playing the seattle card

Playing the Seattle card still dominates Republican and conservative politics around Washington.

It's an old but irresponsible strategy that'd be treason if that crime could be applied against a state instead of a country.

John Carlson (KVI, m-f, 3-6p) and Kirby Wilbur, both raised in Seattle and both transplanted to the east side burbs--lead daily divisive anti-Seattle rants in their on-air campaigns for the anti-roads repair initiative, I-912.

The hypermanic and overblown right-wing patriotism seems to stop at the state line. If they were consistent with their states' rights, and small 'r' republicanism, they'd be as gung-ho for local and regional loyalty as they are for the national Big Brother and its egregious godless ways.

But instead they split the state by enflaming rural, exurban, and suburban resentments against Seattle. It suits their immediate political needs; it's craven, and they're hurting America, as Jon Stewart would say if he were speaking to us.

Every day they stoke the indignant backlash about the intolerant, selfish, elitist, Ivy-overeducated, sushi-eating, bus riding, extra-virgin olive-oiled, French speaking, irreverent, vegan, religion hating, wine-bibbing, peace-marching, brie-guzzling, hippy Seattleites who build their monorails, lesbian art museums and stadiums using taxes they shake down from the middle class of the rest of the state. They do this sitting in schmancy restaurants that serve expensive imported food that isn't cooked, while sneering at the little people's churchgoing ways.

This contradictory conglom of stereotypes describes no one we know in Seattle and that Seattle/Tacoma is an economic engine upon which the rest of the state depends for its revenues means nothing in this short-term, piss-in-your-pants-to-stay-warm partisanship.

The Alaska Way Viaduct which would finally begin to be fixed in the transportation package Carlson and Wilbur are so anxious to veto--is scoffed at as another Seattle extravagance.

Every day, you hear callers saying the old bridge is still perfectly good and Seattle is just trying to scare the taxes out of the taxpayers. Talk hosts never contradict any of this.

Instead they excoriate Seattle's discussion of any options other than retrofitting, and merrily drive east to their homes in the wealthy suburbs of Bellevue and Kirkland.

If, god forbid, a quake were to bring down that downtown waterfront viaduct, the harsh economic tremors would follow them east, passing through those elite, well-trimmed burbs and continue on to Yakima, Walla Walla, and Spokane.

Bringing the monorail debacle into the I-912 argument as proof (as they do every day) that the Seattle-centric Department of Transportation squanders our money and isn't deserving of our tax dollars is about as an outrageous political lie as we've ever seen perpetrated.

The monorail idea and funding was passed by Seattle voters for and upon themselves. DOT had no part in any of it. People from Arlington, Goldendale, Kirkland, Tacoma, Ferndale, Mabton, and Yelm were unaffected and untaxed.

This has been going on forever here and in other states. New York City is despised in the same way by upstaters, Illinois downstaters feel the same way about Chicago.

Ex-Senator Slade Gorton won a view times by running against Seattle even though he actually lived there. The attempt to undo Governor Christine Gregoire's election was spun as a Seattle/King County plot to steal the election.

Plenty of Eastern Washington legislators have been defeated because they've been painted as laying down (sometimes literally) with Seattle legislators.

Tim Eyman, the self-serving anti-tax initiative flack who's done more to hurt this state than red tide, uses Seattle bashing like most of us use tooth paste and deodorant.

It's send-a-message-politics where voters ignore the facts and their own self interests to express the rage trumped up by talk radio feeding the fires they kindled with misinformation.

It'll never stop, but it's one of the most dishonest and divisive of political tactics and serves only serve to stop political dialog and hamper the measured informing of the electorate.

Comments

[John]

Love your writing, thanks for doing it. You make me laugh in every single one of your articles.

"piss-in-your-pants-to-stay-warm partisanship"

Hahhahah

[Lump]

MH sez "Every day they stoke the indignant backlash about the intolerant, selfish, elitist, Ivy-overeducated, sushi-eating, bus riding, extra-virgin olive-oiled, French speaking, irreverent, vegan, religion hating, wine-bibbing, peace-marching, brie-guzzling, hippy Seattleites who build their monorails, lesbian art museums and stadiums using taxes they shake down from the middle class of the rest of the state." I think you left off limpwristed, lefty, girly men. But that about sums up the city of Seattle, a second class city trying to run with the big dogs. In your rants about the upcoming failure to be of I-912, is there any mention that the iniative does not provide for any traffic relief? What does the .18 cents a gallon collected now do since it also does not provide for any relief? I-912 will fail for just that reason. People want traffic relief and until they get it, this extra tax is DOA. I suppose Carlson and Wilbur must suffer with traffic on their commutes over over the water to the east side. Tim Eyman is the hero of the fight against the government bending us over the hitching post. I-695 corrected the biggest screwing and the money didn't even go to any highway projects. The state would have gotten a higher fee than the $30 but they shot their mouth off and told us how stupid we were and they paid the penalty. BTW, do you still pay the old higher tab fees? Or, do you slink around and pay the lower one? The state will probably still collect the excess if you wished to pay it. The governor who stuck it in our butt with all the new taxes will be outta of Olympia in 3 more years for all her lies. Seattle has dropped to the 16th most liberal city and the reservation continues to shrink. As long as your solution to problems is calling people names and not putting out an agenda to the public that gives them something for their money, you lefties are doomed to repeat failure.

[David]

Listening to John Carlson hosting Bruce Chapman and David Goldstein yesterday talking about the Discover Institute and Creative Design, I wanted to grab Mr. Chapman and Mr. Carlson by their lapels and ask them: "Do you really believe any of this? Do you actually believe the earth was created in 7 days and that dinosaurs and human beings lived together 5,000 years ago? Or are you just trying to drive liberals crazy?"

I think the answer is obvious. These people don't believe half the stuff they say. It's just a cynical way of exploiting the fears of those who are more ignorant than they are. In the same way that Republicans have capitalized on bigotry against minorities and uppity city folks, they are cynically using the anti-tax movement and the religious beliefs of some weird Christians to further their own political agenda. Look what they did to Clinton, constantly harassing him so that he couldn't use his time to carry out his program.

[tim]

THE TRUTH IS REAL SCARY

[sparky]

from digby blog:

The biggest sickness in our politics is this top down, elitist mentality in which people are fed a diet of information, entertainment, products and ideas that are focus grouped, soulless and commercial --- and which are then filtered through a ruling media class that is so psychologically cramped, so emotionally sterile, so stuck in their own feedback loop that they are presenting a totally distorted version of reality. It's important that we look elsewhere for wisdom and leadership.

[chris]

And Lump never calls anyone names?

[Lump]

Chris sez "And Lump never calls anyone names?" Only those that absolutely deserve it and even then I take easy. Some of the stuff on this blog is absoutely hateful vile crap. And, Chris, you're one of them with your foul mouth and writings.

[chris]

If its so hateful and vile as you claim without giving an example, then why are you still here?

[Lump]

Chris sez "If its so hateful and vile as you claim without giving an example, then why are you still here?" An example? Read your own past quotes. I'm here because there are some great posts on this blog and even the head blatherer manages once in a while to hit a home run. I like to form my opinions and add to my knowledge by reading and trying to understand both sides of a subject. I hope my response is simple and easy for you to understand. When I have a battle of wits, I prefer to do it with an ARMED person.

[chris]

I barely touched you, you're not planning on leaving like Duane did, are you

[chris]

just a sec. BTW..I need to do a shameless act. "Shane! I mean Duane, come back Duane! Come back!!

[Lump]

Chris sez "I barely touched you, you're not planning on leaving like Duane did, are you" Nah, I'm sticking around. I want to see if you pass the WASL to you can graduate.

[chris]

I'm still waiting to see 'freedom on the march" in Iraq