajority was never suppose to be eliminated. Horsesass.org talked about it yesterday while presenting a link from a Spokesman Review editorial. Although the description of the link is a bit misleading in my opinion (the editorial is really about how to structure a more progressive property tax system with the legislature running back into session to reinstate the 1% cap from Eyman's recently-ruled unconstitutional I-747, not about the income tax), the rumblings are starting. The Spokesman Review editorial says only this about a state-wide income tax:

Spokesman Review : Another Way (Nov 20, 2007)
Washington state's tax system... the nation's most burdensome for low-income people... An income tax would also help, but that isn't popular with voters or lawmakers.

They're right. It isn't... yet. But that's because people don't necessarily understand it. Just like they didn't understand the Supermajority. In my mind, one thing is for sure - any talk of implimenting an income tax must be in combination with the elimination of the sales tax. People of this state will never agree to a reduction of the sales tax in concert with the implementation of an income tax - nor should they. They will, rightfully, see that a reduction of the sales tax will mean that it can always go back up.

The sales tax must die and in its place, a more equitable, fair and easier income tax must replace it to keep moving Washington forward.

And, never fear - facts, wonky-ness, and ramblings about the income tax are going to be coming from me until it gets done.

The Defense of Marriage Act will be taken down, but today is not that day. In a ruling that appears to punt the ball back to the state legislature, the state Supreme Court today upheld Washington's law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. For shame.

From Yesterday:

The case was an appeal from two lawsuits, one in King County and one in Thurston County, filed by 19 same-sex couples raising the momentous social question of who can marry.

Justices must decide the fate of state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act. The law, passed by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers over Gov. Gary Locke's veto, defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Superior Court judges in both counties struck down the law banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional in 2004.

King County Judge William Downing ruled that there's no logical way that banning same-sex marriage encourages procreation -- a similar position taken by courts in Massachusetts, the only state that now allows same-sex couples to marry.

Downing said the couples had a fundamental right to wed, and Thurston County Judge Richard Hicks reached the same conclusion. [P-I]

Ridiculous, but at least Democratic incumbents and challengers won't have hell to pay for the "activist judges" in their pockets come November.

By the way, you're not invited. When the President is in town for two hours and you find yourself without a few million dollars in your pocket or an 'R' next to your name on the ballot, your invitation gets lost in the mail.

President Bush touched down in Seattle today:

Bush will attend a private reception this morning in Medina to raise money for the re-election campaign of Republican Rep. David Reichert, who represents the suburban 8th District.

The midmorning reception, the president's only stop in this state, will be at the 8,000-square-foot, $10.3 million mansion of Peter Neupert, a Microsoft Corp. corporate vice president and former chief executive of drugstore.com Inc. Proceeds from the $1,000-a-head reception will go to Reichert, who is facing an aggressive challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner, a political newcomer and former Microsoft manager.

I know it's odd, but Bush flying in to help out Reichert feels a bit like his Baghdad Green Zone cameo from a few days back. Slip into hostile territory unannounced, surrounded by friendlies, then get the hell out before anyone noticed what the hell happened.

I know what you're thinking- NO, that doesn't make Darcy Burner a terrorist, necessarily. She's just one more part of that great liberal insurgency conspiracy.

Apparently this web thing is all new news to Maria Cantwell's campaign- you know, our more technically savvy Senator? The Seattle Times's David Postman led me toward a brief comparison of Maria's site and Mike McGavick's penned by Jeff Maurone.

Apparently Jeff's critique had an effect, or at least was timely, because Maria has now updated her site. It seems she's now much more on track. Blog, a decent spattering of media, and a good supply of tools to use to get involved.

Democrats of Washington, let's not follow the BetterDonkey model, have consistent content at least.

Is this still a lesson to be learned? For shame. If you're a politician you should be seeding the netroots from the second you decide to run for office. Your website should be your best asset in terms of potential gains versus costs, not a liability. A ground-breaking website can be assembled for a fraction of the cost of ONE television spot. Why not kick some ass on the web? In today's climate there's no excuse not to.

The measure to permanently repeal the estate tax thankfully went down in the Senate today. But Washington voters haven't likely heard the end of the estate tax.

As I talked about last November, anti-infrastructure and anti-education zealots are poised to bring I-920 to Washington state voters this fall. If it passed, I-920 would eliminate a tax which only 210 of the richest estates in Washington pay.

I-920 is led by anti-Tax and anti-Gay zealot Dennis Falk who, in 1981, led an unsuccessful campaign to overturn the sexual orientation provisions of Seattle's fair employment and open housing ordinances.

Slimy folks like Falk (and the Seattle Times editorial board) will surely create "heart-string" ads like this gem from the Free Enterprise Fund which has been running in Washington state this week against Sen. Cantwell:


click for Windows Media Player link
Expect I-920 to bring these to the next level. Old women in wheelchairs explaining to Billy and Cindy that Gov. Christine Gregoire is the reason they'll have to go to Community College instead of Vassar and such. Black and white tilted photographs of Frank Chop and sad family-owned farmers exclaiming that they'll have to fold up shop after 10 generations of farming in Monroe (even though farms are exempt from the tax in Washington). Oh, modern American politics.

Tim Eyman failed to deliver enough signatures to get an initiative on the ballot to repeal Washington's new gay rights law. No, not even dressing up as Darth Vader could help him.

Confused (presumably by his own homosexuality) Tim (Darth Gaydar) Eyman doesn't even have the support of fellow Sith Lord Chris Vance:

Now he's coming in and hijacking issues and shoving his way into an issue because it's become a business for him. It's how he gets paid," Vance said. "There will be no end to Tim Eyman as long as people are wiling to send him money ... I think it's hurting the legitimate perception of the initiative process. When you've got a clown out there in a Darth Vader suit lying to the press and things like that, it's not good for the initiative and referendum process. [PI]

Ouch. At least Gaydar has the support of the radical religious right? Nope, too bad, Apparently he stopped returning their phone calls. Dark days for the Republic indeed.

Tim, please do us all a favor: Put your dark-side pee-jays back in the closet and bring yourself out of it.

Gary Randall and the "Faith and Freedom Network" are taking it to Washington's churches in a large scale effort to gain the signatures of at least 112,440 registered voters for Referendum 65 to qualify for the November ballot.

Referendum 65 would overturn legislation that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. In other words, for Gary Randall "Faith and Freedom" can be translated to "Intolerance and Discrimination."

» Seattle Times

Kyle Netterfield signed the petition, an overseer at the Northshore Baptist Church.

'We have a real concern that our freedom to hold to or act upon our sincerely held religious beliefs are going to be significantly infringed,' he said.

When legislation prevents you from discriminating against other people based on your beliefs, that's wrong eh? Wow. Welcome to the churches of Washington, please leave your coats, civil rights, and sanity at the door.

Darcy Burner, Democratic challenger to Dave Reichert in the 8th, has taken up the "offer" issued by V.P. Dick to Reichert, "I'll campaign for your opponent if it’ll help."

Darcy's Press Release

From Darcy's letter to Dick:

Dear Mr. Vice President:

During your recent trip to Washington State to support White House endorsed candidates, you were quoted by both Seattle newspapers as telling 8th District Representative Dave Reichert that you would “campaign for your opponent if it’ll help.”

As Reichert’s Democratic opponent, I would like to take you up on your kind and thoughtful offer and I cordially invite you to come and spend a day campaigning with me in the 8th District. The district reaches from Microsoft’s Redmond Campus to Mount Rainier National Park and offers a microcosm of America. Here are some of the events I would like to plan for your visit to the 8th.

Every good tried and true Seattle liberal has just the right amount of rage about global warming. It's a nice scab to pick at, a nice soapbox to stand on against Bush Inc. and the conservative movement which is failing America in countless ways.

We're outraged. We're outraged with claims that the jury's still out on global warming while the artic melts before our eyes. We're outraged that NASA's climate researchers have been censored by the Bush administration. And it's that wonderful righteous outrage.

After all, we've got a Democratic Governor and State Legislature. We're the only state with two female Democratic Senators. Old Bagdad Jim has our back and Sir Gregory of Kyoto waves his green flag proudly. Plus, we've got curbside recycling. Take that, Idaho!

Our country might be running Earth into the ground, but at least our state has got its act together, right?

Hopefully, the front page of today's PI will wake some of us up from our righteous rage. Our blue tinted backyard is a toxic stew and everyone is to blame.

With the end of session in Olympia, we are one step closer to the beginning of real campaign season for the 2006 cycle. Soon we'll all start seeing the flyers, fund rasing letters, ads and pleas for volunteers. The question is, what are we going to do in response?

For my part, I'll probably pick a couple of races that mean a lot to me, places where I think I can help make a difference, and where there's a condidate that has the same priorities that I do (community development, good government, smart spending). I could also see myself getting ivolved in a race where I am more concerned with defeating an incumbent than I am helping a challenger.

What are you going to do this session?

What do you wnat BetterDonkey to do this session? (do you care what BD does?)

A couple of online resources you might find helpful in figuring this out:

The Washington State Democratic Party: A good place to start, learn about the party in general, check out the election calendar, get plugged in.

Conservative think tank files Initiative to make all Washington State residents re-register to vote

Washington state Republicans never quite got over Dino Rossi's crushing loss to Gov. Gregoire. And, who's to blame them? Their most popular blog, SoundPolitics, is happy to stoke the fire. In between posting the salary of every teacher in the state and bitching about illegal bon fires at Alki all SoundPolitics does is post people's addresses and question their own neighbor's legal voting status. It's a 24-7 witch hunt of massive proportions over there.

In their world everyone is suspect. Even you.

So, since everyone is a suspect, then we should disenfranchise everyone, right?!? State-wide disenfranchisement is what democracy is all about! Conservative think-tank Evergreen Freedom Foundation thinks so. The Seattle Times reports:

Initiative would force all voters to reregister

OLYMPIA — Voters would have to prove they are U.S. citizens and reregister to vote under an initiative that supporters said they will file this week.

Conservative think tank Evergreen Freedom Foundation has formed Grassroots Washington, which is backing the initiative that is expected to be announced today...

The initiative would make all voter registrations inactive until people proved their citizenship and reregistered...

But Assistant Secretary of State Steve Excell said it's a wrong move. "Just because we don't happen to think that every voter record is perfect, we can't, wholesale, disenfranchise everybody," he said.

Excell said investigators had not found any evidence of illegal votes, and noted that most of the questioned registrations were inactive.

In a shocking decision to provide news analysis from people who are not old and not boring, KCPQ (channel 13 in greater Seattle) has asked a group of policy kids from the Evans School to play talking heads for an hour.

Also shocking-- they're letting me play, too!

Tune in to channel 13 tonight at 9 pm (I think they're calling the show IQ News?!). We'll be hacking the State of the Union address to pieces and hitting the local politics pretty hard, too.

And hey... if you like this kind of thing (you know, where people who you can actually relate to go on the boob tube and talk about how the news actually means something), drop your local TV stations an email. Landslides and apartment fires can't be the only news worth covering, right?

Tim Eyman has an impressive list of nicknames he's received over the years. Watch Salesman. Asshat. Embezzler. Gambling Industry Hack. Now, it looks as if he wants to add bigot to that list. As Amy posted earlier, the state legislature finally made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual preference. The Seattle Times reports Eyman waited a tasteful two-days to claim his new nickname:

Tim Eyman filed an initiative and a referendum this morning aimed at getting rid of the gay rights bill passed by the Legislature on Friday.

State law bans discrimination based on race, sex, religion, marital status, disability and other categories. The gay rights measure passed by the Legislature adds sexual orientation to that list...

"Politicians are deciding based on special interest group pressure and their own reelection calculations," Eyman said in a statement emailed to reporters. "The voters have watched this disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness for weeks."

Gov. Gregoire, in response to the news, said it best:

"It strikes me as counter to the values of the state of Washington to have an initiative now that would say to the people of the state of Washington it's ok to discriminate..."

You'd think so, Chris. But it always seemed to me that everything Tim Eyman does is counter to the values of Washington state.

Is Chris Vance really stepping down as Washington State Republican Party Chair?

Anybody know who is or might run?

State Legislators have been dusting off their gavels, robes and wigs in preperation for today's opening of the 60 day session. There are quite a few topics on the dockett for the Whigs and Torries down in Olympia, but might I suggest a pressing issue that could strongly benefit from your help and input:

The Strength and Health of Our Communities

Why you should care:

Right now, 405,000 families find themselves in a living situation that will force them to choose between food and rent.

More than 50,000 homeless individuals will seek shelter in the coming year, and will be turned away.

All of the major Housing Authorities have closed their waiting lists to those seeking affordable housing.

In the coming 5 years, the sharp increase in the costs of land and construction could cut the production of affordable housing in half.

What can we do about it this session?

HB 2418: The Home Security Fund

So, I seem to have a Letter to the Editor fetish going on. This is my second in a month, both having to do wih my favorite axe-grind-metaphor-thing...housing and community investment.

Anyway, the below letter ran in the Seattle Times last week. Just goes to show, if you write it, they'll print it.

P.s. I didn't pick the headline, the STimes did. For the life of me I cant figure out what the heck they meant by it.

The plot thins

Washington state is a national leader when it comes to the financing and development of award-winning housing that is safe, environmentally friendly and affordable to individuals and families throughout the spectrum of housing needs ["State's housing affordability gap widens," Real Estate, Dec. 18].

The State Housing Trust Fund, which is responsible for more than $420 million in new and improved housing since 1989, represents an important investment in communities around the state. These dollars are leveraged four and five times as they are matched with local, federal and private funds to create housing that will remain affordable for many decades to come.

Paul Berendt, Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, has resigned. Your can read his letter of resignation below.