Talk radio righties take eyman to the woodshed- will they leave him there?

Maybe Tim Eyman has finally done it.

It started a few years ago when he was caught paying himself from what he self-described as his "pro bono" efforts. And ever since- after his every excess, and grandiose lie; after every one of his foible-filled stumbles, the chattering class always says: "Eyman's got nine lives, he always comes back."

But maybe, just maybe, he's done himself in this time.

In case you're not up on this, Eyman claims that some 35,000 signatures for his anti-car tab I-917, were lost, stolen, or strayed from the offices of Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed's office after he turned them in.

Nobody's buying it- not even his traditional supporters and oldest friends in talk radio.

Longtime ally John Carlson (KVI, m-f, 3-5p) bent him over and drove him to Tukwila today on his show, Monday.

Ordinarily loyal libertarian and I-917 supporter, Dori Monson (KIRO m-f 1-4p) remained highly skeptical throughout a simultaneous interview with Eyman and Reed. It was some great radio- listen to it here:

Eyman accused Reed of an intentional criminal conspiracy or a fuck-up of massive proportions. Monson asked: did you make copies of the initiatives you turned in?

Perhaps showing a sudden twinge of confidence in the government he says he distrusts and abhors, but Glib Timmy said, "No, we didn't think you'd have to."   

Carlson, who may be feeling personally burned, was especially harsh with Eyman, holding his Birkenstocks to the flames. (It was exposed 2 weeks ago by Dan Sytman (KTTH m-f, 5-9a) that Eyman wears Birkenstocks, which is against the Republican canons and Sytman was aghast. This was our first inkling that apostasy was afoot).

The two have worked together on initiatives since the early 1990's. The anti-affirmative action I-200 was a failing Eyman proposal until he hired Carlson to shepherd it over the airwaves and through the woods of public acceptance.

Carlson mentored Eyman on the political ways of the world, and has, with rare exception, supported every Eyman initiative. His show has always been a welcome place for the obnoxious two-toed reform entrepreneur to come to bloviate or crow.   

But Carlson isn't buying this one; and he told Eyman: "I know the government can screw up, but I also know you can screw up; I know the government can be dishonest; but I also know you can be dishonest."

In one amazing exchange, Eyman struck out at Carlson accusing him of opposing his anti-car tab, (which is really anti-Sound Transit) initiative because it, he said, would endanger the transportation package Carlson and others, including former Governor Gary Locke, are trying to hammer out in a bipartisan effort for next year's ballot.

At one point, Eyman, in a rare loss of smarm control, lashed out: "How did I-912 go for ya, John?" He was rubbing it in about the failed anti-gas tax initiative Carlson helped get on the ballot last year. It was a petty off-topic jab, which showed more hostility than Eyman usually shows- especially for a fellow Republican.

Carlson wouldn't buy into either swerve in the conversation. "Tim," he said, "I know you well enough that when you change the subject, it 's because you're uncomfortable answering the question."

Listeners were, in general, not convinced that Eyman was telling the truth. One told him, "I'm no Kool-aid drinking Democrat- but you sound ridiculous. I don't believe you," said one.

"We're not going to bow down to John Carlson, and Gary Locke," Eyman blustered.

(Don't know about you, but this is all music to our ears. Just another major way the pathetic state Republican Party, and the conservatives are deconstructing in a realpolitikal way).

Carlson summed up for Eyman what he said, "makes me think you're lying." (emphasis ours).
They were:

~ Nothing like this, on this scale, with this volume of signatures has ever happened in the Secretary of State's office, and it strains credulity that it could.

~ The "time stamped receipt" for the petitions was a letter Eyman brought in and got a receptionist to time stamp

~ He astoundingly made no copies of the petition sheets before he turned them in- a minor expense, relative to its importance.

~ And our personal favorite: "You took a third of a million bucks from a donor, spent his money- and that's not going to make him very happy."

The donor/sucker is Michael Dunmire Postman is reporting he's still got the faith- at least in public- with Tim Eyman.

After his duplicity a few months ago enticing the press out to a news dry hole for a publicity stunt, a lot of good will wells were poisoned with the media, who have always treated him with the respect he demands.

Talk radio has clout with the Republican base- it's their town hall. Now that Eyman's lost this support and good will, maybe we're witnessing him putting a fork into what has long been the only way Republicans have been able to make policy in this state.
~~
Talk Check.com points out that Carlson made a revealing slip in this conversation about the I-912 campaign. Read it here.

Comments

[joanie]

Poor Timmy, he's had his shining moment in the sun and now . . . well, who knows. I have to smile. He'll land on his feet. He's a cat.

[sparky]

Karma is a bitch

[Fremont]

Eyman is a bitch...

[Fremont]

Joans, fellow lover of felines, it's a disservice to our souls to call Eyman a cat...snake, maybe...

[Tommy008]

haha Tim Eyman, The Sultan of Selfishness. You're all washed up, boy. Why not try to get a gig as a greeter and "celebrity" on your buddy Dan Sytman's November Hawaii cruise? Now that would be a "Whinefest"!

[The Anti Kiro]

If only my dream would come true and we could live in a world with Tim Eyman and Dori Monson sharing a jail cell.

Good riddance!

[JDB]

Tim Eyman will stay around for two reasons. First, Eyman has no shame, and the only thing he cares about is Eyman, so he can't shrink away. Second, the right in this state has no one else. It's sort of like how they are stuck with George Bush.

That being said, he has burned a lot of bridges over the last few years. Even John Carlson, who would defend Eyman's lying about tax rates etc. seems to have had enough of him, and Eyman could not have helped his position by attacking Carlson just because Carlson was asking him hard questions.

There are two interesting things in Eyman's latest meltdown. First, his frat boy, the dog ate my homework style defense. Second, his use of the pattern right wing attack the messanger defense. The problem with Eyman is that he is to smarmy (think Eddie Haskel) and too much a proven liar to pull off the dog ate my homework routine, and not smart enough to pull off the attack the critic routine (as evidence by biting the hand that feeds him with John Carlson). However it is a good example of the defenses that the right wing has used for 20 years now.

An interesting question for Eyman and the press: Eyman has basically admitted that the receipt for the number of pages that he turned in is accurate. Well, if there are still that many pages, it would seem that everything else that Eyman says is BS.

Or course, it could be argue that from day one that everything Eyman said was BS. The good news is that except for the paranoid right that haunts the darker crevices of Sound Politics, it seems that no one believes any of this.

[JDB]

Oh Great Blathering One:

Thanks for the link to Dori's interview with Eyman. For once it was worth listening to Dori's show. While Dori asked decent questions, it would be nice to see Eyman subject to a hard interview by someone like Robert Mak.

[DOUG.]

Dori Monson is not a Libertarian.

[sam]

He is a small 'l' libertarian. that doesn't meand he is not an asshole.

[lukobe]

he's not even really a small-l libertarian.

[sparky]

but he is a Capital A Asshole

ok come'on...that one was just hanging out there begging to be said...lol

[joanie]

I'd like to know what a small "l" libertarian is.

[snoutcounter]

Hmm it seems that people forget that Timmy just brings up the issues,people still have to sign then...or not sign them in this case... and lets not forget the thousands of "found" ballets in ye ol gov race so anything is possible

[JDB]

Here's the problem with any grand conspiracy theory Snout, The petitions were delivered to the Secretary of States office. They were counted in front of people from Eyman's campaign, and they were issued a receipt (an actual one), for that number. The petitions were then scanned. Tim doesn't argue any of this (because he can't). So, if there are still the same number of petitions, nothing happened and Eyman was lying all along.

Given that Eyman has freely lied many times before, I know where I'm putting my money. And if someone at the Secretary of States office wanted to mess with an initative, wouldn't it make more sense that the mess with the inheritance tax one or the property one, which are more extreme than Tim's attempts to derail sound transit. Plus how lucky that the picked the one that didn't keep copies in any form of their petitions.

You know, if it lies like a Duck, and it fibs like a Duck, it is probably a statement by Tim Eyman.

[JDB]

Here's an intersting idea. Eyman with his anti-Gay referendum claimed to have 80,000 or so signatures, but no one ever saw them. If Eyman is so good with his numbers, maybe he would allow someone to look over those petitions and see if he got the numbers right with them.

[joanie]

JDB . . . I thought Tim took the petitions in and they were receipted without being counted. Afterall, he claimed over 300 pages although the S of S's office claimed less than 300. I don't think any counting was done in front of Tim . . . this is how I heard it on the radio.

[chunkstyle]

Joanie,

A small 'l' libertarian is one who espouses general libertarian views (personal freedom, live and let live etc.) whereas a large 'L' libertarian would be an official member of the Libertarian party and prone to hyperbolic rigidity with respect to their platform. That's the sense in which people typically use small 'l' vs. big 'L'.

[shadow]

The analogy I heard was if you go to the atm and put 48 dollars in an envelope and enter a 50 dollar deposit you eventually will get a correction notice from the bank.

Poor Timmy told the clerk how many signatures he had and they wrote it down on a receipt for him. They discovered that there were fewer signatures than actually filed once they started counting. Now Tim is crying foul. So who are you gonna trust? I don’t think it is a very tough decision.

[DOUG.]

He's not a small "L" libertarian either. Dori Monson is a live-and-let-die asshole.

[sparky]

The first guest on thom hartmann's show this morning espouses Dori's belief that if you have a minimum wage job and cant afford to live off of that, then its because you "chose" that lifestyle.
My guess is that if these guys were ever put in a situation where they had to subsist on less than they have now, they would not be able to do it.

Re Timmy: "The News Tribune " has a great editorial this morning.

[Tommy008]

Tim Eyman is Eddie Haskell! June and Ward Cleaver (John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur) just caught Eddie pulling a cheap conman sleight of hand stunt down at the Secretary of State office. It seems the Sultan of Selfishness knew he was in deep shit because of the paltry number of petition pages he had on this anti-roads init. compared to previous initiatives that passed. Eyman/Haskel refused to take the receipt with the page count on it from the official there who had just counted his pages, making up some crap about more boxes coming in with anohter guy. Sec of State does not immediately count sigs they only count pages. Instead he pulled the tawdry little "carny" stunt of going over to a secretary there, giving her a piece of notebook paper with HIS OWN total of signatures and having her date/time stamp it , only so he could grab it back from her and wave it in front of media cameras as being an official total of signatures. Of course it was only the total that he had just pulled out of his butt, nothing more. June and Ward Cleaver caught on to his little three card monte act. An outraged June Cleaver(Carlson) verbally pulled down Timmy/Eddie's pants yesterday afternoon and gave him a sound paddling. Ward Cleaver(Kirby ) also gave him a sound verbal thrashing this morning. The wheels have come off Timmy's little carnival wagon.

[joanie]

Somewhere in your scenario is what I heard as well.

When is your first novel coming out? Or will it be an anthology of short stories?

[Tommy008]

Eddie Haskell Falls Short, Sec. of State Says (T8 News Service) Perennial state initiative huckster and carnival barker Eddie Haskell failed to make the grade with his Anti-Roads initiative, according to the Sec. of State's sample count of his sigs. They will now do a complete count of his signatures to verify officially. Haskell, once a darling and favorite of KVI talkhost couple June and Ward Cleaver, is no longer welcome in their splitlevel suburban home.

[Tommy008]

I already have my first novel done (Seattle-based mystery/haha book), but I ran into some knuckleheads in New York on my first go round trying to get it published. The agents ar agent's readers were probably offended or got the wrong idea from my racy first chapter, so I 've rewritten it somewhat for my second go round at them , coming up next month. Also , the first time I submitted it back there, the book business was in the toilet, and I think they were basically accepting cookbooks and Steven King manuscripts only.Short stories? I'm finishing one about a Tom Leykis type radio host.

[joanie]

Tommy, I'm impressed! You know that getting your first book published is extremely difficult. I think you are much, much better than Earl Emerson. He's one of the very few Seattle writers I've read (in the mystery genre). So, let your blatherfamily know when you're published so we can all go out and buy first editions!