SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Sideshow Bob’s illegal Washington state PAC

Oct 10, 2017, 5:20 PM

Bob Ferguson...

Attorney General Bob Ferguson. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Washington state’s part-time Attorney General is using your money to operate an illegal political action committee.

That PAC is the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. At the same time, he is also using that office as a bank of political favors, in the same way a lobbyist would. The great news for Sideshow Bob — a name I use because I refuse to build his name ID — is that he knows he will never face any consequences for this and that he can force you to support these actions.

RELATED: Washington has become a monarchy of elites

Yesterday, Sideshow Bob filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The central claim of the suit is that the United States of America had been operating as a rogue, unconstitutional regime until the moment that President Obama decreed that companies must buy condoms, birth control pills and abortifacients for their employees. Do you believe that to be the case?

Actually, please don’t answer that because it cannot be believed. Not only does the constitution not mention birth control, the Bill of Rights is quite clear that Americans have the right to practice their religious conscience in their private life and the United States code makes clear that includes groups of people, companies, churches and organizations. If a Christian doesn’t want to buy contraceptives, he cannot be compelled to do that.

Who to believe? A grifter politician or the knowable, readable, Constitution? U.S. code and multiple Supreme Court rulings that defend our religious rights? But, Sideshow Bob got what he wanted from this suit, but not from me: his name is back in the news and you paid for it and you will pay for the defense of the suit.

The fact of the matter is, Sideshow Bob’s PAC is only part of his misuse of our money; he is also selling favors. Sound Transit broke the law when it decided to give ORCA user data to the dark money, political group funded by big construction and big labor — Mass Transit Now. Anyone who has been in politics or government for more than six months knows you do not provide government property to campaigns. Sound Transit did that, a citizen filed a complaint and Sideshow Bob made it all disappear. What did Bob get in return? I will bet he will get campaign contributions from companies that KUOW and The Seattle Times have pointed out get amazing returns on investment from backing Mass Transit Now.

We could sit here all day detailing Bob’s favor selling and become more irate. But, nothing is more anger-making than this fact: since Washington state doesn’t have an actual attorney general, Bob will face no consequences for all of this. The best solution for citizens is this: either vote for opposition party members or admit you are okay with a one-party state where machine politics — bribes, favors, misuse of taxpayer monies — is the norm.

Oh, solely since Bob is still a lawyer and happily uses his office to attack opponents let me add this: this is an opinion piece.

Campaign flyers for former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Graham Platner are seen at his head...

Associated Press

Messy primaries plague both major political parties, causing chaos and confusion in the midterms

NEW YORK (AP) — When midterm campaigning began, each major political party had a clear game plan. Republicans would emphasize border security and an economy that was finally shaking off years of high inflation. Democrats would focus attention on a deeply unpopular President Donald Trump to energize their voters. It hasn’t worked out that way. […]

1 minute ago

Associated Press

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 1,000 people

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — At least 999 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, according to official data published overnight into Wednesday, a grim toll in what’s already been declared the fastest Ebola outbreak in history. The latest update from Congo’s Ministry of Health shows that as of Sunday, 2,473 cases have […]

59 minutes ago

Associated Press

Sirens sound in Jordan as Israel says kingdom is targeted by Iranian missiles

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Missile alert sirens sounded Wednesday in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba as officials in neighboring Israel say an Iranian missile attack targeted the kingdom. Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in Aqaba in videos filmed by people in nearby Eilat, Israel. Officials in Eilat described it as an […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Beaches closed and sandbags filled as Tropical Storm Bertha approaches the Gulf Coast

Communities on the U.S. Gulf Coast distributed sandbags and closed beaches as Tropical Storm Bertha threatened to bring flooding and strong winds Wednesday from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. Bertha was forecast to make landfall Wednesday night in the coastal and lightly populated part of Louisiana southeast of New Orleans, with wind as the biggest […]

4 hours ago

This June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upp...

Associated Press

What to know about Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, home to an underground nuclear site threatened by Trump

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly issued threats to bomb an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain as the two nations exchange blows over the Strait of Hormuz. The site, known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” lies on the south side of Iran’s […]

5 hours ago

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Pho...

Associated Press

Asian shares edge higher after Wall Street climb, even as Brent oil keeps rising

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street, despite concerns about higher oil prices and inflation. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 67,511.12, after the government reported that both imports and exports rose last month from a year earlier, as the weakening yen raised the value of […]

7 hours ago

Sideshow Bob’s illegal Washington state PAC