$200,000 Small Price To Pay To Avoid The ‘Hypothetical’
The election is over. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt is firmly in office and no longer at risk of losing votes by taking a stand.
Yet still he dodges an important and straightforward question: What will he do if Fairchild Air Force Base is proposed for closure?
“That’s probably too hypothetical,” says Nethercutt.
Fairchild provides 4,500 jobs in the community. It has a $350 million economic impact here. Militarily, Nethercutt himself says, it’s “absolutely necessary.”
(A “strong national defense,” incidentally, is a key element of House Republicans’ contract with America.)
A group of local business leaders agree that Fairchild is essential to national defense. They must not agree with him that the question is “too hypothetical” for a response, though. They’re preparing a $200,000 campaign to defend Fairchild.
You must pay the rent
A state office building in Spokane has been on the drawing board for decades, at least conceptually.
On the surface, the perennial debate about erecting an office building for the bulk of state agencies that operate in Spokane has focused on costefficiency and service delivery.
That’s on the surface. In reality, a major consideration is whether the loss of all those taxpayer-funded tenants would devastate local landlords.
The project is before the Legislature again, and lawmakers are being urged to turn it down. One opponent warned such a move could empty some downtown Spokane buildings.
Curiously, this concern comes primarily from voices that normally would vilify any government big enough and intrusive enough to have that kind of impact.
Quick-draw artists should wear steel-toed boots
It’s not the first time hasty lawmaking backfired. It’s one of the more blatant.
Reacting to public outrage over crime and violence, Washington’s Legislature last year passed a gun restriction so far-reaching that it even disarms many police officers.
The Legislature may remedy this snafu - perhaps without committing another. But the incident underscores the need to assess politicians according to how thoughtfully they respond rather than how quickly.
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