1. The leadership of all three branches in Washington is deplorable. If it means campaign payoffs down the road, they'll do it. And that's despite logical and moral reservations.

It is a corrupt, insular culture. They breathe their own fumes. Nobody anywhere near them says "no." The end to be served is pulling in taxes to spend as their campaign supporters demand.

Posted by: Archimedes on May 29, 2007 08:20 PM

2. I'm an outdoor fishing and hunting kinda guy. Have been all my life. And I like Cabela's stuff, but not this much. Gov. Turkey-Neck is way off the reservation for allowing this "Bribe to do business in WA." bill in to law. Cabela's would have been profitable with a big box store on the I-5 corridor without Chris's help and they knew it. They just happin to find a sucker with someone's check book. OURS......

Posted by: Dave in E. WA on May 29, 2007 08:32 PM

3. Does she have any shame at all? This is just a blatant lie. Sheesh. She is just a typical leftist scum, and I have yet to meet an honest liberal.

Posted by: DopioLover on May 29, 2007 08:45 PM

4. I love your page!

Please consider adding a link to my homepage, The
Internet Radio Network. At the IRN you can listen for
free to 26 of Americas top Talk Shows via Streaming
Audio!
http://netradionetwork.com

Steve

Posted by: Steve on May 29, 2007 09:25 PM

5. Let's see;
we have the indecision on the Seattle viaduct issue, the excessive budget and now the $100 plan that turns out to be a mistake. I think I sense that Dino's decision is becoming just a bit easier.

Posted by: DCW on May 29, 2007 09:38 PM

6. The only responsibilty this individual takes real seriously, is fleecing her citizens out of continued billions and billions. The rest is just an exercise in her secondary mission accomplished which is kickbacks to assure her 2008 campaign war chest, and issuing emergency after emergency on a wholesale basis.

Posted by: GS on May 29, 2007 09:46 PM

7. You want to distinguish, Stefan, between the bill creating the ongoing program, ESHB 1903, and the capital budget bill, HB 1092, which named several projects to be funded through the program, on a noncompetitive basis, during the 2005-07 biennium. When Gregoire said she held her nose and signed the bill, she's referring to the policy bill, 1903, not the budget bill, 1092. HB 1903 was not a governor request bill.

Your larger point, though, stands. The "Job Development Fund" projects were in her proposed capital budget and in the capital budget she signed. And she signed ESHB 1903. Whether "had doubts" and "held her nose" is quite beside the point. It's typical Gregoire -- try to have it both ways on controversial issues, and above all, avoid accountability for your actions in any way you can.

It's time Washington had a governor, don't you think?

Posted by: stu on May 29, 2007 09:59 PM

8. Oxymorons: Responsible democrat; sensible Fraudoire, accountable liberal...

The reason the liberals are so hot to regulate the internet (or reinvent it) is that inconvenient truths keep popping up like Ms. Idiot proposing this boondoggle and then acting oh so surprised when it turns out to be another huge waste of tax dollars. This from the same lady who tells us there isn't any money to take care of our parks and senior centers. But we certainly won't hear any of this from her dolt fan base at the Seattle papers.

Posted by: Burdabee on May 29, 2007 09:59 PM

9. Okay all, here's some homework. Get the movie "As good as it gets" and see Jack Nicholson describe how he writes the female part so well. Then tell me with a straight face he wasn't talking about this gov.

Posted by: PC on May 29, 2007 10:31 PM

10. Well shuck e Darn if the clip I am talking about isn't on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y9BukEBI9c&mode=related&search=

Posted by: PC on May 29, 2007 10:39 PM

11. I love the liberal way of thinking: see one person try something economically unfeasable (e.i. stupid, like competing with cheaper markets). Instead of telling that person to transfer their energies to producing something in demand, they proclaim the need for everyone to take a hit in order that he might succeed in doing something stupid.

So what's with wind turbines? I'm assuming the company was in danger of going under if those "110 family-wage jobs" were in balance. Let it go under and we will all be better off--those employees finding jobs in more needful occupations.

Posted by: Mark - Meneltarma on May 29, 2007 10:41 PM

12. stu: "When Gregoire said she held her nose and signed the bill, she's referring to the policy bill, 1903, not the budget bill, 1092. HB 1903 was not a governor request bill.:

Are you sure she was referring to the policy bill (which was enacted in 2005)? The context of the quote was related to Sen. Kastama's statement that he sent Gregoire a letter "earlier this month" asking for her veto. Also the $9.9M for Cabela's was only in the recent bill

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on May 29, 2007 10:41 PM

13. Gregoire is one of the more craven people to attain the office of governor that I have ever seen.

It's always terrible that we have these collectivists in this country like Hillary Clinton, etc. These people belive in destroying the limited government system that is the foundation for all of the wealth creation and world benefit of everything ever produced by the US economy. But at least most of these awful collectivists actually have the courage of conviction to believe their bad ideas.

With Gregoire, there's a passive aggresive streak whereby she laments her every move in public, and then turns around and does exactly what she said she would not do.

I know someone who spent a lot of time with Chris Gregoire recerntly. That person was appalled at her passive agressive nature. She constantly says one thing while in front of the camera, or with third parties in her office. And then as soon as she is alone with her staff or family, etc. the other side comes out and she does not keep her word.

Leadership requires principled and courageous action. Washington will be better off with almost anyone else besides Gregoire in the Governor's office.

Posted by: Jeff B. on May 29, 2007 11:04 PM

14. Stefan: Point well taken. The context is indeed Kastama's letter "earlier this month." I didn't real the article as carefully as I should have, and Garber did not express it in the clearest way. Of course there was no question she would "sign the bill." It's the capital budget bill. It's going to be signed. The question was whether she would veto that particular item in it, and of course she didn't. She wasn't shy about vetoing other things in the capital budget.

Posted by: stu on May 29, 2007 11:31 PM

15. Two brief addenda: Of course the governor proposed the capital budget bill in the first place. By law she must submit recommended operating, capital and transportation budgets to the Legislature. So the fact she proposed the bill is in itself nothing of consequence. What's notable is that her recommended capital budget included at almost $50 million in "Job Development" projects about which she supposedly had such doubts.

Second, note that she vetoed a proviso in the capital budget bill (Sec. 1032(2)) intended to end the Job Development program after the next biennium. So much for those doubts. Looks like it's full steam ahead for the program, at least from the governor's standpoint.

Posted by: stu on May 29, 2007 11:41 PM

16. $100mm 'oops' here, $30mm Seattle schools 'oops' there, it all adds up. exec's in private industry usually get hammered for much smaller 'oops'

how about REAL consequences? make a decision, & you live with it. like a mandated $100mm reduction in the administration's manager-bureaucrat headcount or killing some pet program now to compensate the taxpayers? you blow it, we take some of your toys (taxes) away. let's start with benefits & assistance to illegal aliens.

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on May 30, 2007 04:36 AM

17. Bill Clinton never took responsibility for any of the mistakes or misdeeds of his administration. Gregiore is just following his lead.

Posted by: JC Bob on May 30, 2007 05:14 AM

18. "Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell, the prime sponsor of the legislation, defended the jobs fund, saying the Legislature shouldn't decide what kinds of jobs are worthwhile."

But I thought that the "mantra" of the dems on the increases of the number of jobs available during republican administrations was that "They're just McDonald's jobs paying minimum wage, not real jobs. The only good job is one that starts at $40K a year."

Posted by: John Gordon on May 30, 2007 07:30 AM

19. You all do know, don't you, that this is Gregoire's M.O.

She feels the pain of all the underfunded programs and redirect monies to those programs or takes surplus money and spends them; then, when the surplus is gone and revenues decrease, she has a problem with the core programs, so she demands more and more money for those programs while still keeping her exotics.

Democrat Playbook 101.

Posted by: swatter on May 30, 2007 08:49 AM

20. "$471,000 grant to the Port of Ephrata that allowed a wind-turbine manufacturer in Grant County to expand -- keeping 110 family-wage jobs"

How does this work? $471,000 divided 110 ways is about $4200 per person. So that would keep these people employed for another month or so.

Posted by: John Bailo on May 30, 2007 08:51 AM

21. I write grants for these type of projects. Small scale, sure, and limited in detail but here is how the game is played.

I want to expand my wind turbine business. I make a decision. I can build it for $500k, but to pay for it, I would have to lay some people off. Therefore, if I can coat-tail my expansion with a jobs creation grant, I won't have to lay anybody off. Therefore, I can now qualify for that grant to create jobs.

Now, put me in the grant reviewer's shoes, or on a governor appointed board, or even the governor's shoes. This is an alternative energy project, therefore I give big points for the project. Now, I have to decide if laying people off can qualify as jobs creation. I say, yes it does since if we don't give the grant, and later to get the jobs back, some other program would have to be created to create the jobs.

I vote this as a good project.

Works good during a recession but I don't see this as a good use of money during a boom. It should be saved for a recession, which will happen. We don't know when it will, but if there is a Democrat president we know it will be sooner rather than later.

Posted by: swatter on May 30, 2007 09:19 AM

22. Where oh Where is the "Spotted Owl" of State Government? That one issue that will cause the collapse of the entire industry of STATE GOVERNMENT, then and only then could one consider a 100 Million dollar jobs program viable. Retraining all of those former State employees to take private sector jobs and curtail the expansion State Government. Ask yourself a question, who are the people "demanding" the expansion of services from State Government? The expansion of regulatory agencies? The creation of NEW programs and the elimination of NONE? It would probably be the same state supported lobbyists that dispense the money to the incumbents and receive 10 fold what they invest.

Posted by: Smokie on May 30, 2007 09:42 AM

23. The era of fascism is here.

Posted by: Jericho on May 31, 2007 05:04 PM

Name:


Email Address:


URL:


Comments:

Remember info?