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Friday, May 19, 2006

Eyman Hams It Up

Posted by JOSH FEIT on May 19 at 12:24 PM

Here’s the latest on Eyman’s initiative to repeal the anti-discrimination bill that passed the legislature this year.

Last we heard, Eyman said he was hurting for signatures. That sparked a guessing game: Was Eyman in earnest, or was it a ruse to lower expectations, so that when he turns in the signatures, it will give the impression of a come-from-behind campaign with unstoppable momentum.

Here’s a snippet from today’s Spokesman-Review article:

Tim Eyman, the referendum’s chief sponsor, said it was his standard policy not to estimate how many of the needed 112,440 signatures have been collected at this point in the campaign.

“We’re making good progress but we’re certainly not there yet,” he said,
adding his chances of qualifying for the ballot at 50-50.

Well, that answers that question: It’s pretty obvious that showman Eyman (he seems so so gay, that Eyman) is acting cagey—pretending he’s got a 50-50 shot—to add tension to the storyline and make it seem like he could be in trouble. Again, this will make it look like his campaign has rebounded w unstoppable momentum when he turns in his signatures on June 6.

Listen to Eyman ham it up in a press release he just sent out:

It’s been nearly a month since our announcement that we needed a big
increase in signatures. The effect couldn’t have turned out better. Our
supporters now know the facts. They know there’s work to be done. Emails
and phone calls have been pouring in ever since with offers to work even
harder. The media stories have been remarkably neutral. Opponents are
perplexed and disoriented (“Is it a political ploy? Do we stay quiet? Do
you attack? What do we do??????????”). There’s not an ounce of
overconfidence among any of our supporters now. We all know that it’s going
to take a lot of hard work to get Referendum 65 on the ballot.

We’ve got 19 days left. 19 days is a lifetime in politics IF AND ONLY
IF WE ALL GET GOING — AND GET GOING BIG TIME. Our deadline for signatures
is Tuesday, June 6th. The number of valid signatures needed is 112,440.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS THAT THERE IS ENOUGH TIME TO GET
THE SIGNATURES FOR REFERENDUM 65. BUT ONLY IF WE ALL REDOUBLE AND RETRIPLE
OUR EFFORTS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

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1

i fucking hate that guy.

Posted by socialarsonist | May 19, 2006 2:04 PM

2

i f-ing hate that guy.

Posted by socialarsonist | May 19, 2006 2:12 PM

3

The word on the street is that Eyman's operation is paying signature gatherers $1plus per signature for R-65. Eyman probably put his threat out there to help raise more money from bible thumpers buy more signatures. Other right wing initiatives with paid gatherers include the property rights, estate tax repeal, and Eyman car tab repeal. All are being run through Eyman's operation.

Oh, and there's one good initiative- I-937, the Clean Energy Initiative. We're collecting signatures with mostly volunteers.

Posted by Bill | May 19, 2006 3:25 PM

4

Hmm. I still just don't see it. I don't know how you gather this many signatures with no organization and no money. I don't think the churches can do it on their own.

And I can't see how Eyman is paying for signatures unless there's been some infusion of cash. Plus, $1/sig seems to low. If that's what the guy on the street is being paid, the firm is likely getting twice that.

Posted by Goldy | May 19, 2006 5:06 PM

5

Repeal of the estate tax (I-920) is not an Eyman initiative and is not part of his operation. That's Dennis Falk. I-933, the developer's initiative, is also not an Eyman initiative. The same firms may be collecting for all, but 920 and 933 are definitely not Eyman's.

Posted by MountOlympus | May 19, 2006 6:36 PM

6

With the University District Street Fair and Folklife coming up in the next two weekends, large events that usually attract the signature gatherers, I'm a little concerned. However, they're both in Seattle so perhaps the Eyman people will have "signature free" days. I hope so.

Posted by Drury | May 19, 2006 7:43 PM

7

Goldy: Yes, the $1 per signature is what's being advertised to the guy on the street, so the firm employing them is probably getting at least $2. I'm guessing Eyman got an infusion of cash in early May, which means he doesn't have to report it until June 10. But, we're suddenly getting a lot of reports of paid gathering on behalf of R-65. We were getting none before May 15, which just happens to coincide with the end of the more lucrative California signature gathering period. For the sake of all of us who care about civil rights (and human decency) I hope I'm wrong.

MountOlympus: 920 and 933 are non-Eyman initiatives, but I understand that he is playing some kind of role in the signature gathering for all the active right-wing initiatives. I don't know the current state of his operation well enough to know if he is just playing a consulting role, or is actually paying the guys on the street

Posted by Bill | May 20, 2006 3:31 PM

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