Smart bombs: Who needs Eyman?

Memo to Democrats in Olympia:

Now that you’ve capitulated to Tim Eyman’s misguided populism and reinstalled the 1 percent property tax, is it necessary for you to continue on with the overheated rhetoric?

You did the politically expedient thing. I get it.

But spare me the notion that this was an emergency. No Snidley Whiplashes were lurking to boot people from their homes between the time the court tossed Initiative 747 and the start of the regular legislative session.

Here is state Rep. Don Barlow, D-Spokane, in a press release: “People in the city of Spokane are just like people most everywhere else in Spokane County and in other parts of Washington. We’ve all battled high property taxes for years. It’s time to say enough is enough.”

Lordy, leave that talk to Eyman, and try to stay rooted in reality. It’s not enough to say people are losing their homes, show us the facts and figures. Sure, some people struggle with the tax payments, but the 1 percent cap pretends that everyone is imperiled. And if a cap on property taxes is such a great idea, why not one for the sales tax, which actually is inordinately high?

Homeowners generally consider rising home values to be a positive development. I can’t believe how you’ve let that good news be turned into a frightening emergency. It’s like commiserating with someone who just got a huge raise because their taxes are about to go up.

Continue with the alarmist rhetoric and see how far you get when it comes to finding a funding source to fulfill your obligation for basic education. You are going to do that this year, right? You promised. Or what about your desire for more health care coverage for children, or an expansion of preschool offerings?

If you find that taxpayers aren’t particularly receptive to any of that, you’ll only have yourselves to blame.

Goodbye, friend. As I’ve been telling an emotional Jamie Tobias Neely all week, “This is all your fault.” My colleague’s last day at the paper was Friday. She has chosen to take a teaching position at Eastern Washington University.

“Don’t want to cry? Then don’t leave.”

Joking aside, she was a fabulous addition to the editorial board, with her wonderfully composed columns and well-argued editorials. She has been a compassionate and compelling voice for the voiceless, whether it was displaced downtown dwellers or veterans not getting proper care.

Jamie has shown us that there’s as much room for heart as there is for facts and figures when stating a case. The Opinion page improved greatly.

That, too, is her fault.