Hasson Could Have Spared County This Political Dilemma

Suddenly, Spokane County Commissioner Steve Hasson’s transmutation from Democrat to Republican actually may matter.

If the political dominoes fall in just the right (but unlikely) pattern, a current vacancy in Spokane County District Court could ignite a chain of events that eventually would involve Hasson moving to the Legislature.

At that point, Hasson’s conversion would force an interpretation of the state law that requires midterm vacancies be filled by the appointment of someone from the same party as the departing official.

But in Hasson’s case, which party is that? The one under whose banner he was elected and for which a majority of the people voted, or the one Hasson now embraces?

The answer will tell us whether the law and the courts hold the political system accountable to the people or the politicians.

Of course, if Hasson had wanted to spare the county this dilemma, he could have followed the model of Texas Sen. Phil Gramm. Gramm was a Democratic congressman in 1983 when he resigned, then changed parties and ran for his old office as a Republican.

Run it up the flagpole and see if anyone strikes a match

You heard it everywhere during last fall’s campaign: The federal government is too big and too intrusive.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich affirmed it again this month: “No longer will there be an arrogant attitude around here that says the Big Brother federal government knows best.”

With that message recorded on everyone’s political pager, the Washington state House of Representatives has passed a resolution asking Congress, in its superior wisdom, to propose a constitutional amendment banning flag-burning. Until now, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld flagburning as an exercise of free speech, objectionable or not, protected by the First Amendment.

The House resolution implies that Big Brother federal government does know better and, therefore, should diminish First Amendment freedoms.

Said state Rep. John Pennington, a Republican from (honest) Battle Ground, flag-burning constitutes “a slap in the face to every veteran who has served their country.”

Really? Were those veterans fighting for the right of a government to silence and possibly jail its critics?

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