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Rob McKenna is being sued by some 90 women. The reason is his participation in the Attorneys General lawsuit against the 2009 Patient Protection and Affordable Care act (i.e. “Obamacare”). The group argues that:

[…] McKenna violated his ethical duties as an attorney by pushing for the entire health-care law to be overturned; that McKenna should be forced to file a corrective pleading with the US Supreme Court saying that he only opposes the individual mandate aspect of the health care law, which requires every US citizen to get insurance; and that the court should find McKenna guilty of issuing “false and misleading statements” about the health care law because he claimed that his lawsuit was aimed not at overturning the entire act, but only at eliminating the individual mandate.

McKenna has been lying to Washingtonians. He has repeatedly claimed that he supports some aspects of the law, all the while participating in the effort to overturn the entire law.

Today we learn that King County Superior Court judge Sharon Armstrong will not issue preliminary injunction directing McKenna to fix the inconsistencies between his public and legal positions by amending his Supreme Court briefings.

The meme in the mainstream media seems to chalk the ruling up as a perliminary victory for McKenna. But Publicola political uberwonks Erica C. Barnett and Josh Feit (now at Crosscut) catch the more nuanced meaning of the ruling—the courts won’t judge McKenna for his political lies:

Although King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong’s rejection of a request to enjoin McKenna from arguing against the federal health care law certainly looks like a win for McKenna, the ruling effectively finds that, contrary to his public statements, he has in his legal motions consistently opposed the entire Affordable Care Act, not just the requirement that every American buy health insurance. The judge specifically said that McKenna’s public statements were “political statements” that had to be judged in the political realm rather than the courtroom. As to McKenna’s going along with other states’ attorneys general in seeking to have the law overturned in its entirety, Armstrong said the court lacked authority to second-guess whether it was a wise legal strategy.

In other words, Judge Armstrong leaves it to the voters of Washington to judge McKenna for his political lies.

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics, conversation and birth certificate scrutiny over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally. We meet every Tuesday at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm, but some folks show up earlier for dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? The Tri-Cities chapter of Drinking liberally meets every Tuesday night as well. Also next Monday, the Olympia, Yakima, and South Bellevue chapters of Drinking Liberally meet.

With 232 chapters of Living Liberally, including twelve in Washington state and three more in Oregon, chances are excellent there’s a chapter near you.

– If you drove hundreds of miles out of your way for booze this weekend because of the transition between state and private stores, it may be because you’re a lush.

– Washington state politics are this fucked up.

– I think this sort of writing about race–and really about American politics–as though history doesn’t exist is a problem. Specifically, journalists are fond of saying “racism is only one factor” without realizing that any racism is unacceptable.

– I’m not saying the fact that Nickleback is Rob McKenna’s favorite band should disqualify him from being governor (that’s what his policies are for) but it’s certainly a mark against him.

– How the GOP is fighting for you.

Last week’s contest was won by wes.in.wa. It was Tacoma.

This one is related to something in the news from May, good luck!

Leviticus 18:17
Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

Discuss.

Young Turks: Americans are fundamentally progressive says new poll.

Thom: The myth of the 1% job creator.

Sam Seder: Bigoted Pastor wants to round-up gays & wait for them to die.

Kimmel: Mitt’s first day in office.

Actual Audio: Mitt on Bain.

Young Turks: Barry Obama & The “Choom Gang”:

Thom with the Good, the Bad and the Very, Very Ugly.

Sam Seder: Iowa G.O.P. platform is insane.

Alyona’s Tool Time Award: Missouri experiments with execution.

A A rallying call for Democrats.

Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report: Memorializin’ the War on Women.

Young Turks: Which Presidents have higher spending growth, Democrats or Republicans?

Thom: Why Joe Biden needs to blurt out a defense of pot.

Sam Seder: Rush Limbaugh gets creepy with 14-year-old girl.

Ann Telnaes: Pelvic Politics.

Thom with some Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Young Turks: Pres. Obama is right about same sex marriage.

Letters to the President: Tanisha’s Story.

Pap: The worst Republican Party in history.

Sam Seder: FAUX & Friends nutty ideas about food stamps and the unemployed.

Stephanie Miller: Lessons Romney needs in education.

And the Drone Goes On:

• Ann Telnaes: Drone strikes and collateral damage.
• Mark Fiore: Dronetopia!

Thom with Nick Hanauer: Is Romney a preditor?

Alyona’s Tool Time Award: Stigmatizing Poor People is Good?!

Roy Zimmerman: Vote Republican, Wisconsin edition.

Maddow: The Reverse-Robin-Hood Republicans.

Mitt Romney: Not a job creator.

Sam Seder: Heartland institute gets blowback over Unabomber/Climate Change denial campaign.

Alyona: Romney’s education plan FAIL:

Fred Karger for President.

White House: West Wing Week.

Obama and the fight for LGBT rights.

Greenman: How to talk to an Ostrich.

Maddow: Anti-abortion activists terrorize doctors in Georgia.

Thom with even more of the Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

Alyona’s Tool Time Award: Alabama doubles down on undocumented immigrants.

The Neo-Racists Birfers:

• Ed and Pap: Romney is embracing Birfers.
• Young Turks: NBC should fire birfer Donald.
• Bill Maher: Countering Birferism with Wiferism.

Buzz 60: Summer of presidential politics.

Obama speaks to Iowans:

Young Turks: Clinton poses with porn stars.

Ann Telnaes: Physical limits in Afghanistan.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Over at Shakesville, there’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. It’s part of an announcement that you can enter yourself to win a dinner with Donald Trump if you donate a small amount of money. I can’t imagine wanting to have dinner with Donald Trump, but whatever. That’s not the thing that I find amazing.

Lots of candidates have that sort of thing. Obama has the same thing for his supporters.

No, the amazing thing is you’ll also win a trip from the airport in “the Trump vehicle.” I mean, I know he named most (some? all but The Apprentice?) of his business ventures after himself. Business people do that. No he named his car after himself. The only other wealthy business person who names his car after himself that I know of is Batman.

And he’s fictional. Also, he has the good sense not to call it the Waynemobile.

As I discussed a while ago, I’m sending out these questions to various Democratic candidates for contested races. I’m being somewhat more selective than I was with City Council where I just asked both people going on no matter how serious people might consider their candidacy. So no questions for Inslee’s or Cantwell’s Democratic primary opposition. Also, no Kastama since it’s Democrats only. I also didn’t do the 1st Congressional District since it’s being fairly well covered, and I didn’t do Superintendent of Public Instruction since it’s non-partisan and I may do some more of these for the general.

These will go Monday, so it’s your last chance to get something in. It’s the same question to every candidate, and it has to be fairly general, and since it’s email there won’t be follow up; if people give bullshit answers, you should feel encouraged to call bullshit in the comments.

Sec of State

1) How will you make sure elections are fair?

2) The last Democratic Secretary of State retired in 1964. What makes you think you’re going to finally flip that?

3) Sam Reed has been pushing to count the ballots that are received by election day (like in Oregon) rather than the ones postmarked by election day. Do you support or oppose this?

4) What legislation, if any, will you lobby for as Secretary of State?

Auditor

1) How will you use the performance audits as a tool to improve governance.

2) What in your background would make you a good auditor?

3) What legislation, if any, will you push as auditor?

36th and 46th Legislative Districts

1) The state’s paramount duty is education. Do you feel the state is living up to that duty? If not, what needs to happen to live up to it?

2) Washington State voters recently rejected an income tax. Most of the revenue that the legislature might be able to pass is quite regressive. Will you push for revenue, and if so, how will you make sure the burdens don’t fall on the poorest Washingtonians?

3) There is a good chance that the State Senate and/or the Governor’s Mansion will be controlled by Republicans after the next election, and certainly most legislators will be more conservative than people who would be elected in a Seattle district. Given that how will you get your agenda passed?

4) You’re running in a race with many Democrats who share similar positions. What separates you from the rest of the field?

5) Seattle and King County give more to the state than they get back. Part of this is reasonable things like the cost of providing education and social services in rural and suburban areas, but part of it is a lack of respect for Seattle and King County with the legislature that treats us as an ATM. How will you make sure your district gets its fair share of revenue without harming education or social services throughout the state?

…And they’re sent. I edited them a bit from when I first posted them.

Date of birth: May 24, 1941
Place of birth: Duluth, Minnesota
Name at birth: Robert Allen Zimmerman

In case you somehow don’t know anything about the man born 71 years ago today, here’s an eight-minute profile:

Whether he likes it or not, he is truly The Voice of a Generation. Dylan has created so many brilliant albums, so many wondrous songs … and he’s still out there playing music. He’s been running the Never Ending Tour since June, 1988 (that’s 24 years, folks!), and shows no sign of stopping.

I know, I know … no Seattle or Washington content whatsoever. Tough shit. Bob’s a special case.

If you desire more listening pleasure, click below to get to a few more videos (please excuse the brief ads on some of them).

[Read more…]

– The Democratic Conversation.

– Rob McKenna’s time at the County Council was totally above board.

– On the one hand Hustler is misogynistic is hardly a story on the other hand yiiiiiiiiikes.

– This is quite old and I don’t remember who gets the hat tip, but this map of Seattle’s racial profile as of the last census is pretty interesting.

– Some of these are a bit of a stretch of either “Seattle” or “under $25” but I can recommend many of them.

– Folklife is this weekend. The Flying Blind Blues Band at 2:05 on Friday features HA’s own Darryl.

This afternoon, for the first time since it opened, I walked by the new Chihuly exhibit. I wasn’t going to pay $19 to get in* so I can’t speak to the exhibit itself. Still, walking by I was struck by having to walk by it. Where once you could cut through the fun forest, the area is now fenced off.

That’s been true for some time, of course, but with the construction fencing down, and seeing Seattle Center how it’s going to be for the foreseeable future, now is as good as any time to reflect what we lost.

I know thinking of privately owned silly amusement park rides as a public amenity is over the top. But it’s more of one than a walled off courtyard. And I know there are plenty of areas in Seattle Center that are walled off. I’ve been to enough plays and concerts there. I know with the Science Center, the Children’s Museum and the Children’s Theater, (not to mention plenty of open space) Seattle Center is still more family friendly than much of the rest of the urban core. But it still feels like the loss of a public good.

[Read more…]

Last week, I posted about how I was mystified that newspapers ever oppose transit. Transit is the best time to read newspapers. Compare that to the attempts to replace the King Dome and to keep the Sonics. They kept pushing to make a deal no matter how horrible it is to Seattle and King County; I had always figured their editorial board were at least partially doing it to keep the newspaper afloat (not necessarily consciously, but at least in the back of their minds).

I mean, I care about what’s in the news and editorial sections, but I also care about the sports. And a lot more people care about sports than they do about another piece on how we need charter schools, or even good reporting. When Goldy asks, “what’s changed between now and then?” in relation to The Seattle Times’ editorializing against the new stadium, he means in terms of policy. After all, whatever problems this stadium proposal has, it’s better than ones they shilled for. But I wonder if maybe there’s a business model factor.

20 years ago, the two papers were the only game in town in terms of covering sports. Now though, if you think bloggers and other independent agents have done a number on the news, well that’s nothing compared to sports. The Seattle Times won’t be the only place to get the scores on the new Sonics or the new Seattle Metropolitan Hockey Club.

Another thing is that The Seattle Times pissed away a lot of its credibility pushing for the stadiums that turned out to be a bad deal. I go to Mariners games regularly and absolutely love it. But I wish that public money hadn’t been used to build it. When the people who shilled for the stadium see it 2/3 empty, well, it makes it tough to demand another one.

Finally, it’s a different editorial board than it was 20 years ago. It’s not the same thing for it to have different positions as an individual changing positions willy nilly.