Chris Gregoire |
The view of a sizable number of Republicans in Washington is that, while Governor Chris Gregoire and the Democrats didn't cause the national economic calamity, they are responsible for making worse the impact on government in the state, by pushing for more spending in the last few years than they might have. State spending has in fact risen quickly in the last few years, and if it had grown more slowly, state revenues and spending might be at least closer to alignment. (In Republican-run Idaho, where spending hasn't been increasing nearly as much, Republicans talk about how fortunate they are in that regard - and now need to make big cuts in spending.)
There's a powerful argument in that, and no doubt the Democrats in charge in Olympia are going to have a harder time maintaining in the fact. A few years ago you might have expected a bunch of Democrats to sign off on it, at least partly and in principle. But Gregoire, delivering her second inaugural address today, made clear that she doesn't and won't. A central segment:
Instead, we must renew hope for Washingtonians who are suffering today, and lay — for them — a platform for a better tomorrow.
First, we can and must quickly create new jobs for working families by rebuilding roads and schools, and creating a green economy for the 21st century — all in partnership with President-elect Barack Obama’s “American Recovery and Reinvestment†plan.
Second, like our struggling families and businesses, we can and will tighten our belts, balance our budget and focus on basic needs — protection of our children, our schools and colleges, our public safety, our environment and our economy.
Third, we won’t waste this crisis! We can and must reform state government. In this moment of clarity, we must grab the opportunity to reform so we can respond to the evolving needs of this century.
Fourth, we can and must approach all our challenges as a computer engineer might. Let’s build a new platform that makes Washington unique — that can support the exciting possibilities of the 21st century rather than the fading possibilities of the last.
And finally, this is the time for generosity among all Washingtonians.
So what we're seeing here is a call for activism, in a time of revenue diminishment - maybe a little less than in Oregon, a lot more than in Idaho. She has yet to lay out all the specifics, but the outline in her speech today seems clear enough: "We can quickly create thousands of new jobs this year and next by accelerating nearly $1 billion in public works projects. These projects will build new roads and schools, and create green-collar jobs to lay more groundwork for the prosperity to come. The time to act is now!"
Philosophical lines are being drawn - two very different approaches to dealing with the down times. We'll be able to do some sharp comparisons in the months ahead as they play out.
THE VIADUCT The apparent consensus decision among state, county and city officials (Gregoire, Chopp, King, Nickels and others) to go for the tunnel as the replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct seems of a piece with this. The tunnel is the most costly way of dealing with the need for action on the viaduct, and it may be the long-range quality solution, but it also is the most expensive. That is why so many people recoiled from it before. But now? There's no certainty about where the money will come from, and there's a distinct possibility (as the Seattle Times notes) of a taxpayer revolt. Will there be?