Legislators Bummed

Actually have to do their jobs

JIM ANDERSON

CORRUGATED TIMES-DISPATCH

OLYMPIA -- As I-330 and I-336 crashed and burned Tuesday, legislators across the state let out a collective groan.

"Crap," said Senator Mary Margaret Haugen (D). "I was hoping the people would choose one of the solutions, or maybe both. This insurance stuff is complicated."

Haugen, like many other Senators, has been taking it easy since the Senate adjourned in April. Back then, water rights and estate taxes were more pressing concerns than the tangled root mass of medical malpractice lawsuits.

"It's all so confusing," Haugen added, standing thirty feet outside the Capitol, smoking. "Tort reform, jury award caps, fee caps. It would take me days, maybe weeks to familiarize myself with the issue. Who has that kind of time?"

Other senators were cautiously optimistic. "I... like... working...," said Senator Brad Benson (R), member of the Health and Long-Term Care committee. "I really do... I think."

"There goes my plan to telecommute," said a dejected Representative Tom Campbell (R). "I had a laptop installed near the hot tub. It was gonna be great."