HERESY: “Republican” Joyce McDonald joins Dems in attacking the initiative process

by | Feb 1, 2018

For years, heroic Republican legislators like Pam Roach have protected the citizen initiative process from the Democrats yearly legislative attacks on the initiative process. Republicans under Pam’s leadership were united in saving this basic First Amendment right. This principled position brought the ACLU to her side, every newspaper to her side, and people from across the political spectrum to the common sense position that the cherished initiative process should be left alone.

Now, “Republican” Joyce McDonald is not only joining the Democrats, but she’s the lead sponsor of the bill (HB 1537) requiring people who collect signatures for initiatives to first be registered by the government, licensed by the government, trained by the government, subjected to criminal background checks, forced to submit a photo headshot of themselves, produce their drivers license, give the government their name, where they live, their phone number, their email address, and tell the government which initiatives they’ll be collecting signatures for. And within 2 days of registration, the government will then make it public who “these people are”, where they live, what they look like, and which initiatives they’ll working on.

It’s insanely dangerous.

Democrats have always supported anti-initiative bills like McDonald’s. But Speaker of the House Frank Chopp never allowed these anti-initiative bills to become law on a Democrat-only vote. He knows the only way to shut down the initiative process and still protect his Democrat majority was to sucker Republicans into doing the dirty work for him.

Pam Roach made sure that Republicans were unified against that.

Now Pam Roach’s courage and leadership have been replaced by Joyce McDonald’s callousness and cowardice. The contrast could not be more stark. Pam Roach’s pro-initiative legacy is being marred and scarred by Joyce McDonald’s anti-initiative heresy.

Democrats have only a slim majority in the House and Senate. So if Republicans are united, the only way an anti-initiative bill becomes a law is with Democrat-only votes which Frank Chopp won’t let happen. But if some Republicans like McDonald vote yes on these bills, Frank Chopp can let these bills become law and even let Democrats from conservative districts vote no.

This is a brutal betrayal.

Dante’s Inferno described the 9 Circles of Hell. There should be a 10th circle for legislators who put fellow citizens in danger for exercising a basic First Amendment right.

Below are the email addresses for just the Republican legislators in the House and Senate. Tell them what you think about Joyce McDonald’s betrayal and how you’ll react if other Republicans back these anti-initiative bills.

Send them an email that says this or something like this (tell ’em what you think):

“Republican legislators, for years we have relied on you to protect the initiative process from the Democrats’ yearly legislative attacks on it. I am incensed that Pam Roach’s pro-initiative principled position has been so quickly forgotten within the Republican caucuses. I am livid that ‘Republican” Joyce McDonald is selling us out. It is heresy. Tomorrow morning (Friday) is bill cut-off and so anti-initiative bills like McDonald’s House Bill 1537 and ‘Republican’ Judy Warnick’s Senate Bill 5397 will be voted on. We’re asking all Republican legislators to tell all your Republican colleagues to not just vote no, but to speak out forcefully against the bills and the legislators supporting them. Make this a caucus-unified issue — get your people in line. With the Democrats controlling Olympia, the only way regular citizens like us have to fight back is with citizen initiatives. If Republicans become complicit in taking away that constitutional right, then we are defenseless. Legislators backing these anti-initiative bills are beyond contempt. There is no justification for turning your back on the people you’re elected to represent. The initiative process is ours, not yours, leave it alone.”

Subject line: Republican legislators, I ask you to oppose “Republican” Joyce McDonald’s anti-initiative bill in the House (HB 1537) and “Republican” Judy Warnick’s anti-initiative bill in the Senate (SB 5397)

Cut and paste these email addresses into the To line of your email — here’s the House Republicans and the Senate Republicans and pro-initiative Democrat Tim Sheldon’s email addresses:

joyce.mcdonald@leg.wa.gov; andrew.barkis@leg.wa.gov; vincent.buys@leg.wa.gov; michelle.caldier@leg.wa.gov; bruce.chandler@leg.wa.gov; cary.condotta@leg.wa.gov; richard.debolt@leg.wa.gov; tom.dent@leg.wa.gov; mary.dye@leg.wa.gov; carolyn.eslick@leg.wa.gov; paul.graves@leg.wa.gov; dan.griffey@leg.wa.gov; larry.haler@leg.wa.gov; mark.hargrove@leg.wa.gov; mark.harmsworth@leg.wa.gov; paul.harris@leg.wa.gov; dave.hayes@leg.wa.gov; jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov; morgan.irwin@leg.wa.gov; bill.jenkin@leg.wa.gov; norm.johnson@leg.wa.gov; brad.klippert@leg.wa.gov; vicki.kraft@leg.wa.gov; joel.kretz@leg.wa.gov; dan.kristiansen@leg.wa.gov; drew.macewen@leg.wa.gov; matt.manweller@leg.wa.gov; jacquelin.maycumber@leg.wa.gov; gina.mccabe@leg.wa.gov; bob.mccaslin@leg.wa.gov; dick.muri@leg.wa.gov; terry.nealey@leg.wa.gov; ed.orcutt@leg.wa.gov; liz.pike@leg.wa.gov; jay.rodne@leg.wa.gov; joe.schmick@leg.wa.gov; matt.shea@leg.wa.gov; norma.smith@leg.wa.gov; melanie.stambaugh@leg.wa.gov; mike.steele@leg.wa.gov; drew.stokesbury@leg.wa.gov; david.taylor@leg.wa.gov; luanne.vanwerven@leg.wa.gov; brandon.vick@leg.wa.gov; mike.volz@leg.wa.gov; jim.walsh@leg.wa.gov; jt.wilcox@leg.wa.gov; jesse.young@leg.wa.gov; jan.angel@leg.wa.gov; barbara.bailey@leg.wa.gov; michael.baumgartner@leg.wa.gov; randi.becker@leg.wa.gov; john.braun@leg.wa.gov; sharon.brown@leg.wa.gov; doug.ericksen@leg.wa.gov; joe.fain@leg.wa.gov; phil.fortunato@leg.wa.gov; brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov; jim.honeyford@leg.wa.gov; curtis.king@leg.wa.gov; mark.miloscia@leg.wa.gov; steve.oban@leg.wa.gov; mike.padden@leg.wa.gov; ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov; mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov; timothy.sheldon@leg.wa.gov; shelly.short@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; maureen.walsh@leg.wa.gov; judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov; lynda.wilson@leg.wa.gov; hans.zeiger@leg.wa.gov; tim_eyman@comcast.net

Sending this email will really help — BUT IT’S ONLY EFFECTIVE IF WE ALL DO IT. If you have any problem, just email me the message you want sent, and I’ll forward it to all of them for you (and I’ll cc you). OK?

And if you’re really incensed about this, like we are, call or text Joyce McDonald and make it very clear to her that you strongly oppose her anti-initiative bill (HB 1537): cell # 253-770-8061.
After 20 years of fighting for taxpayers, we’ve learned that the most effective way to fight the Democrats’ tax-hiking schemes is by taking our case directly to the people. That’s why we’re moving full steam ahead with We Don’t Want An Income Tax. It prohibits the state and local governments from imposing any kind of income tax, especially a capital gains income tax.

Jack, Mike, and I are committed to protecting taxpayers. But we can’t do it alone. We need everyone’s help.