Archives for February 2007

Fellow HA blogger Will tosses Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas) a milkbone for requiring that all 11- and 12-year-old girls entering sixth grade be vaccinated against HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. The cost to vaccinate 170,000 sixth-grade girls is estimated at about $60 million, with private insurance covering many families’ costs. Gov. Perry’s executive order also offers free shots to all girls and women age 9 to 21 who are eligible for public assistance.

Like Will, I think vaccination is a good thing. But I’m also a tad suspicious of Gov. Perry’s unexpected leadership on this issue. Gov. Perry is one of those Republicans who has rightly earned a reputation for pandering to the religious right, a group that has loudly voiced concern that vaccinating 11-year-old girls against a sexually transmitted disease is, um, tantamount to encouraging sexual activity amongst 11-year-old girls. (Religious conservatives have such dirty minds.) So one can’t help but wonder if Gov. Perry’s sudden willingness to buck the religious right has anything to do with his close ties to the pharmaceutical company Merck, which manufactures the vaccine and stands to earn millions from the governor’s executive order?

Hmm. Male circumcision has also been proven in study after study to reduce both the incidence of cervical cancer in partners, and the likelihood of catching and transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. And yet without a powerful mohel lobby to force the issue, I don’t see any political momentum towards providing a free bris to boys on public assistance.

If only Merck could patent foreskin removal….

So much for bipartisanship.

There’s a push poll in the fields in WA state, and apparently this one’s a doozy, filled with all types of lies and distortions about Governor Gregoire and the Democratic legislature. According to the Caller ID the poll is originating from the Fort Collins, CO call center of Research Data Designs (RDD), a Portland, OR based market research firm that has worked with WA state Republicans in the past.

In October of 2006, RDD conducted a push poll on behalf of then state Senator Luke Esser, who was in the midst of getting his ass kicked by Democrat Rodney Tom in the 48th Legislative District. Now, just days after Esser takes the reins as state GOP chair, RDD is back in WA trashing Democrats in general. Coincidence?

When one angry recipient asked who was sponsoring the survey the caller claimed it was the “Lotto Office of Massachusetts.” Of course that’s bullshit.

I think I may have gotten this call myself this afternoon, but hung up before I realized what it was. Damn. So if you get this push poll, please take copious notes, or record it if you can, and forward me the details. I’m eager to learn more about this poll… as is Charles McIntyre, General Counsel of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission:

I am in receipt of an email from the Executive Director of the Mass Lottery in which you express your concerns about the “Lotto Office in Massachusetts” engaging in polling of opinions in the Seattle area. I can assure that the Massachusetts State Lottery is not engaged in opinion polling in your area. We are also not aware of any firm or company that may be involved in this type of conduct. We certainly would be interested in any additional information that you could provide, given that we highly value our good public image.

We’ve come to expect dirty tricks like this during the election season, but now it appears that WA Republicans have embraced perpetual campaigning that is just as nasty — and clumsy — as any campaign they’ve run in the past. Welcome to political hardball, Luke Esser style.

In what can only be called a stunning decision, a conservative Republican Governor is taking a stand against cervical cancer, even when his political “base” is against his position:

Mr. Perry’s action, praised by health advocates, caught many by surprise in a largely conservative state where sexual politics is often a battleground.

[…]

Under the order, girls and women from 9 to 21 eligible for public assistance could get free shots immediately. The governor’s office said parents could opt out of the school program “for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.”

“Requiring young girls to get vaccinated before they come into contact with HPV is responsible health and fiscal policy that has the potential to significantly reduce cases of cervical cancer and mitigate future medical costs,” said Mr. Perry, who was re-elected to his second full term last November.

HPV, affecting 20 million people nationally, including one in four 15-to-24-year-olds, is the nation’s most common sexually transmitted disease. Texas has the second-highest number of women with cervical cancer, with nearly 400 deaths last year, the governor’s statement noted.

The vaccine, approved for ages 9 to 26, is given in three shots over eight months. The shots are effective for at least five years, and together cost $360, said Curtis Allen, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is amazing news. But there’s more:

Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.

Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.

The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign.

Some of my “left-of-center” buddies were quick to accuse Perry of doing the bidding of a big donor. It may very well be the case.

But does that change things? Even if Gov. Rick Perry has “sold out” to the drug lobby, isn’t that OK if it saves hundreds of lives? I’m all for voting out the crooks, but lets get some perspective. If Merck’s influence over the Governor of Texas will save even one young woman’s life, then I say God bless him. Most Christian conservatives are against the vaccine; they say it’ll make girls more likely to have sex. They’d rather seen women die, I guess.

Republicans are like Labradors; I’m inclined to reward them for good behavior. In Gov. Rick Perry’s case, he gets a Milkbone from me for showing some “enlightenment.”

Commenting at a hearing on a bill that would require campaign literature to be sent to the state archivist, state Sen. Pam Roach (R-Crazyville) goes off on one of her signature tangents:

“I think men really liked the race. You had another woman and myself going at it and men really like this, women going like this. They won’t admit it, you know, but it’s a big turn-on for them. Believe me this was one of those races (that went) right into the mud. Geesh, it was something!”

Geesh… it certainly was something! In fact, it was so hot that rumor has it state Dems are recruiting Pamela Anderson to take on Roach in the next election.

Pam-on-Pam mud wrestling. Hubba, hubba!

Communities Against Payday Predators (CAPP), a coalition of labor, veteran, consumer and church groups, is attempting to rein in payday lenders, who currently charge interest rates as high as 391-percent. A bill by state Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo) would have capped the rate at 36-percent, but the committee chairman with jurisdiction has refused to hold a hearing.

A bill that would slash the interest rates charged by payday lenders appears dead after a key committee chairman said the proposal won’t get a hearing.

“I want to do this in baby steps,” said Rep. Steve Kirby, who leads the House Insurance, Financial Services and Consumer Protection Committee. “I have to be a little more thoughtful on these issues than someone who is not on the committee and just puts a bill out there.”

Rep. Kirby has introduced his own reform bill which I believe has something to do with prohibiting payday lenders from breaking the kneecaps of defaulters. I suppose that’s a start.

“It is certainly a better attempt at good regulation than what is being proposed by Rep. Appleton,” said [Money Tree CEO Dennis Bassford], who leads one of the state’s largest payday-lending chains.

He and Money Tree Vice President David Bassford donated $1,200 to Kirby’s last political campaign.

Um… and there are those who argue that public financing of elections would endanger our Democracy.

UPDATE:
As has been pointed out in the comment thread, there are now more payday lenders in WA state than there are Starbucks. Not bad for a local industry that didn’t exist 12 years ago.

Oh… and guess which legislative district has the highest number of payday lenders? Rep. Kirby’s 29th LD. I’m just sayin’….

Editorial page writers like to think of themselves as solemn defenders of the public debate, but really, they’re just as childish and petty as the rest of us. How else to explain three editorials in recent days devoting precious column inches towards ridiculing state Sen. Ken Jacobsen for introducing a bill that would allow dogs in bars?

Dismissiveness is the rhetorical tool of choice as the Seattle Times mocks the bill as “the silliest piece of legislation this session,” while the Seattle P-I incredulously asks “Bringing dogs to bars? Whose idea was that?“ The lede in the Everett Herald adopts the same scornful tone, asking: “Scooby-Doo, where are you?“

No doubt this is one of the least important issues facing legislators this session, and I gotta admit it’s kinda funny. I actually support granting bar owners the freedom to welcome dogs (few bars would,) but hell, even I couldn’t resist making fun of this bill. But then, I’m just some blogger, not the editorial page editor of one of the state’s largest newspapers.

I guess my question for these editorial boards is, if the issue is so frivolous and foolish, um… why are you wasting so many scarce column inches debating it?

There are many, many important issues that never get a proper public debate because they’re too wonky or boring or difficult to explain (to readers and editorialists alike.) But dogs in bars? Damn… three editorials in as many days. If you wonder why politicians push bills like this, perhaps it’s because this is what editorialists choose to write about? It reminds me of the Times editorial that abused me for having “successfully placed the phrase ‘horse’s ass’ into dozens of family newspapers.”

As if I held a fucking gun to their heads.

Sure, it’s a helluva lot of fun ridiculing politicians, don’t I know it. But my advice to our state’s editorial boards is that if you want to maintain your reputation as solemn defenders of the public debate, you better start playing the part.

Attack the real issues, but leave the snarkiness to us bloggers. That’s what we do. (And we do it better.)

It was only Luke Esser’s first official day as Washington State Republican Party chair, and he still found time to stop by and chat with Seattle Times reporter David Postman. What a media friendly guy.

Luke Esser stopped by the office in Olympia today. He was here visiting the House and Senate Republican caucuses on his first day as chairman of the party. He is also still working for Attorney General Rob McKenna, but will be phasing out of that job over the next couple of weeks.

Um… am I missing something here? Is Esser on the state payroll and visiting caucuses and reporters in his official capacity as WSRP chair? Is this ethically kosher? Is it even legal?

That’s the very legitimate question raised by Particle Man over on Washblog, but which doesn’t seem to have piqued the interest of any of our friends in the capitol press corps. Far from being in Olympia to visit caucuses and reporters, you’d think Esser might be there earning the $84,000 a year salary state taxpayers pay him for whatever he does in the Attorney General’s office. And you’d think maybe that chatting up Postman about party business while on the taxpayers’ dime might raise a few eyebrows, if not some sort of ethics complaint.

Of course, don’t expect any sort of investigation from State Attorney General Rob McKenna, who has long been Esser’s patron, political and otherwise. It was McKenna who maneuvered to remove Diane Tebelius as WSRP chair, and McKenna who championed Esser for the post. It is also McKenna who has been Esser’s longtime employer, giving him taxpayer funded jobs first with the King County Council, and then with state AG’s office. Sweet.

RCW 42.17.128 specifically prohibits using public funds for political purposes, and RCW 42.17.130 prohibits using “public office or agency facilities” in political campaigns, defining such as including the “use of employees of the office or agency during work hours.”

So I called Esser and asked him if he took Monday off, and he said no, but that he did take off some “personal hours” that day to conduct party business. Hmm. I have no reason to doubt Esser, and assume that if somebody were to request documentation there must be some kind of time card or something… dated prior to our 11AM, 2/1/2007 conversation.

But that’s really beside the point. Esser is now the WSRP chair, a full-time political job, and as such it is totally inappropriate for him to continue to collect a state paycheck. I know it is customary to give your old employer at least two-weeks notice, but I’m pretty sure McKenna would understand… especially considering the fact that he is kinda-sorta Esser’s new employer as well.

McKenna installed his man Esser as state GOP chair, yet continues to pay him as the “Outreach Director” at his state government office — doesn’t that at the very least create a perception of impropriety? You know, enough to raise an editorial eyebrow or two?

In recent weeks I have written quite strongly about the proposed gaming compact between the state and the Spokane tribe, warning that it could dramatically expand gambling in Washington state, and cautioning Gov. Chris Gregoire about the potential political consequences should she approve it. It is no secret that I am not a fan of the gaming industry. Knowing what I know about the economic, social and emotional costs of gambling addiction, I oppose any expansion of gambling in Washington state.

That said, I had the opportunity Tuesday to speak at length about this issue with Gov. Gregoire’s Chief of Staff Tom Fitzsimmons, and after poring over the details I must admit that the Spokane compact is not as bad as I had at first feared. It will still expand tribal gambling in WA state, but not nearly as massively as initial press reports had suggested.

To understand the compact and its potential impact one must first understand the basic legal principles governing tribal gaming. Federal law states that tribes may engage in the same gambling activities already legal in the state, and that if requested by a recognized tribe, the state must negotiate a governing compact in good faith. Furthermore, unless otherwise waived, each individual tribe retains favored nation status, meaning they have the right to reopen compacts and negotiate the same terms and conditions granted any other tribe in the state.

The existing tribal compacts grant each tribe an allocation of 675 slot machines each, and with one exception (we’ll get to that later) a maximum of two casinos. As has been widely reported the proposed Spokane compact authorizes the tribe to operate up to 4,700 slot machines at as many as five locations. This would appear to set the stage for a massive expansion of tribal gaming as the other tribes reopened their compacts to demand the same deal: more casinos, more slots, more gambling.

Well… not exactly.

While each tribe is allocated the right to own 675 slot machines, some are authorized to operate as many as 2000 at a single facility using machines leased from smaller tribes that do not operate casinos of their own. In fact the number of casinos and machines authorized in the Spokane compact is actually quite similar to the terms of the compact granted the Colville tribe, which is authorized to operate 4,800 machines at as many as six locations.

So why can’t the other tribes use their favored nation status to demand a similar number of casinos and authorized slot machines? Because they can’t meet the same conditions.

Both the Spokanes and the Colvilles have sprawling reservations, and their compacts stipulate that their casinos be located at least twenty-five miles apart. Fitzsimmons implied that no other tribe can meet that stipulation, and thus no other tribe can demand the same deal. (Though looking at the map, I wonder about the Yakimas.)

Where the Spokane compact does depart from previous compacts is the fact that it grants an allocation of 900 slot machines, not 675. The 27 other recognized tribes can reopen their compacts to obtain the same 900 machine allocation, potentially increasing the total number of tribal slot machines statewide by about a third, from 18,225 to 25,200. In fact, that’s the whole point.

See, most of the existing allocation is already spoken for, so by coming to the table late, the Spokanes would otherwise be unable to lease additional slot machines to fill their casinos. They already operate about 500 Las Vegas style slots (illegally), but there is little the state can do to remove them, so there would be no incentive for the Spokanes to agree to a compact that doesn’t give them the opportunity to expand their operations. It’s not the extra 225-machine allocation that makes the deal work for the Spokanes, its the thousands of additional machines that will now be available for them to lease.

In addition to the increased allocation, the Spokanes have negotiated a number of other new goodies into their compact. Currently, slot machines are limited to a maximum $5 bet, but the Spokanes would be allowed to raise this betting limit to $20 on as many as 15-percent of their machines. Existing compacts require that players use coupons or cards to initiate play, but the Spokane compact for the first time permits using US coins and currency. And finally, the Spokanes have negotiated higher betting limits (essentially, none) at five gaming tables in one facility during a specified time period of up to 120 days each year.

Like the higher 900-machine allocation, the other tribes would have the right to reopen their compacts to obtain the same terms.

But… only if they agree to the same conditions. Like other compacts the Spokanes have agreed to pay 2-percent of net receipts into a local mitigation fund, and to contribute another 1-percent to charity. But the Spokanes have also agreed to contribute 0.13-percent to problem gambling treatment and prevention programs (the same contribution now required of commercial card rooms,) and have the option of either contributing an additional 0.13-percent to smoking cessation programs or make all of its facilities smoke free.

So… what does all this mean?

When it comes to the number of facilities and authorized machines, the Spokanes demanded the same sort of deal negotiated by the Colvilles. Given the Spokanes’ favored nation status, the state really couldn’t do anything about that. But this authorization would be totally worthless to the Spokanes without a larger universe of slot machines from which to lease, so while nothing requires the state to bump up the allocation from 675 to 900, there’s a certain irrefutable logic to doing so.

And you can be sure that the 27 other tribes will most definitely reopen their compacts to obtain the higher allocation, even if it means agreeing to the new problem gambling and smoking cessation contributions. Slot machines are the lifeblood of the gambling industry, accounting for the overwhelming majority of casino profits. This is money in the bank.

What the state gets from this is an end to the Spokanes’ illegal operations, relatively uniform compact terms across all 28 tribes — and assuming all the tribes seek the same deal — about $2.6 million a year in additional funding for problem gambling treatment and prevention programs.

Is it worth it?

I’d hate to think that the only way to secure adequate problem gambling contributions is to give the tribes something in return. A handful of tribes already make voluntary contributions, and one would have hoped that all the tribes would have been willing to do their part to mitigate a problem gambling epidemic that is largely one of their own making. Slot machines are by far the most addictive gambling activity — they are scientifically designed to create compulsion — and it bothers me to know that desperately needed problem gambling treatment funds have been negotiated at the expense of a one-third increase in the number of tribal slot machines statewide. But I can’t for the life of me see why the Spokanes would agree to a compact that didn’t increase the number of slot machines available for lease, so at the very least I’m grateful that the state insisted on including the problem gambling contribution as a precondition.

As for the cash-fed machines and higher betting limits, well, it may seem like a quibble, but that’s a departure from existing compacts that I simply cannot support.

Personally, I’d stick with the status quo and reject the compact. Yes, the Spokanes would continue to operate about 500 Las Vegas style slot machines, but without a legal compact they’ll never secure the financing necessary to expand their current operations. Given this context, I can’t help but think that the state has the leverage to cut a better deal.

Still, the deal is not nearly as bad as initial press reports led me to believe, and thus I doubt the political consequences will be as dire as I had at first predicted.