If you do not live in Washington State, you're probably not aware of who Tim Eyman is. But as an analogy: Tim Eyman is to Washington State as Tom Delay was to congress. He's Washington's own extremist political machine. For more information about the horrific initiatives he's tried to pass in the past, there is a history here:
http://www.permanentdefense.org/Info/DangerousInitiatives.html
Recently he tried to pass initiative 960, a bill designed to make it necessary to achieve 66% of the state government's vote in order to pass any tax increases.
Despite Seattle's liberal voting record, Washington State is generally split down the middle, and so it would be generally impossible to pass any tax increase at all - which could be dangerous to the state in times of emergency. Eyman's measure passed in this recent election, however, because if you do not pay attention to how the government works, it appears to make sense that 66% is necessary to pass new taxes. Except that is under the assumption that there is no party system and representatives are always voting in the best interests of their constituents, which is not the case. It is also completely undemocratic, and unfortunately, it may be a victory for Eyman.
That's why I'm pleased to announce that just two days after that measure was voted on, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled another one of his initiatives unconstitutional. Ha!
Said the judges:
"A voter reading the text of the initiative would have perceived a much smaller impact on government coffers than would actually occur under I-747," the justices ruled. "The text of the initiative misled voters about the substantive impact of the initiative on existing law."
Dear Tim Eyman,
Ha! Here's a hot dog. Go F*ck yourself.
Sincerely,
Everyone.
