This morning I was one of many bloggers and conservative activists on a conference call with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA, 5th CD), Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA, 4th CD), and Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA, 8th CD). The topic of discussion was the status of the debate over government-run healthcare, and the possibility that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would push for a vote this weekend, probably on Saturday.

Each of the three GOP members of congress on the call had to go in and out of the room during the call, as there were votes being taken on the floor.

Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers saluted the many thousands who converged on Washington, D.C. on Thursday, protesting against government-run healthcare and filling the hallways of congress. She said that the "House Call" protests had a strong impact on members of congress, creating quite a buzz and becoming a major topic of discussion among the members.

Congressman Hastings outlined the stark differences in the approaches of the Democrats and the Republicans on healthcare. The Democrats, he said, wanted to centralize control and restrict choices. But in contrast to Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, the Republicans want to utilize solutions based on the marketplace - not based on government. The GOP favors expanding choice and increasing competition to bring down the cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance. Hastings said that Pelosi is trying very hard to twist arms and pressure Democratic members of congress into voting for Obamacare. He said that the actual Democratic vote count was very close and truly in doubt - that the situation was fluid, and that the actual Democratic vote count could literally change from hour to hour.

McMorris Rodgers said that Pelosi is trying to put on a "happy face" in the aftermath of the Virginia and New Jersey elections, where the GOP won by strong margins in states carried by Obama. Lots of Democrats in congress are nervous about risking a vote for Obamacare, but Pelosi knows this issue is a priority for her party and President Obama, so she has to keep pushing to keep it on track.

Both Hastings and McMorris Rodgers confirmed that Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, has lined up unanimous GOP opposition to the Obama healthcare effort. Not a single GOP member of congress will vote in favor of it when/if Pelosi pushes a vote this weekend.

McMorris Rodgers noted that there are two "hot button issues" that are causing for difficulty for Democrats in swing districts - the use of federal healthcare money to pay for abortions, and access to healthcare insurance by illegal immigrants. McMorris Rodgers said there are 54 Democrats who have expressed concern about federal funding of abortion, and 38 Democrats who have voiced their opposition to the so-called "public option."

Hastings and McMorris Rodgers both indicated that the Democrat healthcare bill would lead to over $700 billion in tax increases. In response to a question, Hastings noted that the bill would add $1.3 trillion to the national deficit, in addition to raise taxes and cutting medicare benefits.

McMorris Rodgers noted that the Democratic healthcare proposal would be partiuclarly harmful to women. She noted that 85% of family healthcare decisions are made by women, but that under the Democrats' proposal, decision-making power would shift from individuals to healthcare bureaucrats and commissioners. She noted that women make up 70% of medicare recipients, and are also the majority of caregivers for elederly relatives receiving medicare benefits. Also, noting that two-thirds of new small businesses are started by women, McMorris Rodgers said that the Democratic proposal was particular onerous and harmful to small businesses. She said if passed, it would block the development of small businesses which are vital to economic recovery, resulting in millions more lost jobs.

Congressman Reichert, who arrived late to the conference call due to business on the House floor, spoke about his efforts to expose the hypocrisy and conflict of interest involved in the endorsement of Obamacare by the AARP. Reichert said that President Obama claims people will be able to keep their own insurance, but that this is not true. For example, the proposed cuts in Medicare advantage would force many senior citizens (currently happy with Medicare advantage) to switch to United Health. And AARP gets royalties related to United Health, leading to the concerns of conflict of interest. He noted that 14,000 senior citizens in the 8th CD are on Medicare advantage.

Congressman Hastings commended the work of Reichert and his staff in challenging the AARP. Hastings sharply criticized AARP, saying it should be looking out for the interests of senior citizens instead of seeking after royalties. And Reichert slammed the AARP for supporting federal taxes on medical devices, noting that this especially hurts seniors and disabled people. Reichert will be meeting with representatives of the AARP on November 18.

As the conference call came to an end, Congressman Hastings emphasized the critical importance of bloggers and activists in disseminating information, especially to seniors and especially in the western Washington congressional districts. "This bill can be beaten," Hastings said, urging protesters and activists to go "full power ahead."

Congressman Reichert concluded the meeting by urging an effort to reach out to seniors, noting that the Democratic bill would be an "absolute travesty" for America's senior citizens.
 

Is This The End of the Washington State GOP?

A wave of dread and doom descended on Washington State Republicans as election results in this off year election were finally counted. The general election result that shattered any hope of Republican resurgence in the state was the King County Executive’s race. Councilman Dow Constantine smashed blue dog, moderate Democrat Susan Hutchinson in that election contest. Republicans in King County now go down in defeat again in their attempt to elect someone other than radical, leftwing, crackpots like Constantine. Many are questioning why the King County Republican Party backed Susan and not a principled conservative in the first place!

Here in Snohomish County Republican conservative John Koster ran up some impressive numbers as he defeated Seattle crackpot Paul Brainerd’s candidate for the Snohomish County Council. There is already talk that Koster will run against a weak and vulnerable Aaron Reardon for County Executive in 2011. Elsewhere, Democrats continued their dominance in the county by re-electing a very unpopular Dave Somers over a token Republican candidate in the 5^th Council District using low turn outs and outright lies combined with little or no campaign cash for Steve Dana. They also elected blue dog Democrat Joe Wilson to the Snohomish County bench, and Dave Gossett in the 4^th Council District. Word reached me on election night that the Democrats can’t wait to vote in a MAJOR property tax increase before the end of November. They apparently are going to ignore record high unemployment in the county and try to completely destroy what is left of the county’s economy now that Boeing is leaving.

Out of the dust of this off year election came some positive news. A group of concerned Republicans and conservatives have decided to begin the process of purging the left of center leadership in the state GOP at the State and County level. This campaign will probably include some of last year’s Ron Paul supporters in the state, but I understand that some surprising names in the rank and file GOP leadership will be leading this effort. In order to accomplish their goal, it is going to be necessary to do away with the current leadership at the Washington State Republican Party. The first target in this purge will be to get rid of Luke Esser as State Chairman. 

As a conservative from Bellevue explained it to me, “Luke has presided over major defeats in 2008 and now 2009; it’s time for a change!” The fact that Esser has continued to support Rob McKenna, the left of center Mainstream Republican for a future run for Governor, has caused some problems in Snohomish County in particular, where one major figure in the GOP told me on election night, “Rob will never carry this county for Governor; no matter how many people he sweet talks in the party.”

Both RINO lefties, Reed and McKenna, refused to support I-1033 and that move has angered the rank and file GOP Precinct Committee Officers in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties, according to my sources. Also McKenna’s attempt to allow publication all the names of those who signed the R-71 petition to put homosexual marriage on the ballot has even the state’s libertarians up in arms. One of the leaders in the Reject R-71 campaign wondered out loud to me on election night why McKenna remains in the GOP, “He walks like a Democrat, talks like a Democrat; therefore he must be a Democrat. What the hell is so hard to understand about that?” It is widely known that both Reed and McKenna went out of their way to oppose the attempt to roll back “Homosexual Marriage” in Washington, at odds with the majority of the GOP rank and file.

What about 2010? Well, other parts of the nation may have an easy time knocking off Democrats in the House of Representatives, but bleak prospects face Republicans in Western Washington. Even though GOP incumbent Dave Reichert has a war chest in the 8^th CG, his vote in favor of the insane Cap and Tax bill probably dooms him to defeat against an extremely well financed Democrat that has yet to announce their candidacy (according to my sources). In the 1^st CG and the 2^nd CG both Democrats Rick Larsen and Jay Inslee are vulnerable to a challenge, but Republicans cannot come up with candidates or the $2 million dollars per campaign that it would cost to defeat either incumbent Democrat! I expect the GOP to run the typical token and under financed congressional candidates in these races.

As for the State Legislature, ‘slim pickens’ face the GOP in Snohomish and King Counties not only because they have no candidates they also have zero money available to finance campaigns. Dan Kristiansen, the 39^th GOP State House Representative and the Chair of House Republicans told me bluntly that they will have to pick and choose which candidates to support because of the lack of funding and little if any campaign contributions. 

At the state level, Rob McKenna and Sam Reed continue to play the Dan Evans ‘bell curve’ game hoping to get re-elected, but they will have to do it without the support of most county GOP organizations. This next time they come up for election they will be facing not only well financed opposition from the Democrats but a major effort to throw them out of office. Washington State Democratic Chief Dwight Pelz believes the best way to deal with Rob McKenna and Sam Reed is to go after them, head on! To make matters worse, several conservative Republicans are eyeing these races with the full intention of knocking them off. So McKenna and Reed are both under fire from both political parties. Not a good situation to be in.

Whatever happens this next year, Washington State continues its downward drop into the economic abyss. I even hear that crackpot Governor Gregoire intends to push for passage of a STATE Cap and Trade global warming measure with the full intention of imposing a massive energy tax resulting in potential rationing on electrical and energy use across the board in Washington State. She will also be pushing for a state income tax to be placed on the ballot in 2010. If these two items were to pass into law, many believe that this state would suffer an economic collapse unlike anything that has ever happened before. Possibly worse than the great depression and the 1971 Supersonic Transport disaster when Boeing laid off 60,000 people.

KIRO talker Dori Monson nailed it with this evaluation of Tuesday's election here in Washington:

This may be the most singular one-party state in the nation.

New Jersey and Virginia voted for Obama a year ago - but for Republican governors tonight... Liberal Maine rejected gay marriage... Blue-state California voters earlier this year rejected tax increases...

But in Washington, our one-controlling-party mentallity rolls on.

King County government is facing a $54-million deficit - and one of the people who got the county into that financial mess has been elected Exec - because he's a Dem.

Init-1033 restricting the growth of government? Rejected.

Gay partnerships? Supported.

Huge property tax increase in Seattle for low income housing? Of course! Seattle never saw a tax increase the voters didn't love.

I evaluate each race and issue on its individual merits (I supported Ref-71 - everyone other endorsement I made on the above races lost). But despite national trends favoring Republicans, in Washington the vast majority of voters are robots. Every Democrat wins. Every expansion of government passes. Every liberal cause prevails.

The unions chased Boeing out of the state - and every winning candidate paid tribute to their big-money union support. Our unemployment rate is well above the national average. Our state is facing another multi-billion dollar deficit. King County has a $54-million deficit. Seattle a $40-million deficit.

Why wouldn't we stay the course? Election Day was business as usual in our one-party state.

Remember, Governor Gregoire made this astonishing statement over a month before Election Day:

I've told them [Democratic legislators] come on in and convince me that's [raising taxes] the right thing to do and that people will support it. At some point the people, I assume, don't want us to take any more cuts. I'm already hearing about 'why did you cut education?' Well there aren't any options

Many political observers were stunned that Gregoire would reverse her "no new taxes" stance so close to the election and felt that she was handing a win to Tim Eyman on a silver platter.  Wrong.  The Governor knows her liberal Pugetopolis base well and counted on the fact that I-1033 would be outspent some $3 million to none by wealthy liberal opponents of I-1033.  More importantly, local elected officials throughout the state, both Republican and Democrat, joined in the scare-it-to-ya chorus against I-1033.

"At some point the people, I assume, don't want us to take any more cuts."  Don't you think that is the takeaway from Washington voter's rejection of I-1033?  It certainly will be among Democrats in Olympia.  It already is at the Northwest Progressive Insititute, which proudly proclaimed that "Collapse of Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 proves that teabaggers are just a fringe."

Now, I don't think even Democrats are stupid enough to introduce new taxes in an election year, but if Washington Republicans don't make significant gains in the legislature in 2010, look out for the next biennial budget coming up in 2011.  Labor unions and other left-wing advocacy groups have made it clear they will tolerate no further cuts to their pet programs and the state will have to address what will likely be a $2-3 billion plus budget shortfall by that time.  Those groups will point to the I-1033 vote and say Washingtonians are finally ready for that dreaded state income tax.

Hey, you were warned.  We get the government we deserve.

Earlier this year, the marble halls of the state capitol echoed with dire predictions of death and doom as lawmakers cut several billion dollars from the state budget.  "People will die," Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D-Seattle) famously quipped in defending a proposed tax hike.

By the time they passed a budget lawmakers claimed they had dug deep into state spending and trimmed all the fat before cutting into vital state programs.  Apparently they didn't dig very deep.

While making cuts to health care subsidies, education, and corrections, lawmakers decided to continue spending money to promote tourism.  Perhaps Rep. Pettigrew was afraid people would die if the state didn't create a special map showing tourists where to find Twilight hot spots in the town of Forks:

That's right, because Washington is "home of the exciting Twilight saga," the state is spending our money to promote Forks as THE place to be for the show's aficionados.

Promoting tourism is a good thing (though I would argue it is not a function of government--let the businesses that will profit spend their money to promote tourism), but can lawmakers seriously expect their constituents to believe they're prioritizing spending when they continue to fund stuff like this?  When I go to a townhall meeting and my legislators look me in the eye and say "there's nothing else to cut" in the state budget, this comes to mind as a perfect example of why they should spend less time meeting with lobbyists and more time actually reading the state budget and evaluating agency functions.

By the way, if you're inclined to snipe back in the comment box with the shopworn line that funds used for stuff like this could be "dedicated funds" or "special grants" or whatever, think again.  This comes right from the state General Fund (see page 19 of this document from the state's Office of Financial Management, and spend some time digging through http://fiscal.wa.gov/).  This is a line-item appropriation that could have been cut to use the funds elsewhere.

The Tea Party Express rolled into the Puyallup Fairgrounds last Friday (October 30th) and lots of people showed up to welcome it--nearly 5,000. Did the local media cover it? The only coverage on the web that I've found is this clip, probably taken from someone's cell phone. ntil I found this mea culpa from the Tacoma News Tribune reporter John Henrikson that includes an even better videoclip.

Attorneys for The Seattle Times were successful Monday in arguing for the lifting of a restraining order that had prevented King County from complying with the newspaper’s request for documents thought to contain information about possible inappropriate behavior by Councilman Dow Constantine toward a female County employee, now known as Jane Doe. Constantine is running for the office of King County Executive against opponent Susan Hutchison. The judge’s ruling to release the hold on these public documents came on the eve of the final day of balloting in that election.

Red County broke the news last Friday that the Times had filed a legal challenge to the restraining order filed by attorney Tyler Firkins to prevent the release of documents regarding Jane Doe.  Judge Michael J. Trickey quashed the earlier restraining order, ordered King County to release all documents relevant to Ervin’s request (providing that the information that could reveal the identity of Jane Doe was redacted), including lifting the cover off the two-page note that had already been supplied to Ervin by the County. By way of Sound Politics, the note that has been at the core of this story can be viewed here.

The two pages of notes from July 27, 2009 made public by Monday’s ruling revealed that Jane Doe did have at least one meeting with a supervisor to discuss uncomfortable feelings she had about a series of interactions with Dow Constantine. The notes describe Doe’s account of an incident between her and Constantine that took place in a bar coinciding with a going away party for a co-worker. The supervisor’s notes indicate that Doe said she and Constantine sat together, shared food, and the councilman bought Doe drinks. Doe says Constantine commented on her attractiveness while also suggesting that she consider a position in his office.

On another occasion, a few weeks from when Doe stated the incident at the bar occurred, Doe said that Constantine made a comment in the workplace about her appearance that she felt crossed a boundary.

The supervisor’s notes are explicit that Doe was willing to sign a statement to the effect that she would not bring an action against the County and that she did not feel her employment was affected by any of the alleged incidents involved Councilman Constantine. However, the details disclosed to the supervisor made impression enough that they were discussed with Tom Bristow, then the interim chief of staff of the King County Council. The notes indicate the following conclusion resulting from their conversation:

Risk to the Council/agency - probably greater risk by conducting an investigation that could reduce the likelihood that other people wil [sic] come forward and trust that their experiences will be judged fairly and accurately. .

Although the note’s author and Bristow concluded that the facts did not support conducting an investigation, it was written down that “Ellen will document in case a further incident occurs. Tom may talk to member – probably after recess.”

Ellen Petre, Council Administrator, was one of two Council employees put to the axe this September, two months after the notes were made.

In a videotaped interview with KIRO television’s Essex Porter last week, Constantine said that “it would be easier” for him if the contents of the County’s documents were available for public inspection. Dow, it looks as though, on Election Day, you’re going to get what you asked for.