Sound Politics: Gregoire Moves Right?

December 31, 2008

Gregoire Moves Right?

Governor "Dino" Gregoire - there may be hope for us yet. The bloom is hardly off her re-election and Chris is showing a hint of conservative realism. First there was her proposed no tax increase budget despite a forecasted deficit in the $6 billion range. Then she announced a stunner. Following the lead of Arizona and New York, she proposed deporting illegal aliens held in state prisons saving about $9 million over two years.

Of course, state employee unions filed suit against her budget because it would delay planned pay raises. And one key Democrat, budget-writing chair of the Ways and Means Committee, State Senator Margarita Prentice, announced opposition to the deportation measure. But still, it is significant that both of these actions are Democrats targeting one of their own. It could all be a ploy to neuter Republican opposition to the Democrat's liberal agenda. Or could it be Gregoire does not intend to run for a third term and has decided to steer her own course over the next four years? Perhaps she really is more conservative than her party.

Hey, the tooth fairy never disappointed me.

clearfogblog

Posted by warrenpeterson at December 31, 2008 01:14 PM | Email This

Comments

1. stop giving her credit for "no tax increases"

That was Eyman & the 2/3 requirement.

Rest assured they will put a tax to the voters to go after albino millionaire smokers with size 7 feet.

Posted by: Andy on December 31, 2008 01:34 PM

2. I disagree that she is doing these things because she doesn't intend to run again. If that were the case, why not go after the Holy Grail of WA State Socialism and try to impose a State income tax?

Nevermind that it would kill the economy, at least we'd be sticking it to all those wealthy bastards!

Or, it could be that she realizes it would be bad for her party if she were to allow the legislature to go hog-wild with all sorts of loony left legislation. So, she has to protect her party from its own worst instincts.

Either way, she has come to the correct postion on these matters. How she got there is academic.

Posted by: Kato on December 31, 2008 02:01 PM

3. I don't think the gov moved right, she slipped!
You know, all that snow on the street.

LOL

Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 31, 2008 02:13 PM

4. I was just reading that story. Glad you picked up on it.

Being a left wing liberal is expensive. When the economy is in the tank you are forced to be more conservative.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Posted by: Vince on December 31, 2008 02:56 PM

5. So long as Gregoire maintains current employment levels, no hope for fiscal realism is justified. Dumping 8000 employees (the number added during her first term), would signal that she has broken free of her union keepers. That would be cause for hope.

Posted by: Paddy on December 31, 2008 04:14 PM

6. But what about that idiot senator from Renton, Prentice, who will vote against it because it's unfair to illegal alien criminals? Is she playing with 46 cards or what?

Posted by: Paladin on December 31, 2008 04:25 PM

7. Don't those same illegals get 'in-state' tuition rates??

Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on December 31, 2008 06:21 PM

8. Paddy - the day Gregoire fires 8000 employees is the day tensor starts making sense.

Posted by: Crusader on January 1, 2009 01:20 AM

9. The Governor won't be stuck with the albatross of initiating a state income tax, but I expect the start of a STATE income tax in this term. The initial effort was only stalled by the suspension of the "State Earned Income Tax Credit" program last session (but only after spending a million dollars on the initiative.) In Aug it was put in suspension because the state didn't have the $ to pay out the $25 dollar annual entitlements. The legislators knew in March 08 when they funded the $1.5 million for the programming for the receipt of IRS data they wouldn't be paying out benefits.

The state refund requires data from the IRS. I also suspect that was first on the planning agenda, getting raw data from the FEDS to see how much the state could get in income taxes from whom. Just wish I had the time and money to submit a freedom of info request to DOR to see what data the state requested and received from the IRS.

Posted by: Old Faithful on January 1, 2009 04:54 PM

10. My blog on this very topic:

http://itsonlywords55.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/wow-this-is-just-weird/

Posted by: Paula on January 2, 2009 12:02 PM

11. Don't be fooled by her budget. I think Gregoire planned this whole thing from the start. She created this budget knowing that she'd get sued by the unions. Her plan is to put up a weak defense and lose and then come crying to the voters that her hands are tied and she has to raise taxes to give more money to the unions.

Posted by: blindman on January 2, 2009 09:23 PM