Its almost like we need conservatives to run as democrats in this state just to make meaningful change. All the talk about republicans fear mongering people need to look no further than washington state to see the masters of it. I'm all about the 2 state solution and let the west side drowned in their own stupidity. The East side of the state spoke fairly clearly on their desires and were once again told what to do by people who could care less about the east side of the state nor understand our needs. they will keep saying Idaho is stupid and sinking there own ship and spokane and pullman or other cities that lose to idaho can just deal. I think eastern washington should be the new grass roots movement. Everything else is just wasted breath.

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what's unfortunate about I-1033 is that it was a poorly designed initiative that was obtusely complex, and those of us who want to limit government were put off by its' unnecessary complexity. Additionally, I didn't like its' redistributive nature, any excess taxes collected being redistributed statewide, rather than remaining in their communities of origin were the deal killers for me.

But as usual, liberal politicians will get what they want out of this. All I can say is too many tax increases from the state and I will close my business and move elsewhere. You want to take this state down? Leave me and my family out of it. I'm unwilling to play by those rules any longer.

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Not only do we live in one party state, but we live in a lop-sided state.  Eastern Washington needs to rise up and revolt against the craziness that goes on in Olympia.  I don't think my mind can be boggled anymore by looking at the counties and how they voted on the issues and who they vote for in an election. 

I also think the mail-in ballots are doing in some of these issues.  People make up their mind once they receive ballot and send it in, even though there are 3 weeks left in the election.  That is what makes the process even worse.  If new things to come to light in the last week and you've sent in a ballot, so be it.  As far as I know there is no way to change it.

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Well I think its important to remember that nobody has to mail in their ballot before election day, really all absentee voting does is help prompt higher voter turnout.

Also, you complain about being a "one-party" state, yet just by reading the comments its pretty easy to see why. There is a lot of talk about splitting the state in half, yet no real talk about the merits of the legislation or the fact that both Democrats and Republicans opposed the bill. What's most disturbing, however, is the idea that two different political groups cannot live in the same state as each other. America had an unfortunate experience with splitting over political values already, which led to the Civil War.

Then of course there was the other anonymous, who wants to opt-out of paying his/her taxes. Tell me, will you also be opting out of using roads, visiting parks, sending children to education, receiving police and fire protection?

1033 failed becuase people realized it would stymie our economic recovery and limit the social services the government could provide at their current (severly depressed) levels.

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If I-1033 restricted the growth of government, it might of had a chance.  What it did was use tax money that everybody paid, to offset taxes that fewer people paid.  What that means politically is that I-1033 alienated 1/3 of voters before they even judge the initiative on it's merits!  And then we wonder why it failed? It must be the voters fault!   Republicans can win in Washington, but not if they listen to this self-defeating crap.

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Yes, 71 did fail in every county in Eastern Washington, but the last time I checked we don't decide measures based on how many counties approve/reject a measure but by how many people vote for/against a measure. And, while such a system does lead to majority rule over the minority, I do not see any valid reasons why boundaries across Washington need to be redrawn to acomodate the minority. Indeed, there have been times in the past when the political situation was reversed and it was the Democrats in the minority. Politics is cyclical, and if one party has been in the minority for years (as the Republicans have in Washington) than perhaps it is time to accept that Washingtonians do not want a far-right party, but have shown themselves willing to accept more moderate Republicans (see Rob McKenna and Sam Reed among others).

Also, its important to note when the economic meltdown started. While it has persisted (although at a diminishing rate) under President Obama, it in fact started under President Bush. Thus, the answer to your question of whether our economic situation is a result of Obama's policies would be a no.

Finally, no government can be prepared to cut every service, as to do so would lead to complete absence of government or anarchy, which I assume is not what you are suggesting. In Washington specificaly the government is bound to fulfill a number of roles constitutionally, with the largest example being to provide for the education of its citizens.

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Err, OK, except that I-1033 failed in Eastern Washington, too.

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A big problem with this intiative is that it limits revenue, not taxes, when looking at the way it's written.

Plus, I-1033 uses a recessed year to determine how much revenue can be kept by a local, county, or state government. Why not suggest this with a typical year of economic stability rather than one which will limit surplus building?

Any time I hear someone suggest splitting the state in two, I immediately realize that person has no clue about the realities of how this state's funding system works. The eastern side of the state receives much more than it puts into the coffers. If we ever did split, we'd become the Mississippi of the west.

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