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Sausage Links, HOV lane endorsement edition

Crosscut — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:01 PDT

The Seattle Times is recommending voters reject Initiative 985, the Tim Eyman-sponsored measure that would create a statewide "traffic congestion relief" fund, eliminate localized revenues for devices such as red-light cameras, and open HOV lanes during non-peak hours. The paper's editorial board writes, "I-985 is a poorly-packaged jumble of different agendas that will — please, listen carefully — worsen traffic in certain areas. It makes no sense to design a functioning, complicated traffic system by initiative." ...

Sausage Links, weak sister edition

Crosscut — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:58:01 PDT

Is the Gregoire candidacy growing weak? Not surprisingly, that's what local conservative pundit Eric Earling thinks. But you know things aren't going well for the Democratic governor when someone at the Stranger says Gregoire is running a "lackluster, defensive campaign." ...

Sausage Links, abandon ship edition

Crosscut — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:54:01 PDT

Liberal bloggers gotta love this. Some of the elite conservative pundits are growing skeptical about the McCain campaign's performance in the past weeks. Others are jumping ship altogether. The latest to leave the GOP stable is Washington Post columnist George Will, who says the Republican presidential candidate "is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high." Last week, the editorial board at the traditionally conservative The Wall Street Journal wrote that "McCain has made it clear this week he doesn't understand what's happening on Wall Street any better than Barack Obama does," adding that the Arizona senator was acting "un-presidential."

Sausage Links, election anxiety edition

Crosscut — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:10:01 PDT

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has been hammering Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire in his advertisements for raising "the gas tax." But as Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly points out today, "Rossi would take a chunk of the gas tax increase to pay for his $15 billion 'Pave, baby, Pave!' roads expansion plan ... complete with its specter of an eight-lane Evergreen Point Bridge." Said another way: Rossi is against the increased gas tax — unless he's elected and able to use the extra cash for his transportation proposal.

Sausage Links, Caddyshack edition

Crosscut — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:16:01 PDT

The Oregonian reports that a popular driving range in Oregon is asking golfers to cast their "swing votes" by aiming practice shots at 8-feet-tall metal likenesses of John McCain and Barack Obama. While no one is exactly sure whether people are trying to hit candidates they support or oppose, so far, McCain is in the lead. ...

Sausage Links, it's time to be partisan edition

Crosscut — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:29:01 PDT

There's an interesting guest column in today's edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It's written by Gov. Chris Gregoire's driver during the Democratic National Convention, a Colorado State Trooper and lifelong Republican, who says Gregoire may be "a strong advocate for her party, but she is not a 'partisan' in the way the term has recently become defined." Naturally, some Gregoire supporters see the story as a good example of the governor as an appealing post-partisan politician. But not everyone thinks non-partisanship is a good thing — for Washington state politics, that is. Liberal blogger David Goldstein at Horse's Ass sees it a little differently, saying Gregoire actually needs to be more partisan if she wants to get things done in Olympia. ...

If you can read this, congratulations

Crosscut — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:56:01 PDT

You've no doubt noticed our site has been sluggish or even inaccessible the past few days. It's because we posted a wildly popular article by a woman in Alaska about Gov. Sarah Palin's days as mayor of Wasilla. Her essay, which originally was an e-mail to friends, has been quoted widely on the Web, but Crosscut was one of the few sites to post it in its entirety. Click, click, click.

Sausage Links, Postman stops ringing edition

Crosscut — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:00:01 PDT

It's a sad day for state journalism. Seattle Times chief political reporter David Postman, the author of the ever-popular Postman on Politics, announced today that after some 14 years at the paper, he will leave to join Vulcan Inc., a company founded and run by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The Capitol press corps appears to be devastated. I sure am. ...

Sausage Links, Pac 10 edition

Crosscut — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:51:01 PDT

It's been a busy year for University of Oregon graduates Jill Hazelbaker and Tucker Bounds. Recently named the "Dynamic Duck duo" by The Oregonian, Bounds and Hazelbaker are two of the McCain campaign's top communications officers — the Republicans' first wave of defense against Democratic attacks. As reporter Jeff Mapes points out, it's not an easy job. ...

Sausage Links, 'piece of cake' edition

Crosscut — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:00:01 PDT

So. What did you think about Hillary Clinton last night? Most opinion writers in the media say the former first lady's speech at the Democratic National Convention was one of her finest moments. As Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly put it, the speech "erased the bad blood of a lengthy nomination battle ... and raised the party's blood for the fall campaign." Eli Sanders at the Stranger said she was "magnanimous," also calling it her "best, most selfless moment." I'm not sure I buy it. But I'll leave it up to you. Discuss. ...

Crosscut's 2008 election predictions, UPDATED

Crosscut — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 05:00:01 PDT

We asked our pundits to weigh in with their predictions for the general election, considering what can be discerned from the primary vote earlier this week in Washington state. Composing the Crosscut Index for this survey were Knute Berger, David Brewster, Jim Compton, Clark Fredricksen, Pete Jackson, Jerry Grinstein, Floyd McKay, Jeff Reifman, and Ted Van Dyk. We give you their consensus predictions in key races, and some reasons from the pundits. More votes have come in since the first post, changing the prediction for the governor's race.

The funny thing about Seattle ...

Crosscut — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:00:01 PDT

Our humor writer shares the top ten jokes he's collected in a not very funny city.

Sausage Links, 'be nice to reporters or else' edition

Crosscut — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:18:01 PDT

The Seattle Times editorial board slams Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi today for what it calls "artfully misleading" campaign ads. At Horse's Ass, liberal blogger David Goldstein says the ads reflect "Rossi's artfully misleading personality." But as Democrats bemoan the tactics of the Rossi campaign, Republicans say there's a new liberal bully in town — and this one is taking more than just lunch money. Chris McGann at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports the newly formed Evergreen Progess PAC has "emerged with more than $2.4 million in spending power" and is giving "Rossi a drubbing." Eric Earling at Sound Politics has a breakdown of that story. ...

Sausage Links, 'Pledge Allegiance to the Top-Two Primary' edition

Crosscut — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:39:01 PDT

Today is the the "top-two" primary, and everyone expects the polls to be packed. But before casting your ballot, take a moment to remember our failed state primary formats of the past. As the editorial board at The Seattle Times writes: "Pause now for a moment of silence in remembrance of the state's defunct blanket primary, which served Washington's voters well for almost 70 years" — that is, until federal courts declared it was unconstitutional. After the blankie went bye-bye, Washington state tried the "Pick-a-party" primary, but voters didn't feel the vibe. Today, we've been blessed with the oft-litigated, much deliberated top-two primary, a format some people say is doomed to fail. But dammit, we might as well try it out. ...

Sausage Links, ice cream man edition

Crosscut — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:22:01 PDT

Despite the near-record temperatures predicted for the weekend, officials from around the state are asking agencies to "freeze." Last week, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered a hiring freeze for state employees in an attempt to ease Washington's mounting budget deficit. Yesterday, the Snohomish County Council ordered a hiring freeze for all of their county's agencies. Not to be outdone, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed a $5 million spending freeze for the City of Seattle yesterday. On a related note, Seattle's fleet of ice cream carts are expanding their service around the city, in a move experts say could result in widespread brain freezes. ...

Sausage Links, 'Everybody wants to rule the world' edition

Crosscut — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:00:01 PDT

Angie Vogt at Red County Washington has posted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi. However, don't expect attacks like those seen in Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's interview with the Stranger last week — this one is fairly vanilla. From the start, Rossi channels the Obama-patented change mantra, saying "this election is not about me, it's not about Christine Gregoire; it's about changing the culture and direction of state government for a generation." It may be a sign Rossi is looking to court more independent voters like this. Or that he's sticking to the high road for now. His campaign, however, isn't so sure he'll be ahead after Tuesday's primary election. But they aren't worried. ...

Sausage Links, cops and memos edition

Crosscut — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:00:01 PDT

The local blogosphere is buzzing about a Democratic Party cameraman who was forcibly removed by off-duty police officers from a press conference for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi yesterday. David Goldstein at Horse's Ass says the incident sets an unfair double standard, as Republican camera crews are allowed into campaign events for Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, while the folks at Sound Politics say the Democrats don't exactly have a "spirit of openness," either. Here's the YouTube video. ...

The campaign for Sound Transit will be 'going Facebook'

Crosscut — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:00:01 PDT

Big and corporate didn't do it for last year's roads and transit measure, so the hurry-up, cash-starved campaign for Sound Transit 2 will be Internet-based and volunteer-driven.

Sausage Links, endorsement edition

Crosscut — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:03:01 PDT

It turned out to be a lucky weekend for civil litigator and state Supreme Court candidate Michael Bond, who got an endorsement Sunday from The Seattle Times because he is not his opponent.

Sausage Links, beer for thought edition

Crosscut — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:12:01 PDT

Is beer the sleeper issue of the 2008 election? The folks at FiveThirtyEight seem to think so. Apparently, Cindy McCain's company, Hensley & Co., is set to make at least a million bucks from InBev's takeover of Anheuser Busch — a merger which Sen. Barack Obama called a "shame" and which has already sparked some antitrust interest. ...