King County

According to Rob McKenna, two legislative districts, entirely in Seattle (36, 43), provided the victory margin that elected Jay Inslee and extended Democrats’ 28-year occupancy of the Washington governor’s office. Yeah? So? What does he think we’re here for anyway? Seattle P-I, 1-25-13 .

State

A Senate bill introduced Monday by Don Benton (R-17, Vancouver), ostensibly seeking to require teenagers to notify their parents at least 48 hours before seeking an abortion, would actually do much more than that: Closer reading of the bill shows it would repeal existing abortion laws, essentially banning all abortions in Washington State. SB 5156 (why is Paull Shin’s name on this list?) Stranger, 1-25-13. Senate Democratic Leader Ed Murray wants to seek voter approval of a 5 percent excise tax on capital gains. But with Republicans in control of the Senate, Murray’s proposal might not even get a hearing. Seattle Times, 1-25-13. Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, (D-24, Sequim), has introduced a bill that would require ballots on election night to be processed and counted until midnight. He says that would speed up the process. Others are doubtful. HB 1102. Tacoma News Tribune., 1-23-13

Nation

Wingnut welfare runs out (at least for now) for Sarah Palin, axed today by Pox News (oops, did I spell that wrong?) Seattle P-I, 1-25-13.

Think pieces

Perhaps because they demonstrably lost the 2012 election, conservative school “reformers” are being much more candid about why bubble-in accountability has failed. But if the right bails on education “reform,” could it leave Obama and Democratic “reformers” holding the bag? Education Week, 11-25-12 (but very timely).