Morning Fizz: Bailing on his commitment
Caffeinated news & gossip featuring Eyman, McKenna, and Northgate.
Two court decisions on the lefty docket are in play this week.
1. First, King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong will rule today on the request for a preliminary injunction in the case filed against Washington State Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna for signing on to the lawsuit against President Obama's Affordable Care Act (Obamacare!).
The plaintiffs argue that McKenna is bailing on his commitment to serve the interests of women; the ACA guarantees improved coverage for birth control and cancer screenings.
McKenna has said he's only against the insurance mandate (he says it's unconstitutional) and not against many of the guarantees of the new law. Whether or not those issues are "severable"--that is, whether they can be separated from the legality of the health care bill as a whole---was under discussion in the opening hearing last week.
2. King County Superior Court Judge Bruce Heller will rule tomorrow morning in the case argued earlier this year by education groups and state house Democrats against Tim Eyman's I-1053, the voter-approved rule requiring a two-thirds majority of the legislature to raise taxes.
Lefties argue that the rule is unconstitutional because the state constitution already spells out what types of decisions require supermajorities.
Eyman is pushing another initiative this year, I-1185, which would reinstate 1053.
3. Another decision that's coming up, though not a court ruling: Will Sound Transit go ahead with a 900-stall parking garage at Northgate?
Local pedestrian advocacy group Feet First has come up with an infographic that juxtaposes the estimated $40 million garage vs. what else $40 million would buy for the Northgate station: a pedestrian bridge over I-5, new sidewalks, more bus service, and new bike facilities.
Sound Transit is holding an open house on Monday, June 4, at 6 pm at Olympic View Elementary to discuss Northgate construction plans.
The community's fight to prioritize pedestrians, bikers, and public transit over cars matches a New York Times essay that ran this weekend calling for more walkable communities (something it gave Seattle a shoutout for doing well). Some might conjecture: If they only knew.
This item has been updated to correct the name of Judge Heller.
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Comments:
Posted Tue, May 29, 11:23 a.m. Inappropriate
"Whether or not those issues are "severable"--that is, whether they can be separated from the legality of the health care bill as a whole---was under discussion in the opening hearing last week."
Anyone who read McKenna's brief that he filed with the court knows that he was directly arguing they cannot be separated, and therefore the entire Act needs to be struck down. What he says in public, and what is in his brief, is contradictory.
Like Obie, pay attention to what he does, not what he says.
Posted Tue, May 29, 11:52 p.m. Inappropriate
Can we please have a moratorium on the words "lefty" and "lefties"? There's no point in using them; you either agree with whatever's being proposed/decried, or you don't.
Posted Wed, May 30, 3:28 a.m. Inappropriate
Many of my buddies will be perplexed to find that I am one of those "lefties" that signed on to the lawsuit. It's a completely appropriate constitutional question, no matter your politics. Although, admittedly ... no hard-core right-wingers signed on to the suit ...
/deb eddy/
Posted Wed, May 30, 5:26 a.m. Inappropriate
But sarah, taht would be like asking that their be a moratorium on "righties", "TPer's" and "Wingers".
Posted Wed, May 30, 5:27 a.m. Inappropriate
That and there, fat fingers.
Posted Thu, May 31, 11:19 a.m. Inappropriate
I'm tired of the name calling myself. That just increases the polarization and decreases the integrity of the argument.
McKenna may regret the day he became one of the extremists who joined that suit to the detriment of his constituents - all of us. That was opportunistic but no wise.
Posted Thu, May 31, 8:42 p.m. Inappropriate
Although I'd wager that most of them don't live in Seattle or Olympia.
Posted Fri, Jun 1, 8:04 a.m. Inappropriate
My bad - when I saw the phrase "bailing on his commitment" I naively thought that it referred to Jay Inslee lying about finishing his term.
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