OLYMPIA — Republican leaders say they may offer an alternative to House Democrats' supplemental budget, which is itself an alternative to Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal.

At a noon press conference, House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt of Chehalis said Republicans have enough differences with the Democratic plan announced Tuesday they may offer a “striker” — that is, a substitute proposal — when the spending plan for the next 5 months reaches the House floor.

“We're floating up a test balloon to see if anybody (from the Democratic side) comes along,” DeBolt said.

Republicans are particularly opposed to transfers, a term for using money in separate funds for general operating fund expenses. If they can't swap their plan for the Democrats' budget, they say they won't support any spending plan that move money around or relies on what Gregoire acknowledged was an accounting gimmick, delaying a payment to schools due on June 30, the last day of this biennium, until July 1, so it would show up in the next biennium.

“We're very clear about not doing any transfers,” Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt said. Republicans believe the delayed payment would create a  hole at the end of the 2011-13 budget cycle that would lead to a call for higher taxes at a time when the supermajority requirement could be more easily amended.

This is an interesting depiction of the presidential vote for Democrats and Republicans over the last 90 years compiled by David Sparks of Duke University.

Anyone want to suggest a sound track to go along with it?

OLYMPIA — House and Senate Republican leaders denounced budgets proposals from the other party for raising taxes that will touch everyone and hurt small businesses.

Sen. Joe Zarelli, of Ridgefield, the GOP’s top numbers guy in the Legislature, said the wide array of potential tax increases would hit car buyers and home buyers, both of which are needed to fuel the recovery.

They would create imbalances for communities that border another state, encouraging people to drive across state lines to buy gasoline, candy, soda or bottled water, and discourage out of state residents from shopping in Washington, he said during a sit-down session GOP leaders had with the  news media.

That’s a conglomeration of tax proposals from Gov. Chris Gregoire and Senate Democrats. The two proposals differ significantly in which taxes they’d raise or institute in an attempt to balance some program cuts with new sources of money. As of noon, the House had yet to announce a tax package to explain how it would raise an extra $857 million.

Rep. Gary Alexander, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee wondered how the panel will hold hearings on a budget that doesn’t spell out taxes. “We don’t even know what the “Means” are.”

Vice President Joe Biden makes a stop in Seattle Friday morning to help raise money for Sen. Patty Murray’s re-election campaign.

Normally Spin Control wouldn’t care because a) it’s closed to the press except for a pool reporter which ain’t us; 2) it’s in Seattle, which is a bit of a schlep to see folks going in for breakfast; and thirdly we kinda already knew Murray was running for re-election.

Then Republicans called with notice of a special phone-in press conference Thursday in which Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was going to discuss Biden’s visit to Seattle for Murray. That was a phone call, rather than a schlep, so Spin Control dialed in…

If you’re sweetie is a red-blooded Republican, you probably lie awake nights thinking of the appropriate greetings for Valentine’s Day.

Now you can get some sleep, thanks to the Republican National Committee, who is happy to provide a series of e-cards making fun of their (and possibly your V-day crush’s) least favorite Democrats. So  much more touching that flowers, sweeter than chocolates, and a chance to give money to the RNC rather than Hallmark.

Above is one of 18 cards. The rest can be found here. 

Inland Northwest Democrats who belittle the Tea Party gatherings of last Wednesday do so at their peril.

Inland Northwest Republicans who embrace them wholeheartedly could be in for a few surprises.

In terms of number of venues and total participants, the demonstrations outstripped any protests in recent history.

The Spokane event may not have been significantly larger than the city’s biggest Iraq War protest in 2003. But even if both attracted between 2,000 and 3,000 people – crowd estimates are extremely difficult and notoriously unreliable, so there’s no sense even debating which had more people – it’s important to remember that Wednesday’s Tea Party in Spokane was one of about a dozen within a two-hour drive.

There may have been another 1,000 over time in Coeur d’Alene’s city park, plus gatherings in Colville and Colfax, Priest River and Moscow. If total numbers count…

Inland Northwest Democrats who belittle the Tea Party gatherings of last Wednesday do so at their peril.

Inland Northwest Republicans who embrace them wholeheartedly could be in for a few surprises.

In terms of number of venues and total participants, the demonstrations outstripped any protests in recent history.

The Spokane event may not have been significantly larger than the city’s biggest Iraq War protest in 2003. But even if both attracted between 2,000 and 3,000 people – crowd estimates are extremely difficult and notoriously unreliable, so there’s no sense even debating which had more people – it’s important to remember that Wednesday’s Tea Party in Spokane was one of about a dozen within a two-hour drive.

There may have been another 1,000 over time in Coeur d’Alene’s city park, plus gatherings in Colville and Colfax, Priest River and Moscow. If total numbers count…

Fresh off the screen from TalkingPointsMemo, the quick look at Friday.

In an interview last week, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers fairly succinctly described the problem a Republican governor would be in right now when faced with the prospect of taking or not taking federal money from the economic stimulus package.

“It would be very difficult to say ‘No’ to money from the federal government,” the Eastern Washington Republican, who voted against the bill, said.

The Sunday talking head shows gave lots more depth and context to that dilemma, with Republican governors taking opposing sides.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal plans to say ‘No’ to some things.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is saying ‘Yes.’