By the time this is printed many of you will have alreadyvoted. But for those sitting on the fence I thought I would offer my last wordson the subject for this year. Nearly everyone who reads me regularly knows I amfor dumping all of the incumbents for a new beginning. One that will hopefullysend a message to politicians of all stripes that they cannot just say whateverthey need to say to get elected, then do whatever they want when they get inoffice. The more I watch the last minute ads, the more I am convinced we needto be strong and reject all current office holders. The lies and distortions inthose ads should be all the evidence we need of their total lack of integrity.
Patty Murray’s campaign is the worst. While there is amustard seed of truth in some of the ads, the sad part is that she did littleto “get our back” until the pressures from home became overwhelming. It was aconcerned and dedicated group of Veterans in Cashmere that spearheaded the VAclinic in Wenatchee. Patty Murray got on board when persistent pressure fromthat group forced her to address the problem. Her “championship” of issues waslittle more than the response we should expect from our elected politicians.And Murray’s attack ads on her opponent are vicious and void of any verifiablefacts, just accusations. They are a testament to her complete immersion in thepolitically corrupt DC mindset. When cornered in the debates she did finallyadmit to her involvement in the worst legislation of our time – the take overof Health Care. One can only speculate why, if she was so proud of thislegislation, she didn’t make it a focus of her campaign for reelection.
If Dino doesn’t represent us well he can be replaced in sixyears, but reelecting Murray is an affirmation that personal attacks work. Andwe can expect nothing will change in our nations Capital.
Several people this week asked me about my position on thetwo liquor sales initiatives – I-1100 and I-1105. Personally I am still tornbecause I am concerned about not just giving the big grocers and big box storesanother way to undercut our small local businesses. I believe competition isthe best disinfectant for preserving honesty and fair dealing in themarketplace. Government monopolies are no better than private ones and governmentregulators have repeatedly let us down. The Washington Policy Center did sendout some information last week that voters may find helpful in deciding how tovote on this issue. Here is a summary of what WPC had to say:
- Both I-1100 and I-1105 would effectively end the state’s 77-year old monopoly on liquor sales.
- Research indicates that rates of underage drinking and underage binge drinking are virtually identical in license and control states.
- Evidence suggests that control of alcohol markets does not imply control of alcohol consumption.
4.     New revenue received by the state and local governments in theform of higher B&O taxes would offset some of the revenue loss presented bythe OFM’s fiscal note estimates for I-1100 and I-1105.
- If voters approve both initiatives a court ruling, legislative action, or some combination of the two will resolve the differences between the two measures.
- Ending WA’s liquor monopoly would alleviate the state from the expense of running a business.
- I-1100 offers a better solution to ending the state’s antiquated liquor monopoly while allowing the Liquor Control Board to focus solely on its enforcement and public education responsibilities.
The accompanying chart outlines the essential differencesbetween I-1100 and I-1105 according to WPC. If you are going to vote for a freemarket solution it would appear that I-1100 is the best course.
Readers who want to read the entire study canfind it on line at:
