Joel Connelly: Olympia's disappointing Democrats

Joel Connelly (Seattle PI):

Conservative lobbyists tell caucus what to do--Until recently a "third rail" for politicians, civil liberties have been put on the fast track by the 2009 session of the Washington State Legislature.

Our lawmakers have enacted everything-but-marriage legislation to expand rights of same sex couples. They've extended hate crimes laws to protect the trans-gendered. They're restoring voting rights to felons who have paid their price to society.

At the same time, alas, lawmakers have put students, seniors, teachers, homeowners -- and the cause of social justice -- on a slow boat to nowhere.

The '09ers did face a thankless task, closing a multibillion dollar budget deficit, but one wonders why Washington's dominant Democrats have undergone some kind of life change.

Democrats have long proclaimed themselves the party of Social Security and Medicare. Yet, the Legislature has hacked at the budget for programs that provide physical, mental stimulus and rehabilitation classes to seniors, the disabled and persons recovering from brain injuries.

"I don't pretend to understand what the Legislature was thinking when they cut adult day health funding by 70 percent," Eldercare Alliance president Jerry Reilly said on Thursday.

Bill Clinton pledged to fight for those who "work hard and play by the rules," and the phrase "working families" is a mantra of Washington State Democrats' press releases.

On Wednesday, however, lawmakers from the "party of education" voted to double, from 7 per cent to 14 percent, the amount by which colleges can increase tuition.

They really put it all together.

The cost of college soars out of range for middle class families already losing ground. New graduates face the prospect of backbreaking burdens of loan repayments. The state fails to turn out those with skills to fill jobs in its technology-biotech economy.

By the barest of margins, in 2005, we appeared to have elected an activist governor.

My first dealing with Gov. Chris Gregoire, dealing with the "dead zone" in Hood Canal, saw Gregoire go there, hit up aides for an immediate action plan, and -- soon thereafter -- launch the Puget Sound Partnership.

This year, after being re-elected by a surprising margin, Gregoire has squelched talk of a state income tax . . . or any reform plan that would produce a more just and stable state tax structure.

Once more, what comes to mind is an election slogan I heard on Bellingham radio as a kid: "Vote Democratic, the party for YOU -- not just the few."

Why don't we apply that to our state's tax system, dependent (to the tune of 51 percent) on the sales tax?

The lowest 20 percent of Washington's income earners fork up 17 percent of their income. The second 20 percent, those earning $30,000 to $45,000, pay about 13 percent.

By contrast, the top 15 percent (those over $90,000) get dunned just 7 percent, and the top one percent of income earners, aka "the few," pay just 3 percent.

Other developments puzzle me as well. The Building Industry Association of Washington spent more than $7.5 million in 2008 to defeat Gregoire, taking the low road from start to finish.

Still, the furthest right of the state's lobbies has had its way with a Legislature dominated by Democrats.

The House Rules Committee has just killed legislation to reform the cash cow that the BIAW milks to get its campaign money. The organization collects its war chest from refunds owned employers under a state workers compensation program intended to improve workplace safety.(emphasis Howie)

The Senate Rules Committee killed legislation that would allow homeowners to take legal action against contractors responsible for shoddy construction. It had already passed the Senate once, but opponents now had votes to tack on a teeth-pulling amendment.

As an Island County voter, I remember how the builders' lobby came after Democratic State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen in 1996. Glossy hit pieces from front groups, all bearing the same Mt. Vernon post office box, filled my mailbox.

Who was prime sponsor of the disabling amendment in 2009? Haugen. She's earned a new title: Belle of the BIAW.

Of course, lots of factors figure in these disappointments.Moderate Republicans, once a nexus of reform in Olympia, are now an endangered species. Initiative mercenary Tim Eyman regularly appears on the scene, a human jackal ready to rip at the flesh of anybody who dares to suggest that more revenue is needed in a state that shortchanges education.

(Out of every 100 9th graders in the state, just 71 will graduate from high school, only 32 percent will enter college, and but 16 percent will complete college within six years.)

Social advocacy groups -- or "special interests" as they're labeled in the Seattle Times -- are tied to tactics of the past (e.g. bleary press conferences) and slow to tap their net roots. (emphais Howie)

Oh yes, the state's largest newspaper. Take a look at Thursday's editorial page of the Seattle Times.

It contains yet another rant against one of the two initiatives to improve education -- boosting teacher pay and reducing class size -- passed by voters in 2000. The other editorial, "Lawmakers Put Bite in Puppy-Mill Law" praises the Legislature for setting standards on kennel size and limiting to 50 the number of non-neutered dogs that breeders possess.

Apparently, in the world of Fairview Fannie, the head count of dogs in kennels counts for more than the number of kids in class, and working conditions of those who teach them.

A final note: I was on a panel Monday night up at Horizon House, the big First Hill retirement facility. About 160 people were in the audience. It was a savvy group. They understood, in a New York minute, the case for reforming a tax structure that is unjust and inadequate.

Why do we see such lithe retirees, and such listless legislators? Why are seniors willing to face the future while senators and representatives balk at talk of increasing revenue?