There’s a sensible political idea among some Democrats that they might be well advised to enter into the ballot issue arena, turf where so many of the Northwest’s recent issues have been right-originated. That can make some sense for either side.
Assuming, of course, one chooses one’s issues wisely. On that front, Democrats might want to take a deep breath before they choose what they want to be identified with.
Ted Blaszak of Democracy Resources posted the general idea at Blue Oregon, along with responses to a question his group posed at the recent Democratic gathering at Sunriver: “Do you have a good idea for a progressive ballot measure?” He got responses. Some of them may be fairly unobjectionable: “Increase tax incentives for homebuilders who use sustainable methods”. Or just intriguing: “Fusion voting.”
But there are some others here – and to be clear, these were only suggestions from individuals, not endorsements from any Democratic group – but worth noting here since Blaszak went quit public with them at Blue Oregon – that Democrats might want to think about carefully before aligning with:
“Abolish the kicker”
“Fine adults who don’t vote”
“Increase the gas tax to pay for local public transportation”
“A progressive sales tax”
“Require a supermajority for tax cuts in the legislature”
You can just see the counter-storm clouds forming . . .
THAT SAID Check out the Blue Oregon post linked above, and read through the comments. you will be find a slew of fascinating ideas and useful policy discussion. Useful ballot issues could easily come out of this kind of back-and-forth.
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