Spin control: Taking the initiative to get out the vote

While more than a dozen Republicans and Democrats wander New Hampshire and Iowa this year trying to get a leg up on the 2008 presidential race, political strategists are trying to figure out something else about next year’s ballot.

Specifically, what kinds of initiatives can they get on the ballot to boost participation by “their” voters.

And what kinds of initiatives will the opposition come up with to boost participation among its voters.

“Both sides are using initiatives as a tool for political gain,” strategist Kristina Wilfore said during a visit to Spokane last week.

The executive director of the Washington, D.C., based Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Wilfore is on the liberal/progressive side of the political wars. But leaders on both sides practice Sun Tzu’s axiom of knowing one’s enemy, and she’s willing to concede that conservatives have done a better job in some areas of coming up with initiatives that stimulate certain types of voter turnout.

Gay marriage laws or constitutional amendments have been very successful in getting social conservatives to the polls in recent years, she said. Now that many states likely to pass such an initiative have done so, she thinks a proposal being floated in Arkansas to ban gay adoptions might be the next wave.

Washington state doesn’t have as much success with social conservative issues like gay marriage bans or abortion restrictions, but it does generate voters for tax restrictions from a strong populist-conservative voter block, she said. Immigration restrictions also might have strong populist appeal.

“We’ve been playing catch-up on the left,” Wilfore said.

Although Washington state passed a minimum wage initiative in 1998 that requires annual adjustments, other states were slow to follow. In 2006, minimum wage initiatives were likely the deciding factor in U.S. Senate races in Missouri and Ohio, she said.

For 2008, liberal groups might try initiatives on energy, global warming or a way to rein in rising gasoline prices. Also, look for “something around Iraq,” although it’s not clear whether it will be a proposal to urge governors to reject orders to activate National Guard units or greater mental health care for veterans or more benefits for vets’ children, she said.

There may also be some efforts to restrict predatory lending practices by capping interest rates on things like payday loans, although that’s not a clear-cut issue for any wedge in the political spectrum.

In some respects, the final details of the initiative aren’t the key to the strategy for either side, Wilfore said. Whether they pass or fail, initiatives on the ballot generate conversation among the candidates and help convert activists to campaign workers. And they could be the thing that sparks interest in a saturated electorate and a cash infusion from the deep pockets.

With the presidential races in full swing in 2007, “some voters are going to be burned by the time either side has a nominee,” she said. Because of contribution limits, the big donors might be tapped out for candidates and looking for other places to put their money.

So are initiatives about politics, or policy?

“Both,” Wilfore said. “We’re not going to get the policy we want until we change the politicians.”

Taking it to the sidewalks

The descriptions of what precipitated the July Fourth arrests of protesters in Riverfront Park are so varied that Spokane might not know for months – if ever – exactly what went on.

Police contend the protesters were disruptive, had signs that included “F—- Cops” and refused lawful orders to disperse before they were arrested for that and trespassing.

Protesters say they were basically just picnicking in the park after a demonstration elsewhere and were rushed by police, some of whom used the other f-word – the derogatory term for homosexuals – and manhandled them.

Yes, that’s a terribly abbreviated version of both sides. It’s intentional because that’s not the point.

The point is that this confrontation and ensuing court cases have the potential for uniting longtime liberal and progressive groups with the protesters, the core of whom are self-proclaimed anarchists.

It could be the impetus for more civilian control over Spokane police. It could play out as a significant issue in the city’s mayoral and council primaries. It could be the sign of a long, hot summer.

Or not. Spin Control does not have a good crystal ball. What it does have is a growing list of e-mail and blog chatter. That, plus a press release from one of the established groups, Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, calling for a demonstration in solidarity with the protesters, at 4:30 p.m. Monday, on the sidewalk between Mallon and Broadway, west of Monroe.

Unfamiliar with that location? It’s outside the Public Safety Building, which houses the city police.

Catch the candidates

Wednesday

Noon: Mayoral candidates forum sponsored by INBA, Europa Pizzaria & Bakery, 125 S. Wall, $15 for members and guests in advance, $18 at the door. Information (509) 455-3699.

5:30 p.m.: Spokane municipal candidates forum, sponsored by League of Women Voters, City Hall Council Chambers.