Hear David Boze every weekday at 6am on 770 KTTH
 David Boze
Get David's Books
The Little Red Book of Obamunism: Quotations from The One
It's the must-have election resource of 2012! It's a pocket-sized collection that reveals not just what the president says, but what he means!
Buy it now on Amazon.com
Look inside: Read a sample

Kumar Joe, The Singing Crow
Kumar Joe, the Singing Crow is the tale of a little crow who was born with a heart for music, but not a voice for it.
Buy it now on Amazon.com
Look inside: Read a sample



A bi-partisan Olympia

November 23, 2012 @ 1:01 pm

It's amusing to watch the Democrats respond to the shifting political landscape in Olympia where a bipartisan coalition of a unified GOP and two conservative Democrats look likely to assert control of the State Senate. Democrat State Senator Ed Murray, fresh off his remarkably successful effort to redefine marriage in Washington, has asserted that this coalition would "poison" relations in the legislative body. But why should it?

The arrangement doesn't preclude adding other Democrats to the coalition and it starts with a policy majority built around the one thing the state government must do (create a budget). It also means, no one can step too far afield without messing up the whole coalition, and that every senator in it has the power to undo it, so the only way it works is if they rally around a purpose and stay focused on accomplishing it.

One can understand Murray's frustration. He's the new head of the Senate Democrats and they have a majority by party--but the party has moved a bit too far to the left to keep a functioning majority and efforts to purge their conservatives have not yet proven successful.

Republicans may not have accomplished "12 in 12" or even "1 in 3" (as in 1 out of the state House, Senate or governor's mansion), but depending on how this goes, they may still have achieved just the right blend for Washington to develop a taste for their leadership again.

More David Boze

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (6)


  • Add A Comment

  • clevesside wrote...
    That're pretty optimistic....
    November 23, 2012 5:49 pm
    ...and far-reaching just for being "optimistic" politically. Whats in your toddy then?! Pass it along to Olympia also, holidays be damned.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    As long as the Republicans (with thier 2 conservative Dems) don't play the absolutist game, it's good.
    November 24, 2012 7:55 am
    As long as the Repubs don't get into 'retaliation mode for all those years where they were the minority party' and do what the freaking idiots in the House of Representatives has done and become the party of right wing extremism, anti-everything that isn't borne of right wing extremism, become unable to comprimise, etc. etc., then this will be a good thing. HOWEVER - with the mouths on many of the right wingers and Republicans these days, it would seem that the risk of this inappropriate behavior is far, far too likely.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    Nothing good will come of this
    November 24, 2012 8:37 pm
    Either they will fail at passing a sustainable budget (again) and blame the Republicans or they will succeed and the democrats will get credit for being able to manage a budget which they obviously can't do on their own. Chrisy was able to blame her failures on Bush and Inslee will just blame the Senate Republicans. It would be better to let them own it all the way to the bottom except the voters have never been very good at remembering who was in charge when all the unpopular stuff went down.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • oddthumbs wrote...
    Why can't the GOP abide by election results?
    November 29, 2012 9:32 am
    Why is it that parliamentary tricks are the only way the GOP can get any power? They made a run at getting the majority outright and they lost. The will of the voters is clear: Democrats control the state Senate. The reason Republicans keep losing winnable races (I'm look at you, McKenna) is because they're competely out of step with the will of the people of this state. Overturning the will of the people through games and tricks and bribery of state senators isn't "bipartisan," it's dishonest and pathetic. If the Dems were doing this, Boze and AJ and all the others would be screaming about it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    @OddThumbs
    December 1, 2012 10:38 pm
    ... what in the world are you talking about, man?

    I lived in Mason County for years and always voted for Mr. Sheldon even though I'm a conservative... why? Because he's a reasonably conservative guy... certainly for a Democrat.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Phil B wrote...
    Because apprently
    December 6, 2012 7:57 pm
    GOP politicians have some sort of royalty complex, like its God's will that they rule over us lesser mortals. And when they lose, its not because there's anything wrong with their ideas, its that us puny voters are ignorant, greedy, or stupid. Want proof? Just listen to any GOP tirade over the past month.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }