Tag Archives: I-1053

March 23rd, 2011

Eyman followers to Permanent Defense: A republic is not a democracy

Rethinking and Reframing

A week ago, we published a report (Voters Want More Choices begins 2011 with no wealthy benefactor in sight), which affirmed a point that we’ve been trying to make to the press and to the people of Washington for years – namely, that without big money, Tim Eyman’s initiative factory simply could not exist.

Naturally, Tim Eyman read this report, since he’s a regular Permanent Defense visitor. Not long after seeing it, he decided to make it the centerpiece of a fundraising email, which he sent out last Friday. His email included the entirety of our report, and was followed by (what else?) a shameless appeal for funds, along with instructions to his followers to send emails to Permanent Defense’s founder and Olympia city council candidate Brian Tomlinson, who recently expressed his frustration with Eyman’s mischief-making at a public forum.

A tiny fraction of Eyman’s followers subsequently wrote in. Many butchered his last name – among the spellings we saw were “Eyeman”, “Eiman”, and “Iman” . One supporter even butchered his hero’s first name, despite getting the last name correct (Time Eyman). But what was more interesting than the misspellings was the contention that several of these people made: that a republic is not a democracy.

Here’s an example:

Our form of government is a republic – not a democracy. The difference is that in a republic the individual retains personal rights and freedoms where in a democracy the rights and freedoms of the individual are controlled by the majority rule.

And here’s another:

By the way, last time I checked, we are a republic (a government in which supreme power is held by the citizens entitled to vote), not a democracy.

And still another:

Your contempt for the initiative process and lack of knowledge about what type of government the constitution directs us to abide by,
(Representative Republic) not democracy, has confirmed the need to continue to support Mr. Eiman in his future initiative drives.

These people sure do seem confused, don’t they? (Note, names are withheld because, unlike Tim Eyman, we believe in respecting people’s privacy as much as possible).

Let’s consult American Heritage’s Cultural Dictionary:

re·pub·lic – noun. A form of government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives. Today, the terms republic and democracy are virtually interchangeable, but historically the two differed. Democracy implied direct rule by the people, all of whom were equal, whereas republic implied a system of government in which the will of the people was mediated by representatives, who might be wiser and better educated than the average person. In the early American republic, for example, the requirement that voters own property and the establishment of institutions such as the Electoral College were intended to cushion the government from the direct expression of the popular will.

Our plan of government, as Permanent Defense’s supporters know, is a constitutional republic. Most state constitutions, particularly those that had no other roots (for instance, colonial charters), were modeled after the Constitution of the United States of America, which does not provide for an initiative or referendum process. Initially, Washington’s Constitution didn’t either, but it was amended in the 1900s by progressives to give citizens the power to make laws directly.

Washington still has a representative government elected by its people, but since it also has the initiative and referendum (as well as the recall), it is unquestionably a democracy in a broader sense as well.

The modern definition of democracy is any system of government in which rule is by the people. A republic is thus a democracy – although not every democracy is a republic (the United Kingdom, for example, is a constitutional monarchy).

This really isn’t that hard to understand. Anybody who paid attention in their high school civics class should know that a republic is a democracy. Unfortunately, it appears that many of Tim Eyman’s s followers either didn’t pay close attention in their high school civics course, or didn’t take one at all.

No wonder, then, that they don’t have a problem with getting rid of our cherished tradition of majority rule. They don’t understand what democracy is truly all about (individual liberty, majority rule with minority rights, free elections, competing political parties) because they don’t think Washington is a democracy.

Ironically, by displaying their ignorance, Tim Eyman’s followers are providing compelling evidence in favor of the argument that we need stronger, better-funded public schools with a more robust civics curriculum.

March 16th, 2011

Voters Want More Choices begins 2011 with no wealthy benefactor in sight

Eye on Money: Developments

New reports filed with the Public Disclosure Commission last week indicate that Tim Eyman is still searching for a new benefactor to prop up his sputtering initiative factory, two months after the Mukilteo profiteer revealed he didn’t have the money lined up to buy his way onto the ballot this year.

Excluding a large money transfer from Help Us Help Taxpayers (another one of his PACs), Eyman’s reincarnated Voters Want More Choices committee has brought in just $15,200 so far this year. This sum, along with the aforementioned transfer, is being applied towards the loan Eyman took out against his house last year, leaving Voters Want More Choices with a deficit of $196,101.06.

Years ago, such a debt would have been insignificant, because Eyman’s wealthy benefactor would have taken care of it with a check or two. But so far in 2011, nobody with deep pockets has come to Eyman’s rescue.

If Eyman can’t find a benefactor, he will likely end the year still in debt. At present, Voters Want More Choices is taking in an average of only $7,600 a month. Even if Eyman managed to double his monthly average starting this month, he’d still finish 2011 with only $152,000 raised – not enough to cancel the debt.

Eyman won’t be able to use all of what he raises to pay off his loan, either, because he’ll presumably need to pay himself and his associates.

Eyman no doubt recognizes the predicament he’s in, which explains why he sounds so desperate in his recent letters and emails. Without money – lots of money – the gears of his initiative factory cannot turn.

That was quite evident two months ago when Eyman revealed that, for the first time since the new millennium began, he wouldn’t be doing a signature drive this spring. Instead, he used his annual press conference in the Secretary of State’s office to announce his plans for 2012. It was a telling moment.

Without his initiative factory, Eyman has no real power. He needs it to be in operation so he can enjoy the occasional success and remain relevant.

If history is any indication, Eyman will find a new wealthy benefactor. That’s why it’s important that we spend 2011 in infrastructure-building mode. We have to assume that an I-1053 clone will be on the ballot in 2012, and we have to be prepared to respond forcefully. Voters need to understand what measures like I-1053 are really designed to do: take away majority rule and sabotage representative democracy.

February 22nd, 2011

In fundraising letter, Eyman claims he has “whittled down” I-1053 debt to “below $200K”

Eye on Money: Developments

Since announcing to his followers that he was “hitting the big panic button” a few weeks ago, Tim Eyman has managed to shave $38,000 plus off the total amount of his outstanding debt from last year. Or so he claims in a fundraising appeal recently sent out via snail mail and forwarded to NPI’s Permanent Defense.

The letter doesn’t say how Eyman managed to “whittle” his I-1053 down to “under $200k”; nor does it disclose exactly how much of Eyman’s debt is still outstanding.

Given how anemic Eyman’s fundraising has been, we’re inclined to think at least a chunk of that money is from either wealthy conservatives (like Bellevue Square owner Kemper Freeman Jr., an Eyman fan) or from corporations (Association of Washington Business chieftain Don Brunell urged lobbyists last fall to help Eyman cover his debt).

Reports for contributions received in February are due March 10th, so at that time, we should be able to see just who has been funneling money into Eyman’s presently idle initiative factory… if Eyman’s treasurer files the reports on time.

February 2nd, 2011

Eyman says he’s “hitting the big panic button”

Eye on Money: Developments

Apparently unable to convince either corporate lobbyists or Michael Dunmire to pony up the cash needed to pay off the $250,000 loan he took out against his house to help finance I-1053, Tim Eyman is shaking his electronic tin cup harder than ever, pleading with his supporters to help pay off the debt so he can move forward with his next scheme. In a message sent out this morning, Eyman says:

I haven’t been showing it, but I’m seriously concerned. We are raising funds for the next 2/3’s initiative and to pay off my 2nd mortgage loan (when donations weren’t coming in fast enough to pay the bills for last year’s I-1053 signature drive, I loaned the campaign $250,000 that got I-1053 over the finish line). I said to myself “it’s either this or we fail” and decided that I-1053 was just too important to fall short. So I jumped off that steep cliff hoping and praying that our supporters — all of you — would catch me this year. We have spent the last month highlighting some bad anti-1053 bills, asking you to email legislators, and helping with some local initiatives. But thus far, we’ve not hit the big panic button on this top priority.

I’m doing so now: THIS IS ME HITTING THE BIG PANIC BUTTON.

Eyman claims he has only managed to pay off $12,000 of the $250,000 loan, leaving him with $238,000 in debt. “[I]magine how scary that is for the Eyman family,” he says later in the message.

Wait a second… Tim Eyman is asking for sympathy? Now that’s rich!

Considering the way he treats others (belittling elected leaders, demonizing public servants, and attempting to undermine the public’s trust in government), he’s the last person in the state who is deserving of anyone’s sympathy.

Eyman created his own financial crisis by using his house as collateral to secure funds for his 2010 initiative. He took a risk and now he’s going to have to deal with the consequences. Given how little money he raised independently last year (more than 80% of the money for I-1053 came from corporations) we’re guessing the loan won’t be paid off until Eyman hooks up with a new sugar daddy… or an old one.

November 2nd, 2010

Two out of three corporate initiatives passing easily, including Tim Eyman’s I-1053

Election PostmortemRethinking and Reframing

As expected, the two corporate initiatives that public interest advocates failed to effectively organize and mobilize against – Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053 and the American Beverage Association’s Initiative 1107 – are passing handily in the first returns to be reported.

The success of I-1053 and I-1107 deals Washington’s fragile common wealth a devastating blow at a time when many families are especially in need of vital public services, particularly the state’s safety net.

It’s clear from the big margins that both I-1053 and I-1107 are getting that voters didn’t comprehend the true consequences of either when filling out their ballots. They didn’t realize that I-1053 sabotages our cherished tradition of majority rule, and has caused legislative gridlock in states like California. They didn’t realize that I-1107 destroys revenue that has been helping to keep our safety net from being eviscerated. And no wonder: Few progressive organizations put any resources into telling the story of the harm 1053 and 1107 would — and now will — cause.

The word feeble doesn’t even begin to describe the efforts against 1053 and 1107, which were a failure in every respect. The consultants tasked with coming up with a plan for responding to the initiatives were resigned to what they felt was an inevitable defeat from the beginning. They created a self-fulfilling prophecy by opting against responding aggressively. The broad-based coalition against 1053 and 1107 thus existed in name only, and accomplished very little.

The lessons of the past were forgotten, opportunities to take action were squandered, and the decisions that did get made lacked input from the people actually in the trenches trying to defend our common wealth.

The result is a travesty. The Legislature’s efforts to responsibly close the most recent budget deficit have been undone, and worse, Article II, Section 22 of our Constitution has been sabotaged again, preventing the House and Senate from democratically acting to raise revenue to protect our common wealth in the future.

If we’ve learned one thing from this campaign, it’s that the state of paralysis and the mindset of resignation are our greatest enemies. Permanent Defense will work to overcome both in 2011 by attempting to build an unprecedented first line of defense against the next crop of right wing initiatives, including Tim Eyman’s next scheme to wreck government. We pledge to do our best to ensure that activists, citizens, and legislators who want to fight have the ability to do so, and are not marginalized by the indecision and defeatism of others.

October 29th, 2010

Eyman invites supporters to join him in crashing Dino Rossi and Dave Reichert’s Election Night party

Ballot WatchdoggingElection Postmortem

Unwilling to organize an Election Night party of his  own – either because almost nobody would come, or because he’s just too lazy to go to all the trouble of putting together an event – Tim Eyman has invited his supporters to join him in crashing Dino Rossi and Dave Reichert’s Election Night party at the Bellevue Hilton.

In an email, Eyman says:

Join us at the taxpayers’ victory celebration at the Bellevue Hilton (300 112th Ave SE) on election night (several other campaigns are going to be there too, making it much easier for all our supporters — having one big party is better than having lots of little ones). We’ll get there around 7:45 pm, polls close at 8:00 pm and our victory speech will be given at 8:05 pm.

In typical Eyman fashion, Tim makes it sound like he was responsible for creating a grand taxpayers’ victory celebration that other campaigns are participating in. The reality is, he’s crashing the biggest Republican Election Night party in King County, just as he has for the past several years.

What we want to know is, why didn’t he take advantage of  his friends at BP, Shell, Tesoro, ConocoPhillips, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and get them to pony up some moolah for a nice big party? What’s the use of having wealthy corporations as allies if they can’t at least underwrite a rockin’ party?

October 14th, 2010

BP again donates to 1053; JPMorgan Chase joins pantheon of greedy corporations trying to sabotage democracy

Ballot WatchdoggingEye on Money: Developments

As elections officials across Washington State prepare to put several million ballots in the mail to Washingtonians, skittish corporate operatives working for the Association of Washington Business are busily soliciting and accepting funds to prop up Tim Eyman’s scheme to sabotage our democracy, which they apparently fear isn’t going to sell itself despite Tim’s gift for media manipulation.

Days after the AWB itself loaned $60,000 to “Citizens for Responsible Spending” (which is not run by or for any “citizens”), a new onslaught of checks suddenly began arriving from wealthy corporations.

Since the beginning of the month, Tesoro and ConocoPhillips have each put up another $25,000, while BP contributed $35,000, bringing its aggregate total to $100,000 and making it the single largest corporate donor to Tim Eyman’s assault on our cherished tradition of majority rule.

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase, which acquired WaMu from the FDIC in a hastily-arranged fire sale only two years ago, sent in $30,000 at about the same time. Chase is the fourth Wall Street bank to contribute to I-1053 (the others are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and USBank).

“It’s ironic that so many Wall Street banks, which nearly collapsed under the weight of all the bad bets they made, are trying to wreck our state government so it can’t work for us after being bailed out by the federal government,” said NPI Executive Director Andrew Villeneuve. “Their shamelessness knows no bounds. Let’s be clear: This is about wanton, unchecked greed. It’s as simple as that. ”

An updated analysis by NPI has found that a whopping ninety one percent of the money behind I-1053 came from a corporation. Only nine percent came from individuals, and some of the individual donors are affiliated with corporations that donated.

The analysis found that:

  • $315,000 came from big oil companies,
  • $305,589.89 came from corporate trade groups and lobbies like the Farm Bureau, Realtors, Bankers Association, and the Association of Washington Business,
  • $93,000 came from timber and pulp companies,
  • $57,500 came from Wall Street banks,
  • $65,000 came from real estate developers like Kemper Freeman Jr./Martin Selig,
  • $114,968.00 came from other companies large and small, including Alaska Airlines, Philip Morris USA, Schnitzer Steel, Liberty Mutual Group, and Simplot.
  • Only $91,123.40 came from individuals.

A breakdown is available at StopGreed.org.

“Were it not for the likes of BP, Bank of America, Tesoro, JPMorgan Chase, ConocoPhillips, and Simpson/Green Diamond Resource Co., we would not be voting on Initiative 1053. This is not a citizen’s initiative. It’s a cold, caclulated attempt to trick we the people of Washington into giving up our sovereignty,” Villeneuve said. “The corporate lobbyists behind 1053 want to tighten their grip on our Capitol. Under this measure, all they have to do is persuade seventeen of Washington’s forty nine senators to side with them and they can defeat any bill that would end their special tax breaks. That’s not democratic, fair, or constitutional.”

Learn more about why Initiative 1053 is a bad idea.

August 25th, 2010

Eyman asks followers to help him retire his debt; fails to acknowledge or thank his corporate backers

Eye on Money: DevelopmentsRethinking and Reframing

Admitting that “times are tough for everyone”, Mukilteo initiative profiteer Tim Eyman shook his electronic tin cup again today, asking his followers to help retire $250,000 in debt he incurred while trying to come up with funds for I-1053’s signature drive.

“After paying for mortgage/rent, vehicle costs, food, and other family expenses, it’s difficult to find ‘extra money’ to support political efforts, like our initiatives, that move our state in a more pro-freedom, pro-reform, pro-taxpayer direction,” Eyman wrote.  “We understand that. So as donations were coming in for I-1053’s signature drive, it became increasingly apparent that they weren’t coming in at a pace that would have allowed the signature drive to be successful.”

Translation: Eyman couldn’t get seed money from his sugar daddy Michael Dunmire for I-1053 early this year, which meant the measure’s signature drive was in jeopardy. Eyman was thus compelled to take matters into his own hands.

Eyman’s base of grassroots right-wing donors shriveled up long ago; Dunmire has been underwriting Eyman’s campaigns with six figure checks since his failed partnership with the gambling industry in 2004.

This year, however, Dunmire was apparently unwilling to refill Eyman’s coffers as he has for the past half-decade. Eyman started borrowing against his house – again – but this time, with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be enough. So while he looked for a new patron (or patrons), he went into debt.

As Eyman related in his email (referring to himself in the third person):

[F]rom May through June, Tim accessed his bank’s line of credit, secured by a 2nd mortgage on his home, and loaned the signature drive for I-1053 a total of $250,000 ($50,000 in April, $40,000 in May, $70,000 in early June and $90,000 in late June). This was, by no means, our first choice. But given the difficulty of our supporters to donate to our initiative during these tough economic times, it was the only way we could ensure the success of I-1053.

When Eyman says “our supporters”, he’s obviously referring to the dwindling number of loyal donors who have stuck with him year after year, contributing to each new initiative effort.

But what about his new patrons… the corporations and trade groups that put up most of the money for Initiative 1053? Don’t they get any acknowledgment or thanks?

The only reason I-1053 “made it” is because several dozen corporations collectively put up close to $600,000 to help Eyman. Not counting Eyman’s loan, their contributions constitute about 76% of the funding for I-1053. That’s more than three fourths!

The top corporate and trade group contributors to I-1053 are:

  • BP (yes, that BP) – $65,000
  • Tesoro – $65,000
  • ConocoPhillips – $50,000
  • Shell – $50,000
  • Washington Farm Bureau – $50,000
  • Washington Restaurant Association- $45,000
  • Washington Realtors – $25,000
  • Washington Beverage Association (Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper) – $20,000
  • Kemper Holdings – $20,000

Banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, USBank, and the Community Bankers of Washington, put up a combined $37,500. Timber companies, including Sierra Pacific Industries, Boise, Green Diamond Resource Company, Weyerhaeuser, and Port Blakely Tree Farms, likewise put up a combined $38,000.

What do these corporations stand to gain from Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053?

The answer is simple. I-1053 helps them keep their special tax breaks and loopholes in place, because it destroys equal representation in our Legislature. It makes the votes of lawmakers who support the agenda of these corporations worth more than the votes of lawmakers who put the public’s interest first.

See, despite possessing overwhelming wealth and power, these corporations and their lobbyists simply don’t feel like they’re in control of our state.

They are not confident that they’ll be able to buy the votes they need in the future to block legislation they don’t like.

So they are trying to change the rules, as an insurance policy, out of greed, to undemocratically allow a submajority to block revenue increases.

If Initiative 1053 passes, the payoff for these corporations will be much bigger than the money they sunk into it. And that’s what this is all about: Greed.

A desire for bigger, fatter profits.

They don’t care if Washington State goes into the red and has to lay off thousands of public workers, thereby destroying any hope of an economic recovery. They don’t care about our quality of life. They don’t care about our Constitution, the thoughtfully-designed system of law established more than a century ago by our founders. What they want is to get ahead at the expense of everybody else… damn the consequences.

And that’s just wrong.

The team at NPI and Permanent Defense urge Washingtonians to join us this autumn in upholding our Constitution and voting NO on Initiative 1053.

July 19th, 2010

Statement on Initiative 1053’s qualification for the ballot

Statements & AdvisoriesThreat Analysis

Earlier today, Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office announced that Initiative 1053 had passed a random sample check of its signatures, which means it will be on this November’s ballot. NPI and Permanent Defense are responding by kicking efforts to oppose Initiative 1053 into higher gear.

“Initiative 1053 may be sponsored by Tim Eyman, but it was bought and paid for by big oil companies and big banks that want to rewrite the rules of our democracy so they can keep our tax system unfair and regressive,” said NPI Executive Director Andrew Villeneuve. “It’s a shameless plot to wreck government and end our cherished tradition of majority rule.”

Analysis prepared by Permanent Defense not only lays out the case against I-1053’s constitutionality, but also explains that is undemocratic, unfair, and unsound as well.

“In the next few months, we will be doing everything we can to help voters understand that this initiative is really about sabotaging our democracy so that corporate lobbyists can strengthen their grip over state government,” Villeneuve said.

“NPI and Permanent Defense will work together with a broad coalition of organizations and individuals who care about our common wealth and our system of government to ensure that Initiative 1053 is defeated.”

July 14th, 2010

PDC reports for June 2010 show that Tim Eyman is rolling in corporate cash

Ballot WatchdoggingEye on Money: DevelopmentsThreat Analysis

This morning, Tim Eyman sent out another email to his supporters thanking them for their efforts getting Initiative 1053 on the ballot.

Eyman wrote: “When Olympia sidesteps a law like I-960 (which voters approved in 2007), they count on the citizens to not have the energy or enthusiasm to roll that boulder back up the mountain again.  They count on us to give up — to throw up our hands and say ‘you can’t beat city hall.'”

Reporters with sharp eyes might have noticed there was a typo in that paragraph: the word “citizens” should be “corporations”.

After all, corporations like BP (big profits… bad people… yes, that BP) are the only reason Initiative 1053 is on the ballot.

New PDC reports filed by Tim Eyman’s campaign committee for June 2010 reveal that a massive influx of corporate cash helped the Mukilteo profiteer buy the signatures he needed to get on the ballot during the final few weeks of initiative season.

Yesterday evening, the NPI Advocate broke the news that BP – the polluting oil giant responsible for the biggest environmental disaster in American history – is one of the top donors to I-1053. BP shelled out a combined $65,000 to two I-1053 political action committees in June… Voters Want More Choices and “Citizens for Responsible Spending”.

Other corporations that ponied up for I-1053 include Bank of America, USBank, Alaska Airlines, Sierra Pacific Industries, Green Diamond Resource Co., Tesoro, Equilon, Liberty Mutual, Plum Creek, Darigold, and ConocoPhillips. Several trade groups, including the Washington Oil Marketers Association, Washington Farm Bureau, Washington Restaurant Association, and Washington Bankers Association, are also principal donors to the campaign.

“It’s clear from these June reports that corporate lobbyists have taken over for Michael Dunmire as Tim Eyman’s sugar daddy,” said NPI Executive Director Andrew Villeneuve in a news release sent out to the traditional media.

“For years, Eyman has blasted ‘big business’ as an enemy of the people and an obstacle to his initiatives. Now, he’s rolling in their cash. How ironic.”

“And yet, it is fitting that Tim Eyman and many of America’s biggest and most irresponsible corporations are now joined at the hip,” Villeneuve observed. “They’re both united by a shared vice: Greed. At a time when we need to be pulling together and strengthening our common wealth to ensure our economy recovers, they are trying to put themselves ahead of everybody else.”

Oil companies already receive huge federal subsidies and banks have benefited from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, otherwise known as the bank bailout.

“The corporations that are backing Tim Eyman continue to take advantage of our federal common wealth whilst writing big checks to an initiative that would prevent our Legislature from acting to protect public services here in this Washington,” Villeneuve said. “They have a shameless double standard. They’ll take as much as they can for themselves, but they don’t want to pay their dues.”

NPI and Permanent Defense recently launched a new website to expose the corporations that are trying to make a quick buck by conning the people of Washington into voting for ill-conceived initiatives that would weaken or privatize public services.

This website, StopGreed.org, includes a Rogues’ Gallery profiling the corporations that have sunk the most money into five initiatives that will appear on this November’s ballot. The Gallery will be updated accordingly to reflect the latest PDC reports this week and in the weeks to come.

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Visit StopGreed.org to learn about three harmful right wing initiatives we're opposing that are headed for the November general election ballot

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Permanent Defense works to protect Washington by building a first line of defense against threats to the common wealth and Constitution of the Evergreen State — like Tim Eyman's initiative factory. Learn more.

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