The art of compromise, an essential element of democracy and once a hallmark of our state’s relatively moderate politics, seemed to have been left for dead.
Then, like a flattened opossum rising from the middle of the road, a group of moderate and self-deprecating Democrats formed the Roadkill Caucus. Their welcome aim: to offer pragmatic solutions, steer meaningful compromise and launch the government reforms needed to put the state budget on a sustainable path.
Sen. Steve Hobbs of Lake Stevens founded the group, which has been meeting weekly over dinner and appears to be growing daily. Hobbs estimated membership last week at 10 senators and 16 House members; another estimate puts the numbers at 12 and 24, respectively.
Most, Hobbs says, are centrist Democrats who feel that their ideas and concerns were being ignored by the far left of their own party and the far right of the Republican Party. He says he hopes that by banding together on a few key issues, the Roadkill Caucus will give centrists a measure of political leverage they’ve been missing. With Democrats holding the governor’s mansion and large majorities in both houses of the Legislature, and moderate Republicans apparently in hiding, the Roadkill Caucus’s leverage is sorely needed.
It’s already made a difference. When a series of proposals to expand unemployment benefits was gaining momentum a week ago, members of the Roadkill Caucus tried to broker a compromise between business and labor interests. That effort fell short, so fearing that a rise in unemployment insurance rates would only make it harder for businesses to hire workers in a weak economy, the caucus held together and got the bills stopped.
The group has a short list of important, immediate priorities: closing the state Department of Printing, whose services are readily available in the private sector; privatizing liquor distribution and sales; and providing more targeted worker training opportunities. And although the caucus probably won’t be able to prevent a tax increase this session, Hobbs says, it is in a position to insist that reforms, efficiencies and spending cuts get a thorough examination first.
Even though many Washington voters, including independents, would likely applaud the Roadkill Caucus’s efforts, they don’t come without political risk. Labor and some other Democratic interests have already threatened to withhold support for some caucus members, or even to support primary challenges by more liberal candidates.
Voters who appreciate the caucus’s pragmatic, centrist approach will need to register their support for it at election time.
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