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News & ArtsWednesday, December 28, 2011
Transportation / Politics George Will Graces Washington State with His Attention
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Thanks to Slog tipper Joe for sending this along: Bloviating opinion-monger George Will has decided to foist his stuffy prose on Washington state matters for a change:
In 1927, seven years before the board game was created, Washington state decided to play monopoly. It gave a private interest the exclusive right to operate a ferry on 55-mile-long Lake Chelan in the northern Cascade Mountains. It apparently will defend this folly until Judgment Day, when state officials will get an earful from the Creator who — we have Jefferson’s word for this — endowed everyone, including Jim and Cliff Courtney, with the rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The Courtney brothers’ happiness would be enlarged if they could operate a competing ferry. But 84 years ago Washington state asserted a principle much favored by all of America’s governments:It may parcel out certain economic liberties sparingly and only to those who can prove to government that their exercise of their liberty will satisfy some government-concocted criteria.
As he does, Will goes on. And on. And on. But he makes some points—the ferry is basically useless if you're looking to make a day trip to or from Stehekin—even though he begins by suggesting that he knows how God feels about the ferries on Lake Chelan and he ends in an explosive burst of hot air that compares our Washington with the "denigrat[ion of] economic liberty" and "pandemic rent-seeking" of Washington DC. Let's hope this doesn't mark the beginning of a new Washington-based beat on Will's part; we've got enough conservative blowhards in Seattle, tossing opinions around like they're free.
1
When I read the story many days ago I wondered why the Republicans in the state legislature would allow this insult to the free market to go on for so many years.
2
Trust Paul Constant to give attention to George Will, the ultimate shill:
Back in 1990, Will stated that the best program against poverty was a job.
In 2001, Will stated that American jobs should all be offshored?
The guy will say anything, do anything for a dollar --- he used to rant against the Japanese, until he divorced his first wife, and immediately married his second, who was an extremely highly paid lobbyist for the Japanese Auto Association.
Back in 1990, Will stated that the best program against poverty was a job.
In 2001, Will stated that American jobs should all be offshored?
The guy will say anything, do anything for a dollar --- he used to rant against the Japanese, until he divorced his first wife, and immediately married his second, who was an extremely highly paid lobbyist for the Japanese Auto Association.
3
George is going to get in trouble for this one:
First, you're not supposed to talk about Chelan to folks outside of WA. It's a alpine paradise, and we don't need it fucked up by Beltway types.
Second, government give-aways are the bedrock of the Old Money set that Will runs with. Timber, mining, right-of-ways, railroads - fortunes made because someone managed to buy off the right senator(s) at the right time. That wealth didn't disappear: it metastasized into the 1% crowd we have today. Worked for it, my ass.
First, you're not supposed to talk about Chelan to folks outside of WA. It's a alpine paradise, and we don't need it fucked up by Beltway types.
Second, government give-aways are the bedrock of the Old Money set that Will runs with. Timber, mining, right-of-ways, railroads - fortunes made because someone managed to buy off the right senator(s) at the right time. That wealth didn't disappear: it metastasized into the 1% crowd we have today. Worked for it, my ass.
4
Apparently Will doesn't have enough to interest him in D.C. and he has to inject himself into the world shattering happenings on our lakes. I think that dementia he's been circling in the crazy plane is his landing spot. But I particularly enjoy his god will get you church lady routine. He's a boob stuck in the nineteenth century.
5
Jerry: Elaine and I were just discussing whether I could admit a man is attractive
Kramer: Hmm. Yeah. I’ll tell you who is an attractive man: George Will.
Jerry: Really?
Kramer: Yeah. He has clean looks, scrubbed and shampooed and…
Elaine: He’s smart.
Kramer: No, no, I don’t find him all that bright.
I'm with Kramer.
Kramer: Hmm. Yeah. I’ll tell you who is an attractive man: George Will.
Jerry: Really?
Kramer: Yeah. He has clean looks, scrubbed and shampooed and…
Elaine: He’s smart.
Kramer: No, no, I don’t find him all that bright.
I'm with Kramer.
6
This is the George Will I grew up with. It's too bad he sold his soul during the Bush Jr. administration, he really is a great writer.
7
Ugh. Chelan. @3 - If you think it's a secret, you're nuts.
When I was very young, my family spent a week in Stehekin. IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. That meant a 4-6 hour ride on the old Lady of the Lake to get there. It also meant cross-country skiing most places. I think that experience set off a depression that I'm still recovering from.
When I was very young, my family spent a week in Stehekin. IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. That meant a 4-6 hour ride on the old Lady of the Lake to get there. It also meant cross-country skiing most places. I think that experience set off a depression that I'm still recovering from.
8
I knew Will was a douchebag when he jumped on the Baseball-as-an-Intellectual-Pursuit masturbatory bandwagon.
9
George knows much more about Lake Chelan than I ever will.
For example, that it has a ferry.
Or that it is 55 miles long.
Or that anyone would want to run their own ferry on it when the state already does.
As a Washington resident, I could give a fuck.
For example, that it has a ferry.
Or that it is 55 miles long.
Or that anyone would want to run their own ferry on it when the state already does.
As a Washington resident, I could give a fuck.
10
@7 Maybe not a secret, but there's a reason it hasn't turned into another Tahoe or Sun Valley, and it's not because of the high income tax rates here.
11
This isn't about a pair of brothers who wish to compete on the Lake Chelan ferry market. If it were about that, they would file an application for a certificate to operate and, if denied, appeal their decision to the State Courts, where they would make the argument that expanded ferry options, with a better schedule, did indeed constitute a "public convenience and necessity."
But this has nothing to do with that. As Will makes no secret, this is an organization of free-market fundamentalists searching for a U.S. Supreme Court test case to overturn "rational basis" scrutiny as the threshold under which governments have the right to regulate economic activity. This is about eradicating environmental laws, obliterating wage and overtime laws, hobbling collective bargaining, and returning to the days of Lochner v. New York, when states were powerless to stop gross violations of human rights because working serfs were seen to have "freely" entered into their own degrading employment contracts.
Amazingly, this darkest 35-year period in Constitutional history to which Will longs to return was made possible by a gross and intentional misreading of the 14th Amendment's "due process" clause, originally written in 1868 to give the newly emancipated some equal footing before the law. 1902-1937 was the era of true "judicial activism."
Again, this isn't about Lake Chelan's ferries -- although it would give Will and his fire-breathing brethren great satisfaction to restore "liberty of contract" using a case launched from the same state where the last "liberty of contract" era came to an end. This is about the end of every mainstream-progressive gain made in this country in the 20th Century. It's about Will & his cronies reviewing the Roberts Court's record and smelling blood in the water!
(p.s. It turns out that the current Lake Chelan situation actually has a pretty good rational basis: the current franchisee is required to provide money-losing year-round service in exchange for the profitable monopoly on summer service. Under "rational basis" scrutiny, no court would or should strike this down.)
More...
But this has nothing to do with that. As Will makes no secret, this is an organization of free-market fundamentalists searching for a U.S. Supreme Court test case to overturn "rational basis" scrutiny as the threshold under which governments have the right to regulate economic activity. This is about eradicating environmental laws, obliterating wage and overtime laws, hobbling collective bargaining, and returning to the days of Lochner v. New York, when states were powerless to stop gross violations of human rights because working serfs were seen to have "freely" entered into their own degrading employment contracts.
Amazingly, this darkest 35-year period in Constitutional history to which Will longs to return was made possible by a gross and intentional misreading of the 14th Amendment's "due process" clause, originally written in 1868 to give the newly emancipated some equal footing before the law. 1902-1937 was the era of true "judicial activism."
Again, this isn't about Lake Chelan's ferries -- although it would give Will and his fire-breathing brethren great satisfaction to restore "liberty of contract" using a case launched from the same state where the last "liberty of contract" era came to an end. This is about the end of every mainstream-progressive gain made in this country in the 20th Century. It's about Will & his cronies reviewing the Roberts Court's record and smelling blood in the water!
(p.s. It turns out that the current Lake Chelan situation actually has a pretty good rational basis: the current franchisee is required to provide money-losing year-round service in exchange for the profitable monopoly on summer service. Under "rational basis" scrutiny, no court would or should strike this down.)
12
@11, Mr. Will might not be aware that it is in the state's interest to have "reliable" service, and not just summertime cherry picking.
It will be interesting to see of it helps the state to remind any court the history of reliability of ferry service in Washington state when they whole thing was a "free" market.
The fact of the matter is, as you have stated, they could simply apply, if that is what they were interested in.
It will be interesting to see of it helps the state to remind any court the history of reliability of ferry service in Washington state when they whole thing was a "free" market.
The fact of the matter is, as you have stated, they could simply apply, if that is what they were interested in.
13
Since Stehekin is accessible only by ferry, what would happen if a competitor provided only low-cost service on the summer weekends and put the other service out of business by cherry-picking the profitable routes?
More importantly, Why does George Will think that Washington State legislators (including Republicans representing Chelan County) are so stupid that they need a pointy-headed writer from Washington D.C. to tell them how to manage transportation to remote villages?
More importantly, Why does George Will think that Washington State legislators (including Republicans representing Chelan County) are so stupid that they need a pointy-headed writer from Washington D.C. to tell them how to manage transportation to remote villages?
14
Hah - as someone who has spent a considerable amount of his life in, on, and around Lake Chelan, I find this very amusing. Note that the boats also carry mail and groceries to Holden Village and Stehekin.
If Will mentioned the Comcast monopoly on cable I might be more impressed. His screed is similar to all the weeping and wailing over the "death tax" on "family farms", which is just another bit of flim-flam designed to keep the One Percent getting richer.
If Will mentioned the Comcast monopoly on cable I might be more impressed. His screed is similar to all the weeping and wailing over the "death tax" on "family farms", which is just another bit of flim-flam designed to keep the One Percent getting richer.
15
@12: It's rare that we agree on anthing, but you're absolutely spot-on here. The State's interest in ensuring reliable year-round service is exactly the "rational basis" test that Will and his ilk are looking to do away with.
What "rational basis scrutiny" means, simply, is that if the State can articulate a rational reason for a law's existence, even if that law appears to favor one person or group over another (see: tax incentives), and as long as the persons/groups aren't being treated unequally on the basis of membership in a protected class like race or gender (which would raise the bar to "strict scrutiny" as such measures would be presumed irrational unless proven otherwise), then the Court will presume the validity of the statute. The Court doesn't have to agree with the policy or even with the stated rationale.
Will wants "rational basis" review gone. He wants "strict scrutiny" to be applied to all economic activity, effectively allowing the State to restrict and to control nothing, ever, no matter how vested its interests.
What his plaintiffs are trying to do here is deeply dangerous.
What "rational basis scrutiny" means, simply, is that if the State can articulate a rational reason for a law's existence, even if that law appears to favor one person or group over another (see: tax incentives), and as long as the persons/groups aren't being treated unequally on the basis of membership in a protected class like race or gender (which would raise the bar to "strict scrutiny" as such measures would be presumed irrational unless proven otherwise), then the Court will presume the validity of the statute. The Court doesn't have to agree with the policy or even with the stated rationale.
Will wants "rational basis" review gone. He wants "strict scrutiny" to be applied to all economic activity, effectively allowing the State to restrict and to control nothing, ever, no matter how vested its interests.
What his plaintiffs are trying to do here is deeply dangerous.
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