Idea Bankruptcy
Goldy catches a (Longview, WA.) Daily News article about Dino Rossi's last "Idea Bank" event, which is not a campaign, but a foundation that is seeking ideas. As Goldy notes, however, Rossi is pushing an idea that the people have already rejected by a wide margin at the polls. From TDN.com:
And the Idea Banks have been mostly, from what I can tell, GOP moan-fests featuring their stock complaints, namely that people not like them aren't being treated poorly enough.
A Rossi candidacy should be welcomed by Democrats. He's hobbled by having to play to the lunatic right base of the GOP, and since Gov. Chris Gregoire has done a fairly decent job, the voters are unlikely to seek a change.
Not saying it will happen, but it sure would be sweet to see her trounce Rossi. There's more than a reasonable chance that could happen, too, given the national political scene and a lack of serious state budget trouble.
Sure, Republicans are issuing dire warnings about an impending budget crisis, but those happen on a cyclical nature because of economic forces that are often far beyond the control of state government anyhow.
We could smooth the cycles out with a different tax system, but that will never happen, so we have to fund needed infrastructure and education system improvements when we can. An economic downturn could damage Gregoire's re-election chances, but that's always the case. Right now Rossi's non-candidacy is more of a legal curiosity than anything else.
At Tuesday's forum, Rossi "primed the pump" with a couple of his own solutions to problems in Washington, including getting rid of the estate tax passed by Democrats in 2005. "It chases entrepreneurs out of our state," he said. "It is better to die in any other state of the union than in Washington."Oy. It's so funny how Republicans often accuse progressives of being overly ideological, and here you have the main GOP non-candidate for governor pushing something that nobody cares about except a narrow range of very wealthy individuals and some ideological hacks. Rossi had to travel the state to come up with the Frank Blethen/Scott Campbell plan?
And the Idea Banks have been mostly, from what I can tell, GOP moan-fests featuring their stock complaints, namely that people not like them aren't being treated poorly enough.
One member of the audience said the state needed to cut all benefits for illegal immigrants and that the state should examine all tax returns of businesses, looking to see if the employees are legal.And who, in the name of all that is holy, would pay for such a scheme? These are the same people who complain endlessly about government spending when it is used to invest in the common good, and then they want to turn around and use it for personal wish fulfillment. And hey, I know I would personally stand in ice water cutting fruit for 12 hours a day just to make sure I scammed the taxpayers.
A Rossi candidacy should be welcomed by Democrats. He's hobbled by having to play to the lunatic right base of the GOP, and since Gov. Chris Gregoire has done a fairly decent job, the voters are unlikely to seek a change.
Not saying it will happen, but it sure would be sweet to see her trounce Rossi. There's more than a reasonable chance that could happen, too, given the national political scene and a lack of serious state budget trouble.
Sure, Republicans are issuing dire warnings about an impending budget crisis, but those happen on a cyclical nature because of economic forces that are often far beyond the control of state government anyhow.
We could smooth the cycles out with a different tax system, but that will never happen, so we have to fund needed infrastructure and education system improvements when we can. An economic downturn could damage Gregoire's re-election chances, but that's always the case. Right now Rossi's non-candidacy is more of a legal curiosity than anything else.
