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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Sen. Murray on Powerful Budget Conference Committee

News   April 24, 2009 at 5:39 pm Chris Kissel

I know it probably looks like we’re using Twitter to stalk Ron Sims, but once again he’s earned the coveted Twitter of the Day award—this time because he tipped us off to Sen. Patty Murray’s leading lady status in the budget negotiations.

simsron1

Sen. Murray, with Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH), was chosen to represent the Senate in conference committee talks on the 2010 budget resolution.

And the Democrats have got a big advantage: Language allowing a super-rare, old-school process called “reconciliation”  is going to govern the process. This would only affect health care and education provisions, but it would allow those budget items to be passed with a simple majority, rather than the usual two-thirds majority, eliminating the need for GOP support.

Ironically, back in 2005, Murray came out strongly against the use of reconciliation when the GOP deployed it to make sizable cuts to the 2006 budget.


  • Luigi Giovanni

    Ron Sims just cost the taxpayers of King County another needless $225,000.

    http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_king_county_blogger.html

    Thanks a lot, Ron.

  • Luigi Giovanni

    Ron Sims just cost the taxpayers of King County another needless $225,000.

    http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_king_county_blogger.html

    Thanks a lot, Ron.

  • Trevor

    Here’s the thing about WA Democrats: they see no contradiction whatsoever in the fact that at the national level, they support Keynsian, counter-cyclical deficit spending to prevent the onset of an economic depression, while at the state level they undermine their own agenda by balancing the budget, not raising revenue, and cutting over 10,000 government jobs.

    Could Murray come back and explain some things to our state legislature before it’s too late? Or are our federal reps similarly clueless about why they’re promoting a stimulus package while state and local governments are not?

  • Trevor

    Here’s the thing about WA Democrats: they see no contradiction whatsoever in the fact that at the national level, they support Keynsian, counter-cyclical deficit spending to prevent the onset of an economic depression, while at the state level they undermine their own agenda by balancing the budget, not raising revenue, and cutting over 10,000 government jobs.

    Could Murray come back and explain some things to our state legislature before it’s too late? Or are our federal reps similarly clueless about why they’re promoting a stimulus package while state and local governments are not?