It’s now official: Initiative 1366 passed. It’s a massive victory for the taxpayers. It’s now clear that we won by a wide enough margin that even King County’s corrupt elections division can’t “do a Dino” to I-1366.

Here’s how the elitists are reacting to the voters’ sixth approval of the common sense protections in I-1366. A post-election editorial in the Olympian newspaper says, “Voters made a mistake with I-1366. ... In Tuesday’s election, Washington voters erred in giving approval to Initiative 1366.”

Not enough father-knows-best condescension for you? How ‘bout now: “Despite our disappointment in voters, we can take some solace in knowing that I-1366 was rejected in the more savvy communities of Thurston County and King County, which are our seats of government and commerce, respectively.”

Throughout the campaign for I-1366, opponents repeatedly illustrated their contempt for voters. They frantically and desperately tried to prevent the people from voting on I-1366, a perfect metaphor for their distrust of the citizenry.  

In August, after failing to prevent the vote, Big Labor (SEIU, WEA, AFL-CIO, etc.) paid around $25,000 for polling and focus groups that clearly showed that a well-funded opposition campaign would drive up support for I-1366. So they spent next to nothing on a “No” campaign, and paid consultants got most of Big Labor’s $102,000 in donations. Opponents instead let their allies in the media do their dirty work for them. 

News stories and editorials spent more column inches on me, rather than the common sense policies and righteous rationale for I-1366.

What did we do? We trusted the voters. We trusted them by beating back opponents’ anti-democratic efforts to block the vote. We trusted the voters by not browbeating them with TV ads and radio ads or newspaper ads (why give money to the enemy?).

We knew voters would do what they always do:  look at the merits of the initiative and decide.  After five voter approvals—the last one passing in every county and every legislative district outside Seattle and getting 64 percent of the vote in a high-turnout presidential year—we had faith in the people.

Opponents repeatedly have illustrated they think voters are stupid. The recent Olympian editorial is just the latest example. We think our elitist opponents are wrong about that. We think that after six campaigns and six public votes and six voter approvals that the voters have been very clear what they want:  protection from Olympia’s insatiable tax appetite with either a vote on a constitutional amendment calling for two-thirds majority approval for tax increases and new taxes or getting some of their money back so they can pay for all the tax increases Olympia will impose without a two-thirds vote requirement to restrain them.

It’s been a 22-year tug of war, and voters once again pulled the rope in favor of protecting taxpayers by passing Initiative 1366.  We’re absolutely thrilled.

Tim Eyman is a longtime, Seattle-based initiative activist. He can be reached at [email protected] or 425-493-9127.