If they didn’t actually want them to come true.
For our non-Washingtonian readers, we have a serial filer of Citizen’s Initiatives named Tim Eyman. If it’s getting taxed, he’s filing an initiative to cut said tax.
I, of course, vote for each of his initiatives when they make it to the ballot, even though he’s a media whore who couldn’t market hand warmers to Eskimos. In fact, those two reasons alone are the single biggest reason that any of his initiatives fail. Because he gets the ball in the red zone and then promptly wanders off to take a piss on the 50yd line, letting the game clock run out.
But, such as it is, he’s still done a load of good for the state. So much so that the state legislature is doing it’s best to repeal each and every one of his initiatives passed by the people.
But that isn’t enough for the progressives at the Seattle Weekly.
In the last month, over $1.3 million has been donated to the No on 1033 campaign, the opposition group meant to reverse the misinformation being peddled by professional fuck-up Tim Eyman and his latest, devastating initiative. Of that, over half has come from big unions: teachers, government workers and service employees, with a handful of smaller groups — firefighters, iron workers and electricians — adding to the kitty. That cash has been used to air TV ads. And considering No on 1033 still has $2 million left in the pot, a lot more good publicity is yet to come.
But despite the good feelings that come from organized labor spending money to protect its own, we can’t help but feel nostalgic for days long gone. Days when millions in campaign money wouldn’t be necessary to stop a minor irritant like Eyman. When, instead, a simple knock on the door and well-timed threat would be enough to solve any disagreement. Don’t get us wrong. Democracy is great. But doesn’t a situation like 1033, where we’re literally stealing money from old people and kids, call for something more direct? Like a kneecapping?
Yes, for Caleb Hannan at The Weakly, if you think that government over-taxes so that it can overspend and essentially use tax dollars to buy votes, then you deserve to have union thugs come to your home and make it so that you can never walk again.
But remember, it is the folks on the right who are the violent ones.