Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Friday, June 10, 2005

P-I editorial is right on

In a great editorial this morning (Initiative Efforts: Second-guessing, again), the Seattle P-I heavily criticizes two initiatives that NPI divisions have turned much of their attention to: Initiative 900, the Eyman backed measure that Permanent Defense is fighting, and Initiative 912, the KVI-sponsored gas tax repeal initiative that Washington Defense is fighting.

The P-I editorial board wrote, in part:
Citizens must have the power to propose needed legislation when the Legislature fails or refuses to do so. But too often the objective is to undo laws the Legislature has passed.

Signatures are being gathered for initiatives that would in one case replace and in the other case repeal complex and hard-fought laws that cleared the Legislature earlier this year.
And too often these efforts are funded by special interests and wealthy backers who are subverting and hijacking the initiative process for their own political gain.

The editorial also shredded Eyman's recent claims that the state auditor likes his initiative: "State Auditor Brian Sonntag says the initiative is 'not necessary.' 'Citizen initiatives are meant to fill voids. There is no void here,' Sonntag says.

The P-I editorial board deserves a round of applause for its resounding spot-on editorial. The legislative process is being unnecessarily circumvented so that the anti-tax crowd can have its chance to thwart all the progress that has been squeezed out of months of work and compromise.

To learn more about how you can get involved in the fight against I-900 and I-912, visit Permanent Defense and Washington Defense.

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