OLYMPIA — Debate over the same-sex marriage bill is scheduled for 6 p.m. this evening in the Senate.

Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, the bill's prime sponsor, estimates a couple hours for debate, although it could go longer.

Will probably depend on the number of amendments, and the stamina of the two sides.

We'll be live blogging the debate here at Spin Control, and providing full coverage in Thursday's print edition and the web page.

Someone called to ask what station is carrying the GOP presidential debate, and what time is it on.

The answer: 5 p.m. on MSNBC, wherever that falls on your cable box. The listing was not in the daily TV log in today's paper. Sorry about that, but it was apparently added to the schedule after the listings were compiled, fairly far in advance.

For those wondering, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be there. He skipped a debate earlier this week because of wildfires in Texas, but did make the trip to the Reagan Library in California for this debate.

Also expected on stage: Michele Bachman, Herb Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

Sarah Palin isn't attending. But then, she's not a candidate at this point, either.

Moderators are Brian Williams of NBC and John Harris of Politico.

Want to read some early analysis?

Here's something from USA Today. Here's a longer piece from The Washington Post.

Democratic challenger Daryl Romeyn painted Cathy McMorris Rodgers as a do-nothing incumbent who has no solutions for federal deficits, illegal immigration, high school dropouts or childhood obesity.
McMorris Rodgers suggested Romeyn was someone who didn’t understand complex forest issues and would tax small businesses out of existence and set off a trade war with China.
In their first – and likely only – televised debate, the three-term congresswoman and the former television reporter agreed on very little Tuesday except for the importance of the American dream and the need to secure the nation’s borders before addressing other problems with illegal immigration. Those few seconds of agreement on immigration were closed off with Romeyn’s suggestion that she should’ve done something about it already: “She’s been there six years.”
Asked how to cut unemployment and boost the region’s economy, Romeyn suggested programs to boost the timber and farm communities and manufacture airplane parts. McMorris Rodgers said it’s not government programs but government stability on taxes, regulations and health care costs that will get businesses hiring again.
“We need to calm the waters, first of all,” she said.

In what may be the most anticipated 5th District Congressional debate in years, Republican incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Democratic challenger Daryl Romeyn go head-to-head tonight on television.

They’ll be answering questions from a panel that includes Spokesman-Review reporter and Spin Control contributor Jonathan Brunt, public radio’s Doug Nadvornik, and KXLY-TV’s Robin Nance. KXLY-TV’s Nadine Woodward is the moderator. (So Nance and Woodward are switching roles from last week’s U.S. Senate debate.)

The anticipation isn’t because the race is thought to be particularly close, or because the two are recognized as master debaters, but because at various times they both refused to do this debate, the only televised matchup proposed for the race. The agreement wasn’t reached until early Monday, which is way quick for a televised debate.

Because the debate is being taped earlier in the day, there are two chances to see it: 7 p.m. on KXLY-TV and 8 p.m. on KSPS-TV. KXLY will also stream it live on the station’s web site.

And, of course, there will be coverage on spokesman.com this evening, and in Wednesday’s newspaper. 

Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Daryl Romeyn will debate after all on Tuesday, it seems.

The incumbent Republican congresswoman and the Democratic challenger, who each at one point turned down an invitation to debate for scheduling reasons, reportedly have cleared their respective calendars for Tuesday afternoon. They’ll tape a debate in the afternoon that will be aired at 7 p.m. on KXLY-TV and 8 p.m. on KSPS-TV.

“Both sides have agreed to be there tomorrow,” Jill Johnson, the producer of the debate, said Monday morning.

Each candidate came under fire last week for turning down the debate, which has been under discussion since mid August. McMorris Rodgers’ campaign declined to participate last Monday, citing “scheduling constraints,” prompting Romeyn to say her refusal was denying him a chance to be heard.

McMorris Rodgers staff contacted Johnson Friday morning, saying they would clear her schedule for the debate. But on Friday evening, Romeyn told KXLY-TV that he wouldn’t agree because he’d scheduled something after she turned down the debate and he couldn’t get out of his commitment. If McMorris Rodgers wanted to debate him, she should appear at one of the places he intended to be, he said.

Sunday night, however, Romeyn contacted Johnson and said he’d be willing to debate after all. After contacting the two stations sponsoring the debate, she said the debate could be taped at 3 p.m. for broadcast that evening

Just days after saying Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ refusal to debate was denying him a voice, congressional challenger Daryl Romeyn refused to debate when she changed her mind and offered to debate next week.

Whether the two candidates will meet face-to-face before the Nov. 2 election seems doubtful, but one thing seems sure. There will be no televised debate next week on KSPS-TV and KXLY-TV.

McMorris Rodgers’ campaign contacted debate organizers on Friday,saying she wanted to withdraw her withdrawal from the Oct. 19 debate. The campaign said earlier in the week that she wouldn’t participate due to “scheduling constraints.” Producer Jill Johnson got tentative approval from the two stations, but couldn’t contact Romeyn until the evening after he’d been interviewed on KXLY-TV’s 6 p.m. newscast where he said he wasn’t going to agree to the new offer.

To read more about the debate over a debate that turned into a non-debate, read this morning’s story.

A few days after saying they couldn’t fit a debate into Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ schedule, the Republican incumbent’s campaign has shifted course and asked if she could debate Daryl Romeyn after all.

The campaign called KSPS-TV producer Jill Johnson this morning, asking if the offer to debate on Channel 7 and KXLY-TV next week was still open. Johnson said she would check with the two stations, and Romeyn, to see if it could be arranged. 

Nothing definite yet, Johnson said, because she now needs to contact Romeyn, who’d been told the debate was off. “We’re interested in making it happen,” she said.

Earlier in the week, the campaign had declined that matchup, the one proposed televised debate for the 5th Congressional District, because of “scheduling constraints.”

A post Wednesday in Spin Control and a story in the Spokesman-Review on Thursday noted that McMorris Rodgers had turned down that debate and no others were scheduled, which suggested Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District might be without a face-to-face debate for the first time in decades. That story apparently struck a chord with readers, and is currently the most-commented story on the newspaper’s Web site.

UPDATE: McMorris Rodgers’ campaign issued a press release this afternoon saying she has agreed to the debate, although Johnson said she had yet to contact Romeyn to confirm that he could schedule it. The text of the McMorris Rodgers press release can be found inside the blog.

After last night’s Senate debate, the two combatants — er, candidates — came out for the obligatory post-event press conference to answer questions. The obligatory first question was, how do you think you did.

Surprisingly, each thought they did well, but their opponent? Not so much.

“I feel great about it,” Sen. Patty Murray said, reiterating what she repeated several times, that she had answer questions but her opponent had not.

“I think it went well,” challenger Dino Rossi said, grousing slightly that they didn’t get a question about the bailouts. But he answered the questions, he added, and Murray didn’t.

(An aside: From the debate set, it seemed each had instances where they preferred to answer the questions they wanted to be asked, rather than the questions they actually were asked. Don’t know if it looked like that on television.)

Both campaigns were attempting to “fact check” the opponents answers during the debate, sending out e-mails questioning the veracity of some part of an answer.

First to declare victory was the Washington State Republican Party, for Rossi. Amazingly enough, they declared victory at 8:01 p.m. with a written statement quoting state chairman Luke Esser. So folks at the state GOP can either type really fast or were predisposed to declare Rossi the victor. We’re guessing the former.

Rossi’s campaign declared victory at 8:08 p.m., and the Murray campaign at 8:18 p.m., because they first issued one more challenge to something Rossi said in the closing minutes.

Strangely enough, the Rossi and Murray camps agreed on one key point: that the debate offered the voters a “clear choice” in the election. Considering that both sides have commercials suggesting the opponent is so low they’d have to climb an extension ladder to be equal to pond scum, that may be welcome news to voters thinking there’s not a dimes worth of difference between these folks.

If you want to decide for yourself, click on the box above to see the debate, courtesy of KXLY-TV’s website.

Sen. Patty Murray and Republican challenger Dino Rossi have arrived for the first televised debate in Washington’s state Senate race.

That means the partisans who arrived to cheer one or jeer the other have dispersed, but not before a person taking issue with their demonstration was detained by police for brandishing a cleaver at the Murray demonstrators.

The man had driven past several times, flashing half of the old “Peace” sign and eventually waving a cleaver out his car window. From inside the studio, it’s not immediately clear if he was just detained, cited or taken to that buildilng behind the courthouse for a discussion about the right and wrong time to flash cutlery.

Say what you will, I’ll bet there won’t be any cleavers brandished at the debate in Seattle on Sunday.

Debate starts live at 7 p.m.

The first debate in Washington’s U.S. Senate race between Patty Murray and Dino Rossi comes to you live from Spokane at 7 p.m.

It will be carried on KXLY-TV and KSPS-TV in Spokane and surrounding communities, on public television stations throughout Washington including KCTS Channel 9  in Seattle, and on the second digital channel for KOMO-TV in Seattle. [Update: KXLY also will be streaming the debate.]

Candidates arrive at the KSPS studio on the South Hill between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and the campaigns can be expected to have folks to cheer their candidate and jeer the opponent on the sidewalk, so be advised if your normal commute takes you up Regal at that time.

Partisans will likely leave shortly after 6, because there won’t be much to see after the candidates get inside, and they want to get somewhere to watch. Democrats and Republicans each have their own debate watch parties: Rs at the Quality Inn Valley Suites at I-90 and Argonne; Ds at Toad Hall at 1427 W. Dean.

Format is a one-hour session with questions e-mailed in from the public and from a panel of reporters. (Full disclosure: I’m on the panel so this might be considered a shameless plug. Jonathan Brunt will be covering the debate for Friday morning’s S-R.)

Not to be out-partied by Republicans, local Democrats have scheduled a debate watch party for the live televised face-off between Dino Rossi and Patty Murray.

Democrats will be snacking and cheering at one of their favorite hangouts, Toad Hall, not far from the County Courthouse north of downtown Spokane.

As mentioned previously, the Republicans of Spokane County will be debate-watching (excuse the terrible verb construction) at the Quality Inn in Spokane Valley, I-90 and Argonne.

The Republicans of Spokane County don’t have the word “party” in their club’s name. But they plan to make up for that on Thursday with a party in fact.

They’ll be hosting a party at the Quality Inn Valley Suites, Argonne at I-90, to watch the first live debate between their fave, Dino Rossi and Sen. Patty Murray, the incumbent Democrat.

The “social” part of the event starts at 6:30 p.m. The debate starts live at 7 p.m.

Although they are a partisan group, they should be commended for using equally mediocre photos of the two candidates for their invitation.

OLYMPIA — Opening salvo in the Senate debate over a package of tax increases to help ballot the state’s operating budget.

Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, argues the whole bill is unconstitutional because it contains too many subjects. It’s logrolling, he contends.

This bill contains 21 different taxes and I don’t believe any one of these can stand on their own,” he says.

Senate Tracey Eide, D-Des Moines, counters the title of the bill is broad enough to cover everything in the bill.

Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, presiding over the Senate, breaks to make a ruling on Benton’s point of order: “The title properly reflects the content of the bill. Sen. Benton’s point of order is not well taken.”

Debate on amendments will begin.

OLYMPIA — A Republican amendment described as an attempt to fix technical problems with the title is being discussed.

“Enough is enough,” Sen. Rodney Tom, a Democratic vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee argues. “It’s time to vote” on the bill itself.

Amendment fails 22-26, like the previous ones, with all Republicans and Democrats Tim Sheldon and Chris Marr voting yes.

OLYMPIA —First up is a Republican amendment that limits the suspension for just this session.

Sen. Mike Carrell, R, warns that if Democrats repeal the provisions of Initiative 960, “there will be another referendum in November” on them.

Sen. Pam Roach, R: “There will probably be a new initative on the ballot, too.”

Sen. Val Stevens, R, quotes Abraham Lincoln in warning against “thwarting the will of the people. You are telling the people…we know better than you, we are a monarchy.”

Sen. Tim Sheldon, D, says initiatives are special because they can’t be vetoed by the governor, and are in the state constitution ahead of legislative powers.

Sen. Mike Carrell, R: “These are serious times. These are not times we should look at further burdening the people. Let’s just do it for one year, if you feel you must do it.”

Amendment fails 21-27, with Republicans, plus Sheldon and Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, voting yes.

OLYMPIA — A debate on how to debate the changes to tax-raising laws pits Republicans, who want to be able to have unlimited debate, against Democrats, who say that three-minutes per senator is enough and unlimited debate is really just obstructionism.

Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said the three-minute speech rule should be suspended for “one of the critical issues of this session.”

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said that proposal is “in the spirit of obstrucing” the issue through filibustering. With five different amendments, and each of the 49 senators speaking, that’s 250 speakers. At three-minutes per, they could be there all day, she noted.

“We’re prepared to be here as long as it takes,” Brown said.

Schoesler’s proposal dies on a party-line vote.