One of Democrats' greatest gifts to Republican lawmakers in recent years was Senate Bill 6900, a 2008 proposal for an engine displacement tax. It went nowhere -- didn't even get a hearing -- but continues to live on in the blogosphere. 

On WashingtonVotes.org, the bill continues to be one of the top 3 most-viewed bills, right up there with the similarly go-nowhere HB 3359 (requiring registration for pistol ammunition) and this year's early offering: SB 5104 to create a state income tax. (Of 147 lawmakers, SB 5104 has only a single sponsor.)

The specter of paying $325 a year displacement tax for that 350 under the hood has been a sure-fire torches-and-pitchforks line for rural Republicans, some of whom delighted in touting the (dead) bill in town meetings and newsletters.

"It's the gift that keeps on giving," one said.

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