Being David

With a hat tip to Tom Sullivan, his articles got me to thinking. We are not the Goliath here in eastern Washington the way the Democrats are in the West. We can not expect to do things here the way they do it there. We have to adapt to being the little guy in the room. How do we change things, you might ask. First of all, we don't have the power and influence over here to attract the folks who float with the crowd so we should stop acting like we do. Instead, what we have are strong issues and a strong message. The people we are looking for are the fighters. We need the folks who have the gumption to stand up in a crowded room and speak truth to the assumed conventional wisdom that pervades the atmosphere. Being David means to focus our strengths against the places where the Republican Goliath is weak.

If you once lived in fear of a catastrophic medical issue driving you to bankruptcy and now don't because you have insurance for that, come join the Democrats.

If you think that the system is rigged such that hard work goes unrewarded while too much money flows into the pockets of the privileged, come join the Democrats.

If you think it's wrong for profitable corporations to get tax breaks while the working poor pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the wealthy, come join the Democrats.

If you think all people are entitled to equal rights regardless of gender, race, religion, or sexual preference, come join the Democrats.

If you think there is a difference between a corporation and a person, come join the Democrats.

If you think we have an obligation to hand over this planet to the next generation without pollution and human-induced climate change, come join the Democrats.

Understand that when you join the Democrats in eastern Washington, you will become the nail that the hammer seeks out. And fellow eastern Washington Democrats, be prepared to evolve out of your bunker mentality and welcome the new friends that come to join us in our worthy efforts.

Beltran in the TCH

Here's a link to the Estakio Beltran article in the Tri-City Herald.

Candidate Ownership

As summarized in the Tri-City Herald, here is a list of who owns the 4th CD candidates.

Dan Newhouse is owned by agri-business, particularly those that oppose GMO labelling.  Total PAC contributions are upwards of $28,000.  His total war chest is $358,014.

Clint Didier has received $5,000 from a gun rights PAC, $2500 from orthopaedic surgeons, and $1500 from Ron Paul's libertarian PAC.  Tricity individuals account for $219,174 of his campaign contributions.

Janea Holmquist gets lots of support from west-side Republicans.  She has raised a total of $171,537 with $5000 from a national electrical contractors PAC, $1500 from sheet metal and air conditioning contractors, and $2500 from a debt collector trade association.

Democrat Estakio Beltran has raised $62,554 with $12,500 from labor unions.  The rest is from local individuals plus a few from Seattle and out of state.

Cicotte has raised $220,606.  Of that, $155,000 is his own money.

Gavin Seim has raised $13,357.

Sandoval, Ramirez, Wright, Stockwell, Midbust, and Pross have not reported.

State Convention Wrapup

The Washington State Democratic platform as adopted can be found here: http://www.wa-democrats.org/issues.

A video of the general session including Governor Jay Inslee's speech can be found on TVW here:
http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2014060001.

Gun Politics

The Clint Didier campaign is giving away lethal weapons.  An armed society is a peaceful society, except when it isn't.  Unarmed societies must suffer repeated episodes of senseles killing, except that they don't.

Idaho GOP Hits 'Rock Bottom'

Raul Labrador Adjourns Idaho GOP Meeting before it actually does anything.  Infighting between Tea Party supporters and all the other Republicans got ugly.  Sad that this isn't just some small fringe group but it's the state's majority party.

Carbon Taxes

In November, the Obama administration set the social cost of carbon dioxide at $37 per ton.  Many argue that that figure is too low. 

The recent IPCC report estimates that it would take $0.15/kg of CO2 to solve the climate change problem.  If I do my math right, that works out to be a little less that $150/ per ton.

The British Columbia carbon tax experiment at a rate of $30 per ton has proven to be a success.  Carbon emissions are down without any severe economic impacts despite the poor economy.  Note that there are special provisions in the BC law that mitigate the economic impact on low income households.

That puts a framework around it.  We can start moving the right direction with a $30/ton figure.  But to really solve the problem we need to get closer to the $150/ton level.  With the higher taxes, there should be sufficient economic incentive for carbon sequestration efforts to begin to pay off.

The Citizens Climate Lobby has produced legislation that starts with a $20/ton tax with an annual increase in the rate.  Unlike the BC law, only 60% of the proceeds are returned to the taxpayers with 25% going into the general fund and 10-15% going towards green energy subsidies.

You can see the Congressional horse-trading in these provisions.  BC's law was revenue neutral with all the proceeds being pushed back to the taxpayers.  It's too bad that a good bill like this has to suffer extortion by special interests.



 

Replacement Officer Election Results

Congratulations to our new officers!

Chair:            John Christenson
Vice-Chair:   Mimi Latta
Secretary:     Charles LoPresti

Position Open on the Hanford Advisory Board

From the Tri-City Herald:

The Hanford Advisory Board has three openings for alternate seats representing the public at large.

Board members are volunteers who attend up to five annual two-day meetings and additional committee meetings throughout the year. The board develops recommendations about Hanford nuclear reservation environmental cleanup for the Department of Energy and its regulators.

Applications are due April 3. Submit them to laija.emerald@epa.gov. For more information, call 372-7954. Application information and forms are available at www.hanford.gov under the rotating banner.

Replacement Elections

Our chair, John David, has resigned.  Some months ago, our vice-chair relocated to Arizona.  At our next regular meeting, April the 16th at 6:00 PM at the Richland Public Library, we will be electing a replacement chair and vice-chair to complete their terms which expire at the end of this year.

If you wish to be considered, be sure to attend the meeting or notify us in writing.  You can contact either Kendall Miller at kendallmiller@msn.com or John Christenson at johnchri@charter.net.  If you wish to nominate someone, please attend the meeting.

Thanks.

8th LD Caucus Results

The 2014 8th Legislative District Caucus elected delegates to the Washington State Democratic Convention yesterday.  Elected were
Regina Speer
Douglas McKinley
Mimi Latta
John Latta
Theresa LoPresti
Richard Reuther.

Our first alternate is John Christenson.  Our second alternate is Alma Lewandowski.

Many thanks to everyone who attended and to everyone whose diligent work made this caucus a success.

2014 Legislative District Caucus

The 8th Legislative District Democratic Organization gives notice that the 2014 Legislative District Caucus shall be held on Sunday, March 9, 2014 commencing at 1:00 pm, at the Laborers’ Local 348 Hall, 2505 Duportail St., Richland. The primary purpose of the Caucus is to elect delegates and alternates to go to the Democratic State Convention. In addition, participants may submit resolutions which will be forwarded for action to the Benton County Democratic Convention to be held on April 12.

For more information:


Washington State Democratic Party, http://www.wa-democrats.org/content/2014-caucuses-and-conventions

Benton County Democratic Central Committee, http://bencodems.org

Assistance in formatting and proposing resolutions, clopresti@owt.com

To vote at the Legislative District Caucus an individual must be a resident, registered voter in the 8th Legislative District and sign a registration sheet stating that he/she is a Democrat and agrees to public display of her/his attendance at the meeting. Registered voters includes all registered voters and any 17 year old who will be eligible to vote on November 4, 2014. Registered voters also includes any individuals who complete a voter registration form while signing in to attend the Legislative District Caucus. Individuals who are not qualified to register to vote because of residence or citizenship shall be allowed to participate in the discussion, but may not vote on resolutions or for the election of delegates or alternates, nor may they be elected as delegates or alternates.