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As a result the bill was poison and died. End of story.

just wondering.

You are really doing a fine job of defining the leadership as righteous and pure but it just doesn't stand up to the smell test.

1. The email was NOT addressed to leadership. However, the letter from Boeing expressing their opposition to the Worker Privacy Act was.

The email was not issued, signed, or approved by Labor leadership - the only folks who would be in the position to threaten anything. However the letter from Boeing was.

The fact that the WSP found almost immediately that there were no violations of the law (and we now know that the PDC did NOT request an opportunity to review the email) would seem to indicate that either the lawyers employed by the legislature's leadership are pretty lame or there was a pre-determined intent to USE this as a means to get out of a controversial vote.

Finally, while you simply determine that the death of this bill is the end of the story, that is just too naive for you to really believe. By acting as they did, Gregoire, Brown, and Chopp have dangerously tainted the legislature's relationship with Labor for the unforseeable future. Consider any future Labor friendly bills that come to the floor. By falsely accusing Labor of illegal/unethical behavior, Dem leadership has provided the media and what's left of the right-wing with a pretty convenient straw man.

Just bad leadership and bad politics.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue  

When you write that the WSLC was trying "link a vote directly to future political contributions," you're viewing a threat not to contribute as though it's a crooked promise to contribute but with a minus sign in front of it. It's an easy mistake to make, but it's really a terrible mistake because it completely blinds you to how political corruption works and you're encouraging future corruption.

Threats not to make future contributions to a political candidate linked explicitly and directly to a vote are ethical, lawful, protected by Washington state law, the First Amendment and hundreds of years of Common Law.

The WSLC threat was not only appropriate, it was the right thing to do. The unethical thing is not to make good on the threat and you inadvertently reveal why in your post.

When you write about labor "funding of state government democrats," you reveal the unethical practice of promising a steady cash flow to politicians on which they become dependent in return for structural influence. The expectation of "funding" is what is unethical. Honest politicians are willing to lose contributions every time they make a vote, specifically because of that vote.

Look at the result: will WSLC money keep flowing to Democrats or not? Well, now it will. The WSLC was forced to back down and keep in place the "funding" Democrats in Olympia apparently feel they have a right to expect. After all, haven't they done their part for labor? What right does labor have to pull out of the bargain?

The real purpose of this hoopla was to keep the money coming. If labor doesn't show that they are willing to pull out of the bargain, that is prima fascie evidence of corruption in my view.

Sent: Fri Mar 06 23:29:15 2009
Subject: Vote count on HB 1528 - Worker Privacy

Bill,[Gov. Gregoire's Boeing adviser Bill McSherry]

I have been counting votes and the reality is grim. Legislator's overwhelmingly want this bill just to go away and not have a vote. However, if a vote is required, most would reluctantly vote with the Labor community despite the known legal and symbolic flaws. This bill must not come up for a vote or it will pass with a large margin and compel the Senate to act as well. I don't believe that Senate and House Leadership can make this call on their own. I think they need and expect the Governor to share the responsibility necessary to do the right thing on these issues.

Allow me to translate:

There is a bill that Boeing doesn't like. It apparently is set to pass with overwhelming support - so it MUST NOT come up for a vote.

Allow me to be more blunt: Dear Governor, Fuck the legislators and Fuck the workers, Boeing does not want this to come up for a vote.

Result? Dead bill.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

If perception is reality, then the world must be flat and the sun must revolve around it.