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Think U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Clueless) is going to clip this one for his scrapbook? The New York Times editorializes:

One of Washington’s more amusingly titled institutions – the House ethics committee – is at it again, which is to say not at it again. The panel is a stunning still-life study in Capitol casuistry and partisan standoff. It is dedicatedly not shining a light on complaints pending against a half-dozen members, resolutely holding just one meeting for this entire year, and wallowing in the stagnation that Tom DeLay, the indicted, deposed majority leader, engineered when he purged the committee’s chairman and watered down its rules.

Mr. DeLay now faces criminal charges in Texas for allegedly violating campaign laws, but taxpayers should still not expect much of a stir by the House’s moral arbiters. The new committee chairman, Doc Hastings, a Republican from Washington State, made that clear last week when he stoutly defended the innocence of Mr. DeLay, his political mentor, while insisting that the House ethics committee would continue to shy from its own inquiry. “We don’t have the resources,” Mr. Hastings told The Yakima Herald-Republic, even though the committee received a 40 percent budget increase this year.

The Republican majority is in dire need of a sense of shame. Speaker Dennis Hastert should prod something better from Mr. Hastings. The committee also needs a nonpartisan staff with credible bipartisan rules and an agenda that dares to come to life.

What are the people’s lawmakers afraid of finding out about themselves?

To describe Hastings career up until now as “low profile” would be charitable. During his decade in the House, Hastings has earned a well-deserved reputation as the quietest member of our state’s congressional delegation… a do-nothing attitude that probably plays well with some of his “small government” supporters in WA’s largely rural 4th District. But as Ethics Chair, the chronic torpor that rendered him relatively harmless as just another congressman, totally undermines what little institutional integrity and effectiveness the committee has left. Which of course, is exactly why DeLay gave him the job in the first place: what better way to assure that ethics investigations grind to a halt than to mire the committee with a chair who is not only reliably partisan, but who favors a parliamentary style that borders on the inert?

The Ethics Committee’s year-long dormancy under Hastings’ putative leadership, combined with his ill-considered public statements in defense of DeLay, is not only an embarrassment to Congress, but to the voters of WA’s 4th District. The Yakima Herald-Republic also chimes in with an editorial today, and while I don’t quite understand their assertion that Hastings has acquitted himself by clarifying his position on DeLay (unless by “clarify” they mean “contradict”… am I missing the sarcasm?), they are clearly sending a message that they will hold Hastings responsible should he fail to follow through on his responsibilities.

DeLay will get his day in Texas courts. That’s proper because an indictment is not a conviction.

But once that process is finished, he must then get his due before the Ethics Committee. If you buy into the old saying that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” in DeLay’s case we should be thinking Five-Alarm.

As we said in this column before, DeLay is at least an ethical embarrassment and has come to epitomize everything that’s wrong with politics and many politicians. His brand of hardball, sleazy politics doesn’t belong in Congress, certainly not as a leader.
[…]
Once he’s settled with Texas courts, and if he’s still a member of Congress, DeLay’s case should be brought before the ethics panel headed by Hastings, who has now assured the public that he has “absolutely no predisposition” concerning this case.

However it happens, let’s hope that the final solution is DeLay’s exit from Congress.

And if Hastings fails to live up to his obligations and public proclamations, then I can only assume that the Herald Republic will endorse Hastings exit from Congress as well.

Indeed, if not for the fact that Democrats have such a weak bench in Eastern WA — they hold only 6 of 63 county commissioner seats — Hastings would be vulnerable to the corruption and incompetence fueled political storm surge that threatens to deluge Republicans in 2006. As of now the Democrats have no strong candidate to challenge Hastings, but that could change. Somewhere out in Eastern WA there must be a maverick Democrat in the mold of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer… a rancher or farmer or small business owner with the real life experience and force of personality to appeal to voters leery of the culture of corruption that has captured the other Washington under Republican control.

Such a candidate could put Hastings out of a job, where once again his do-nothing attitude would do no harm.

Because Harriet Miers was on nobody’s Supreme Court short list, her surprise nomination to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Conner set off a mad rush to pigeonhole her politics and judicial philosophy. So when an offer came my way to talk to a longtime friend and colleague, I jumped at the chance, visions dancing in my head of scooping the MSM on the intimate details of Miers’ views on Roe v. Wade and other issues of the day.

Yeah… dream on.

Instead, what I got from attorney Tom Fitzpatrick was a heartfelt endorsement of Miers that is not likely to satisfy activists on either side of the political spectrum.

Fitzpatrick describes Miers as a “smart, cautious and capable lawyer” who will bring much needed “real life experience” to the bench. He pointed out that many of our finest Justices had never served as judges, and that Miers experience in local government and as a practicing attorney would likely temper her decisions: “Harriet understands the impact that judicial decisions have on people, businesses and local governments.”

But Fitzpatrick was most impressed by Miers’ personal and ongoing commitment to performing pro bono work, and her “stalwart leadership” in both the Dallas and Texas State Bar Associations in providing access to justice for the poor. In fact, the only remotely negative comment I could get out of Fitzpatrick was a fit of laughter at reports that Miers’ allegedly described President Bush as the most brilliant man she had ever met. Fitzpatrick says he does not share Miers’ opinion of the President’s intellect.

Neither do they share political philosophies. While Fitzpatrick describes Miers as a “traditional, conservative Republican,” he labels himself a “liberal Democrat.”

After 22 years in private practice, and five years as one of the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office’s top civil attorneys, Fitzpatrick was recently appointed Executive Director by Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. He has served on the American Bar Association’s Board of Governors, representing the Northwest region, and as the WA State Bar Association’s representative to the ABA’s House of Delegates. It was there that he met and worked with Miers, with whom he has remained friends for over a decade.

Of course, the question everybody is itching to ask is where does Miers stand on Roe v. Wade… and alas, she and Fitzpatrick never directly discussed the issue. As has been widely reported, after the ABA House of Delegates voted to formally adopt a resolution in support of Roe, Miers led an unsuccessful effort to send the issue directly to members via a referendum. But Fitzpatrick points out that Miers’ campaign was conducted on behalf of the Texas State Bar Association, and that she objected to the resolution on grounds that it was not germane to the purposes of the ABA. While he seems to suspect that Miers is personally pro-life, Fitzpatrick believes that she is a “blank slate” on the legal issues surrounding abortion, and that her actions in the ABA or on behalf of corporate clients simply do not tell us one thing or another about her judicial philosophy.

While many wags on both the right and the left have ridiculed Miers’ qualifications, Fitzpatrick is confident that she’ll make an excellent justice… well… for a Republican. If this were a Democratic administration Fitzpatrick would expect and prefer a more liberal nominee, but he thinks Democrats are damn lucky to get somebody like Miers from a Bush appointment.

Looking back at the short list that Miers wasn’t on, it could have been worse. Much worse.

Over 20,000 are reported dead, and 45,000 injured in yesterday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan… and the toll will likely go much higher.

Meanwhile, Avian Flu is spreading to Europe with outbreaks reported in flocks in Turkey and Romania. The jump to human-to-human transmission is considered imminent, and the World Health Organization estimates a pandemic could kill over 150 million people.

And oh yeah… there is virtually unanimous consensus in the scientific community (outside the Bush administration) that global warming is real, that it is caused by human activity, and that the consequences could be absolutely devastating… flooding coastlines, disrupting weather patterns, and causing widespread famine and mass extinctions.

So… um… I guess I’ll just spend the day watching football.

Apparently, the Seattle P-I editorial board is a tad curious too…

The man peddling the book “Dino Rossi: Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life” ought to show some leadership. Rossi, who voted for the previous 5-cent gas tax increase, continues to duck the I-912 issue. In the gubernatorial campaign, Rossi has said he would support no initiatives because the state needed a rest from such measures. “So I think I’ve told the public where I am,” Rossi said then. So tell us where you are now.

Truth is, Rossi never has shown much leadership, so it’s hard to imagine that he’ll show some now. But it’s good to know that others are asking the tough questions, even if Rossi refuses to answer them.

Of course, Rossi’s not the only Republican cowering in silence.

King County executive candidate David Irons touts leadership but will only say he’ll personally vote against I-912. Forget his secret ballot. Voters want to know what sort of leader won’t take a stand on billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

Where are the Republican legislators who voted for the gas tax increase — defending their votes or running from them?

Where does would-be U.S. senator Mike McGavick stand on gutting state funding and thus jeopardizing federal money?

With less than five weeks to Election Day, it’s not too late for some Republican leadership.

That’s right… it’s not to late too prove me wrong and show some leadership. Come on Dino & Company… make me look foolish.

Goodbye Washington, hello Nevada.

Ken Vogel of the Tacoma News Tribune breaks the story of a proposed gambling compact between the state and the Spokane Tribe, that will massively expand casino gambling in WA state, on and off reservation land. For the first time, a tribe has agreed to share revenue with the government (between 3 and 35 percent of net win), but the state is giving up huge concessions in return, including 24-hour operations, no betting limits, casino credit, and an off-reservation casino.

But the most dramatic and dangerous concession was granting the Spokane Tribe rights to 7,500 slot machines… as many as 4000 at a single location. Under previous compacts, each tribe was limited to directly owning only 675 slot machines; via leasing agreements with other tribes, as many as 1500 could be placed at a single location. Spokane’s 7,500 slots would be a huge increase over the 18,000 slots currently in operation statewide.

I’m not sure what the state was thinking when they negotiated this compact, but they certainly weren’t thinking ahead. Under federal law, the other tribes have a right to go back to the state and demand similar concessions in exchange for revenue sharing… and the lucrative profits from urban, off-reservation casinos with thousands of new slot machines is sure to lure many tribes to do exactly that. Or maybe the state was thinking ahead, and that’s exactly what it wants… a massive expansion of casino gambling in exchange for the tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenues it would bring into state and local coffers?

Whatever the intent, this is a slap in the face of voters who just last year, overwhelmingly rejected Initiative 892 and its flood of slot machines… and if the governor signs this compact, hurling us down a one way road towards unfettered casino gambling, there will be a price to pay at the polls.

Washington state is already suffering from an epidemic of problem gambling, with all the inherent social and financial costs… and the last thing we need is for our state and local governments to become addicted to gambling too. This compact would set a dangerous precedent that would be impossible to overturn. It is bad for families, and it is bad for the smaller, rural tribes who would be shut out of leasing agreements. It is bad for Washington state.

And we need to let Governor Gregoire know that if she signs this compact, it will be bad for her too.

Cover your ears, shield your eyes, close your nose and open your mouth… it’s open thread time!

Well… U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Pasco) didn’t actually say his constituents are stupid, but he might as well have, what with the bullshit, non-denial denial he just gave the Yakima Herald:

“Anyone suggesting that I have publicly defended Rep. Tom DeLay, expressed any personal opinion on the substance of charges pending against him in Texas, or indicated the slightest reluctance to investigate fully

On Wednesday, Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly criticized the efforts of Republicans in Congress to turn Puget Sound into an oil super-port, by repealing the Magnuson Amendment’s 28-year ban on supertankers. The subterfuge came in the Orwellian named Gasoline for America’s Security Act of 2005, a cynical effort by the oil industry to exploit the post-Katrina surge in gas prices to shrug off decades of environmental regulations.

Today Connelly writes that the provision has been axed, after bipartisan pressure from WA state’s congressional delegation.

Before the provision’s eleventh hour deletion, Jimmy at the Tri-City based blog McCranium reminded us that Eastern Washington has a stake in protecting the environment too, suggesting that it was an opportunity for Rep. Doc Hastings, who sits on the House Rules Committee, to “show some real leadership.”

But alas, Hastings was silent as usual, leaving it to Western Washington’s lone Republican, freshman Rep. Dave Reichert, to join Reps. Jay Inslee and Norm Dicks in pressuring the Republican leadership. And no doubt House Speaker Dennis Hastert also found Sen. Maria Cantwell’s threat of a Senate filibuster quite persuasive.

Lifting the restrictions, Cantwell wrote, “would expose Puget Sound waters to an unacceptably increased risk of future oil spills.”

Cantwell reminded Hastert that federal law allows Washington to import only enough crude oil to serve state needs. In reality, the state refines slightly more than it needs and exports most of the surplus to Oregon and California.

“It would be a most outrageous result were the House to pass legislation that puts the Puget Sound at risk, for the benefit of oil companies who seek only to export the additional supply needed to lower domestic fuel costs,” Cantwell wrote “Such a result would take the notion of post-hurricane profiteering to a whole new level of shamefulness.”

And in case Hastert missed the point, she added: “I want to stress to you, Mr. Speaker, that because this issue is extremely important to me and to millions of constituents that live around the Puget Sound, I will use all tools in my power to stop this provision from becoming law.”

As Connelly writes, “it still pays to raise hell,” and fortunately, WA’s congressional delegation still has a few hell raisers.

Like most major corporations, Microsoft has a habit of covering its bases by giving to both parties; the goal is to have access to the halls of government, regardless of who holds power. But Microsoft has been decidedly one-sided this election season, giving $25,000 to the WA State GOP and $5,000 to the King County GOP… while giving the Democratic Party zilch.

I find this awfully curious in light of the Gates Foundation’s inexcusable support of the Discovery Institute, and Microsoft’s embarrassing flip-flop-flip on HB 1515, a bill that would have extended protections against discrimination in housing, lending and employment to gays and lesbians… a bill that failed by one vote. I also find this favoritism ironic, considering that Microsoft’s only other contribution was $10,000 to oppose I-912, an initiative the WA State GOP has officially endorsed.

In a political system so heavily influenced by money, Microsoft has the financial might to completely skew the balance of power in WA state. Considering its recent political track record, and its close ties to conservative Republican operatives like Ralph Reed, I think it’s time that Microsoft’s customers, employees and shareholders start questioning how Gates & Company plans to wield this power.

From President Bush’s speech today before the National Endowment for Democracy:

“Evil men obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience must be taken very seriously, and we must stop them before their crimes can multiply.”

Amen.

The other day I received an email from Dean Nielsen of Progressive Majority for Washington, announcing an exciting, 7-month long political training program for young progressives age 21 to 35.

The Institute for a Democratic Future (IDF) is now accepting applications for the Class of 2006, it’s 9th class.

IDF was founded in 1997 by young people seeking to educate, motivate and inspire future Democratic and civic leaders in Washington state. Since graduating its first class in 1998, IDF has emerged as a forward thinking institute dedicated to assisting 25 emerging leaders each year expand their skill and knowledge of critical issues and the political process.

Graduates of the program include State Representative Derek Kilmer ’02, WashTech Founder Marcus Coutney ’98, former Seattle City Councilmember Judy Nicastro ’99, current Brier City Councilmember Sasha Doolittle ’01, State Representative Aaron Peterson ’00 (MN), and numerous legislative assistants, party activists, young professionals, non-profit organization executives and political campaigners.

Shit. I am so old. But if you are serious about pursuing a political career — and you’re not an old fogey like me — I highly recommend you visit the IDF website and download an application today. Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 8, and will be considered on a rolling basis.

Last night’s Drinking Liberally was quite a gathering. A large crowd showed up to meet King County Executive Ron Sims and pepper him with questions on everything from light rail to avian flu… and Sims enthusiastically threw himself into the debate. And Sims wasn’t the only candidate in attendance; both Dwight Pelz and Al Runte distinguished themselves by being the first politicians to actually make a return visit… though when I congratulated Runte on this feat, the retired history professor objected to being labeled a politician.

Sorry Al… that’s the sort of mud people are going to sling at you when you run for office.

One of my favorite moments of the night was an extended and contentious back and forth between Sims and a DL regular on the merits of Southwest Airlines controversial proposal to move to Boeing Field. Personally, I oppose the Southwest deal, mostly for my own selfish, NIMBY reasons. (I live near Boeing Field, and don’t particularly welcome the extra road or air traffic.) But what struck me most was the vigor with which Sims argued his position, not just with a constituent, but with a supporter. Sims already had this guy’s vote, and he knew it. And yet he not only dove into the debate with the passionate abandon of… well… just some guy at DL… he clearly had a great time doing it.

This was not the run-of-the-mill retail politics all candidates must master in order to win — though Sims is good at that sort of stuff too. This was an expression of joy from a man who clearly loves diving into the nitty-gritty of politics and policy.

In case you’re interested, the gist of Sims argument is that the Southwest deal would be good for consumers, while adding jobs to South Seattle. He wants to study the proposal, but would only approve it if noise abatement and traffic concerns can be adequately addressed with no public subsidy… a stance that he repeats in Bruce Ramsey’s column in today’s Seattle Times. Sims also points out the irony of him being attacked by members of the business community for considering such a free market proposal.

“I thought government’s role was to establish infrastructure so that wealth could be made by the private sector,” Sims says. “This is so anti-free enterprise.” He pauses for a moment. “I’m a Democrat,” he says. “For the first time in my political life I’m unabashedly on the free-enterprise side and being criticized by the people who are supposed to be on that side.”

Ramsey for his part, is consistent in his pro-business stance:

The Southwest offer is the real thing. And in keeping his door open to real competition, rivalry and choice, Ron Sims is on the side of the traveling public.

Agreed. While I sure hope Sims eventually shuts that door, it’s hard to blame him for opening it in the first place.

From today’s Seattle P-I:

A recount in the King County sheriff’s primary race revealed 18 ballots that weren’t counted in the initial tally — an embarrassing misstep for an elections department trying to repair its image after a troubled 2004 election.

And embarrassing misstep. Hmm. But is it?

A new state law passed since last fall allows elections officials to include ballots discovered in the count, Bascom said.

“There’s no question that the errors are unfortunate. They’re the kind of thing we don’t like to see.

“But there have been a lot of improvements since the last election,” Bascom said. She added that election workers discovered the ballots during the county’s reconciliation process and counted them.

So actually, the ballots were counted after all. The reconciliation process worked. That’s a good thing, right?

I dunno… just doesn’t seem all that embarrassing to me.

UPDATE:
One clarification… the ballots were found during the recount, not because of it. These ballots were discovered during the reconciliation process, due to new, stricter controls. Thus, these ballots represent no error rate at all, as they were counted during the normal procedures that are now in place.

The Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally meets tonight (and every Tuesday), 8PM at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E.

King County Executive Ron Sims will be joining us for some good beer and even better conversation. If you have any questions for Ron, I urge you stop on by and weigh in. Should be a great evening.

Indicted Rep. Tom DeLay is once again getting his money’s worth from the man he installed as chairman of the House Ethics Committee. In an interview published today in The Yakima Herald, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Pasco) responded to questions about DeLay’s indictment on conspiracy charges, by actually quoting the disgraced, former House Majority Leader:

“The majority leader has said this is a political vendetta […] if you look at Ronnie Earle’s background, he’s done these things.”

Uh-huh.

The normally low-profile Hastings’ — who has pocketed $5,930 of ARMPAC cash, and who has his own potential ethics problems — was best known for accomplishing little if anything in office… a track record of non-accomplishment and inaction that made him perfectly suited to chairing an Ethics Committee the GOP leadership would prefer remain marginalized by partisan bickering. All DeLay demanded in return for the plum assignment was absolute loyalty, and that’s exactly what Hastings plans to deliver.

Whatever the ethics panel does with DeLay, it will not pursue the same line of inquiry as the Texas district attorney, Hastings said.

“We don’t have the resources,” he said, adding that historically, panels have not tried to duplicate outside investigations.

As he has done consistently, Hastings declined to comment on anything the committee might be considering with regards to DeLay, citing House rules.

Yeah, that’s right… Hastings declined to comment on what the Committee might do in regards to DeLay… except to say that DeLay is a victim of a “political vendetta”, that Ronnie Earle has a history of blatant partisanship, and that the committee doesn’t plan to investigate the conspiracy charges.

Hey Doc… ever hear of the phrase “No comment”…?

What we have under Hastings and Republican control, is a House Ethics Committee that has totally abdicated it’s responsibility to monitor and regulate the ethics of House members. Given his prior statements, it is hard not to be cynical when Hastings tells the Herald:

“All of us are aware we have to do what is ethically right.”

The question is whether Hastings and his colleagues will actually do what they know to be ethically right? And Hastings’ answer to the Herald was apparently, “No.”

[Cross-posted to Daily Kos]