Posts by Bill Lyne

So the budget that nobody read but all the Senate Republicans and three nominal Democrats voted for as the clock struck midnight turned out to be a bit of an embarrassment.  It seems that the “fund education first” crowd had written a budget that cut education by another 80 mil or so, which quickly became…

Our new favorite Republican here at the blog is Senator Pam Roach.  Olympia buffs will remember that two years ago Senator Roach was thrown out of the Republican caucus and denied access to caucus staff and counsel in response to what Republican leadership felt was a pattern of abusive behavior.  Her colleagues apparently considered Senator…

You know it’s a party when the Lieutenant Governor has to admonish State Senator Derek Kilmer—not once, but twice—to settle down. The rakish, usually quite affable, and always polite Senator Kilmer was clearly pissed last Friday as he raised his voice against the “backroom deal” that had brought a Republican budget to the floor.  It…