Politics
Labor tightens the screws on Democrats in the legislature
Angry over setbacks in the 2009 session, labor lobbyists this year are threatening to sit out the next election or run candidates against backsliding Democrats.
Austin Jenkins
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Politics
Speaker Chopp unfurls his tax roadmap
Democrats are in a ticklish spot about the budget deficit. So they will shy away from a general tax increase and instead focus on "tax fairness," sticking it to out-of-state companies and airplane owners.
Politics
Year of the tax dragon
Gov. Gregoire and the Democratic legislature are finally forced to touch the political third rail of raising taxes.
Politics
In Olympia, recession is looking like an opportunity missed
Desperate times call for bold measures, but structural and political obstacles make any meaningful change unlikely, our columnist says.
Politics
Governor Snakebit
In her first term, Gov. Gregoire struggled to overcome a narrow victory. The second term has the recession, leaving no money for big new programs. That may leave government reform as the only way to regain momentum.