The Columbia blows it: In Our View: Sensible Solution

One of the things that any regular reader of the Columbian can count on, much like death and taxes is for the Columbian to make every effort to destroy democracy as practiced through the initiative process.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the writers of these little nag pieces fail to understand that critical article of our state Constitution, as mentioned below.

Instead of stridently condemning initiative efforts, newspapers and other alleged pillars of our societies should support these and other efforts to seek out and implement the will of the people.

But here, we have yet another example of the confusion reigning in the Columbian’s editorial corridors. They are simply unable to understand that the direct word of the voters of this state reigns supreme. They are unable to understand that, merely because it conflicts with the agenda of the Columbian, that doesn’t make it bad… or a question that should not be taken or an initiative that should go in front of the people of this state… the people who pay the bills… the people who want a say on this matter.

Instead, we get nonsensical pontificating here people who, quite apparently, know no more about democratic practice then they do brain surgery, tell us “'When it comes to the will of the people, House Transportation Chairman Ed Murray, D-Seattle, told The Associated Press this week: 'The will of the people is to prevent a loss of life from any number of bridges that might collapse. I think that it's time to move forward. It's an emergency.'"

'Remember, too, that this 9.5-cent gas tax, to be phased in over four years, was decided by legislators who were elected by voters, and dispatched to Olympia to make difficult decisions about transportation funding.'”

That is utter nonsense, of course.

Neither the Columbian nor Rep. Murray are interested in determining the will of the people when that will might conflict with their agenda… so what do they tell us? “Don’t make any effort to find out exactly what that will is.”

The fact that the Columbian deliberately wants you to overlook… The turd in the punchbowl, if you will is this: The will of the Legislature or the City Council of Vancouver is NOT superior to the actual will of the people. That said, if this tax is implemented and the bonds sold… If we get rid of EVERY Legislator who voted for this as well as the governor who signed it into law, it would change NOTHING. We would STILL have to pay the tax.

We have an initiative system in place for PRECISELY this reason. The Founding Fathers of this state could easily see a time or circumstance where our state’s government would cheerfully ignore what the people wanted. Why the heck else do you think they put an initiative process into place in the first place?

And when it comes to this BS: “was decided by legislators who were elected by voters, and dispatched to Olympia to make difficult decisions about transportation funding,” how many of these guys were elected on a platform of implementing the largest gas tax increase in the history of the United States?

We all know the answer… and it is zero.

In fact, did we not have a governor who ran on exactly the opposite plank? Was she not quoted in the Seattle Times as saying she, “In fact, during last year's campaign, Gregoire said she opposed — at least for now — raising the gas tax?”

Thus, the Columbian editorial today condemning efforts to allow the people of this state to have a direct voice in this decision is rife with lies, half lies and outright propaganda. But then, since the Columbian supports the gas tax increase, like they did light rail and the Pollard Hilton, could we reasonably expect them to write anything else?

In the end, if this tax is so important... if what it does is so very necessary... then the fine folks so rabidly supporting the increase should have no difficulty convincing the people of this state of that necessity during the upcoming campaign. And if they can't convince us of the necessity... then the tax deserves to go away.





In Our View - Sensible Solution
Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Facing a July 8 deadline for gathering 275,000 signatures, members of the No New Gas Tax group are pounding the pavement seeking support for Initiative 912.

Last week the group even took the matter to court, attempting to stop the state from collecting the tax prior to the signature deadline.

Our advice is to ignore the signature gatherers, for several reasons. They are bleating, incorrectly, that the will of the people is being ignored. They point to voter rejection in 2002 of a 9-cent gas tax. Remember, though, that the 2002 voters' voice was followed by the legislatively approved nickel gas tax that most sensible Washingtonians now believe was a good idea.

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