Eyman whines even as he wins

Published 3:34 pm Friday, November 30, 2007

You have to love these guys … Tim Eyman and Dino Rossi, that is. Nothing seems to make them happy … not even getting what they want.

The courts threw out Eyman’s Initiative 747 because, yet again, he failed to word a measure properly. Gov. Gregoire, to her credit, is taking her cue from the voters rather than the courts, despite Mr. Eyman’s repeated inability to get his language right. Legislators with whom I have spoken share her position that the people’s wishes should be honored. This should surprise no one. They have done it before.

Does anyone remember I-695, which reduced the cost for car tabs? Eyman blew the language on that one, too. The courts ruled I-695 unconstitutional, and even though it crippled the Legislature initially, since our economy wasn’t nearly as healthy at the time, our Legislature saw fit to honor the will of the people and make it law. Was that “political expediency” or was it instead “responsive government?”

As for it “took too long” to respond to the recent court decision … give me a break. For some reason I’ve never understood, the 15th largest state in the union (18th largest geographically) seems to think it can conduct all its legislative business effectively and efficiently unitizing a part-time legislature. We can’t expect them to turn on a dime as if they see each other every day.

“Political expediency” is the battle cry of the challenger when the incumbent is able to deliver “responsive government.” Dino Rossi should pick his battles better.

Tim Eyman should stop whining and hire a decent lawyer to help him craft his initiatives. Maybe then, if and when the voters do approve them, they will survive or avoid further court challenges and save us all a lot of time and trouble.

Charlene Rawson