I'm going to have to rip off this news story for my novel. This is the best news of the weird to come out of Seattle in a long time.

Voters may get to decide whether Eyman's a 'horse's ass'
Friday, January 17, 2003

By DAVID AMMONS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- Washington voters may get to sound off on whether initiative guru Tim Eyman is "a horse's ass."

David Goldstein, a Seattle computer programmer and technical writer, is pushing an initiative that says "The citizens of the state of Washington do hereby proclaim that Tim Eyman is a horse's ass."

Eyman said he thinks the idea is hilarious, and should garner publicity for his own latest initiative.

"It's stupid and there is no reason in the world why people should be able to put an initiative like this on the ballot," Goldstein said in a telephone interview Thursday night.

"My goal is to promote change (in the initiative process) and to achieve that, I think we need to bring ridicule on the process, to make people aware of how easy it is to abuse.

"Any schmoe can go to Olympia and pay $5 and file an initiative. I'm the schmoe who did it this week. Whoever claimed I had any credibility? I wrote an initiative about a guy being a horse's ass."

Goldstein told The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane his stunt is "a type of political theater." After the newspaper ran the story Thursday, talk radio picked it up and Goldstein's phone was swamped all day.

Tax rebel Eyman is the state's leading initiative sponsor. Voters have approved at least one of his initiatives each year for the past four years, starting with $30 car license tabs in 1999.

Goldstein's initiative, which has not yet been assigned a ballot title or number, said in part, "Tim Eyman's ill-conceived anti-tax initiatives are an irresponsible means of legislating tax policy, an abuse of the initiative process and an insult to our system of representative democracy."

Eyman got in trouble with the state last year when he acknowledged that he took more than $200,000 in previous campaign contributions as a salary fund. He had steadfastly described himself as an unpaid taxpayer advocate.

The initiative noted that Eyman said "I just feel like an ass" after he acknowledged taking the money.

The punch line is that, well, the voters agree with him.

Goldstein said the initiative started as a party conversation about Eyman and "about how self-serving and pandering initiatives have become.

"People think initiatives are well thought out, but they aren't. We just wanted to get something people would vote for. We wanted something funny and outrageous, bordering on profanity, but not profane, so it could go on the air or in print.

"The word `ass' is a problem, but if you modify it with `jack' or `horse,' it's not. It's funny. It's saying the guy's a fool."

Goldstein said he'll run "a parody of a Tim Eyman campaign," hoping to secure the necessary 200,000 voter signatures by early July to ensure a public vote in November.

He already has a campaign Web site, www.horsesass.org. The site said he'll skim off 20 percent of the proceeds for personal gain.

So far, he has collected $70.

His Web site said, "If you agree that the initiative process has become a joke, join us in getting the last laugh. With your help, we'll show Tim that he's not the only horse's ass who can get a spectacularly stupid initiative on the ballot."

Eyman called the measure "very pathetic," but said he's still laughing about it. He said he plans to buy "Tim is a horse's ass" T-shirts, hats and mugs from Goldstein.

Eyman said Goldstein is unwittingly helping him by calling more attention to Initiative 807, which would impose strict state government spending limits and require a two-thirds vote of both houses to raise taxes.

"The goal of any initiative sponsor is to get people talking about the initiative any way you can. When the opposition does your job for you, you gotta say 'thanks,' Eyman said, adding, "Calling names? That's their strategy? Oh, that's persuasive."

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