A BAD night in Seattle and Washington state... [View All]

First of all, it appears that voters have approved I-841, which not only rolls back workplace safety laws in the area of ergonomics, but forbids the state from enacting any rules in that area whatsoever in the future.

Then, three City Council incumbents (Judy Nicastro, Margaret Pagler, and Heidi Willis) were defeated for re-election by "pro-business" opponents highly touted by DINO mayor Greg Nickles, the Seattle Times, and the city's business establishment. Nicastro's loss was especially tough, as she had been the main champion of renter's rights in Seattle. She lost to Jean Godden, the long-time gossip columnist of the Times, who had shown no interest in politics until she recruited by Nickles & his crew, but who had (not unlike a certain Governor-elect in a state further south?) huge name-recognition locally. Sure enough, after a make-over from the powers that be, Godden was soon running a sound-bite campaign with statements like "time has passed the renter's movement by" and "landlords, after all, are small family businesses that need protecting." :puke:

In short, not unlike last month's California debacle, this was yet another example of how, given enough one-sided media coverage, "celebrity" status for candidates, and massive, simplistic ("Vote yes to save jobs...that's all you need to know") ad campaigns on the part of those with big enough coffers, average voters will quite happily turn off their minds and vote against their own best interests on a regular basis. Considering that this is happening in a city and state with a reputation for being among the most liberal in the nation (as was California before it), this is not a good harbinger for next year.

:-(