The Washington State Republican Party has formally endorsed two measures on the Nov. 2 ballot –Initiative 1082’s privatization of workers compensation insurance and I-1107’s repeal of soda, candy and bottled water taxes. The moves on Saturday further line up the party with its anti-tax, deregulatory agenda

The GOP’s state committee also formally “nominated” Dino Rossi in the U.S. Senate race against Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and opposed Referendum 52, which proposes to issue general-obligation bonds to pay for school upgrades and extend the soda tax……. Read More

Here’s the strange thing, Patty Murray trails Dino Rossi in the SurveyUSA poll but just last week was leading him in the Rasmussen poll that has been giving Rossi his best numbers.

SurveyUSA has Rossi leading 52-45. It also has him tied in the Seattle area……. Read More

WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury on Thursday charged a once-powerful Washington lobbyist with evading federal limits on campaign donations by using straw donors to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to members of Congress, especially those with influence over military spending.

Read more – including donations to Norm Dicks……. Read More

Obviously, if you are the Big Thinker behind both U.S. Senate candidates likely to advance to the general election……. Read More

The 10-point agenda, whose name is a takeoff of Republicans’ 1994 Contract With America, offers a series of promises for candidates running for Congress and other elected positions to adopt. Hundreds of candidates and a few members of Congress, including Washington state’s Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, have made the pledge……. Read More

“We believe Gov. Gregoire’s climate change executive order is an unconstitutional order,” said Michael Reitz, director of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s Constitutional Law Center, who represents the taxpayers in this case. “Gov. Gregoire violated the doctrine of separation of powers by snatching a failed bill out of the legislative process and issuing it in the form of an executive order. If the governor wants to pass laws, she’s in the wrong branch of government…… Read More