While browsing in the back pages of the 2010 Almanac of American Politics, I learned that Washington's senior senator has another achievement that deserves recognition.

No, she hasn't won another "no rocket scientist award".  (I think the magazine no longer runs that contest.)  Instead, she has done something more substantive.  Here's how the Almanac describes her achievement:

These are the members at the far ends of the ideological spectrum, based on National Journal's 2008 vote ratings.  Scores are a composite of ratings of economic, social and foreign policy votes.

The most liberal senator, by that measure, was Patty Murray.  Her composite score of 92.7 beat out every other senator, including Barbara Boxer (who must be terribly...Read the rest >>

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We're always hesitant to get too excited about polls, especially ones that come out in August. But it's hard to ignore KING 5's poll among likely voters showing 55% saying they are 'certain' to vote yes on I-1053 and only 18% certain to vote no. Pretty interesting breakdowns by demographic groups -- see here.

Cer-tain (adjective): free from doubt or reservation; confident; sure. It's pretty hard to change the vote of a voter who says they are 'certain' to vote for an initiative.

Lots of things can happen before November, of course, but it certainly does make intuitive sense that voters would strongly support I-1053:

1)...Read the rest >>

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Charles Krauthammer will speak at this year's Washington Policy Center dinner, October 6 in Bellevue.

The WPC does excellent research on public policy issues, promoting market-oriented approaches. Their annual dinner is an important fundraiser for the organization and always a lively and informative event.

Krauthammer is certain to be a terrific speaker. Details here.

Some of us Sound Politics writers will be attending at a table together. There's room at the table and we'd enjoy if some of our readers could join us. To attend with us, please register with the WPC for individual seating. (70% of the price is tax-deductible). Please make a note in the "Order Comments" box that you wish to sit at the Sound Politics table. Then email me (theshark at usefulwork dot com) to let me know you'll be joining us. Register ASAP, as the event will sell out soon.

Hope to see some of you there!

With the odds now in favor of Republican control of the House of Representatives, it is time, perhaps past time, to ask how much difference that control could make.  The best way to examine that question is to look at what happened in a roughly comparable situation, after the 1994 election.  And so I plan a series of posts describing what Republicans did after that election.

Since Republican and independent voters are most concerned with the Pelosi-Reid-Obama spending spree, I will begin with what Robert L. Livingston, who became chairman of the House Appropriations Committee after the election, was able to do to control spending.

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From: Jack Fagan, Mike Fagan, and Tim Eyman, co-sponsors of Initiative 1053 which reinstates the 2/3's vote requirement for the Legislature to raise taxes

Times are tough for everyone. After paying for mortgage/rent, vehicle costs, food, and other family expenses, it's difficult to find 'extra money' to support political efforts, like our initiatives, that move our state in a more pro-freedom, pro-reform, pro-taxpayer direction. We understand that. So as donations were coming in for I-1053's signature drive, it became increasingly apparent that they weren't coming in at a pace that would have allowed the signature drive to be successful. But there was absolutely no way that we were going to let Olympia get away with repealing the 2/3's vote requirement...Read the rest >>

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My city is working harder to harass and gouge people who need cars to get around town: "Parking violations bring in big bucks for the city of Seattle"

Naturally, it's about generating revenue for essential services. I was ticketed recently after the solar-powered parking meter couldn't contact the bank to approve my credit card. Suspicious, I requested public records on the frequency of such incidents. "No responsive records", they replied. I assume it's a policy choice to ignore such failures revenue opportunities.

The parking policy is also about punishing people for driving:

"The paradigm has to shift at some point," said Bryan Stevens, spokesman for the Department of Planning and Development. "People will change their patterns as it becomes more difficult to drive and park. Then there's a tipping point as transportation becomes easier to (access)."

Tar. Feathers.