As expected, the morons in the GOP-controlled senate screwed up the Hirst fix AND just handed the election in the 45th to the democrats.

On July 14th, I pointed out that the idiots running the state senate, who just got done screwing us AGAIN (First, it was the gas tax.... next, it was wasting unnecessary billions on the teacher's union...) had completely blown the handling of the Hirst issue.

The ONLY way that stood any chance to get Hirst "fixed" was to hang it on the General Fund budget.  As I pointed out:

The House democrats refuse to move on Hirst (Why should they? The GOP Senate has given up its leverage to the House as much as the entire Legislature ceded their authority to the Supreme Court) and the GOP Senate refuses to vote out a capital budget.

Each blames the other, publicly. And nothing happens.

The problem is simple: In voting out the General Fund Budget, the Senate gave away the keys to the castle.

That, of course, is beyond the idiocy and insanity of the REPUBLICAN senate smacking US with BILLIONS of dollars in new taxes... quite unnecessarily. Which, when added to their rape of our wallets on the gas tax/tab fee rip off kind of ends any particular reason to vote GOP in the legislature.... doesn't it?

So, yeah. If the GOP Senate needed to hold up a budget to "fix" Hirst, although any fix would only last as long as they maintain control of the Senate, which ends in a little less than 4 months, regardless; they picked the WRONG budget to hold hostage.

The democrats have no crying need to cave on this: any fix would only be temporary anyway, and what makes anyone think for a second that Inslee wouldn't veto it anyhow?

That, of course, is precisely what happened.

And now, the dems can beat the GOP to death in the 45th over this stupidity.  They can ginzu the GOP-controlled senate because of the utter stupidity of people like Rivers and Wilson who were too damned dense to see reality.  Now they can hang every, single, unbuilt project around the GOP's neck and they can do it with ease.

We look at this, and we scream "property rights!!!" In the urban locations where the dems are strong, the idea of water rights and property rights is esoteric nonsense.  In the city, they turn on a faucet and they get water.  That's all they know or care about.

Now, the dems will go out in the urban areas and POUND the GOP as the reason the schools and other buildings aren't getting built, and the reason dozens of other state-financed projects are not going to happen.

And the problem is the GOP response to that... might as well not be a response at all. Even if it COULD be "explained" in such a way that it would make any difference, in politics, the rule is simple:  If you're explainin'?

You're losin'.

What was a difficult election to win in the 45th... just became impossible.  And most of that is based on GOP ineptitude and a complete lack of strategic vision... not to mention the short-sighted efforts of the RINO contingent in THEIR campaign to depress the GOP vote by voting like they were all named "Jim Moeller," because causing our gas taxes and property taxes and tab fees to skyrocket is certainly a winning formula.

And the idea that we HAVE to elect that woman in the 45th "or else..." or else we get a "state income tax..." is nonsense, since no state income tax can be implemented without a vote of the people... except for the wannabe income taxes like the one the GOP just implemented with their caving on the paid leave scam... completely ignoring that obviously bogus "super majority rule" they eyewashed us with at the start of session.

So... no.  The last chance for GOP control continuing in the senate or happening in the House just blew apart.  And the reason is the ever shrinking concentric circle that ends in the laps of the GOP in the senate.  They will have no one to blame but themselves... and the result may be suffering even greater than that the GOP Senate just got done inflicting on us.

Sheesh. That we trust government to these idiots is simply inexplicable.