After reading Ralph Nichols' April 11 opinion piece, I had a real hankering for some Flock of Seagulls music.

You may remember the band as a one-hit wonder from the 1980s, with the song "I Ran So Far Away." In my circle, they were known more for the lead singer's poofy hair than for their music.

I had the 80s flashback because it seemed like Ralph was quoting 1980s Republican rhetoric, instead of clearly seeing the reality in 2007. He quotes only conservative think tanks and GOP party leaders. He uses terms like "tax and spend liberals." He even starts with a bumper sticker from 1986.

It isn't 1986 anymore, especially for the Democrats in Washington state.

In 2003, while the GOP-led Congress in Washington, D.C., was spending like mad hatters, the Democratic State House and the Republican State Senate here at home cut $2.3 billion out of the budget.

It wasn't fun having to tell people about the cuts in the many programs assisting college kids, single moms, working folks, and neighbors. We balanced our budget then and each year since, unlike the U.S. Congress.

Now that our economy is healthy again, we are filling some of the cuts we made over the last few years, to health care, jobs, and education. which totaled over $6 billion.

Last budget cycle, while the GOP Congress continued spending, we Democrats again balanced our budget here in Olympia. During that budget cycle, we set aside over $900 million in savings accounts for pensions, health care and education. In fact, part of our $1.9 billion budget surplus this year comes from that $900 million we tucked away.

Tell me who are the "tax and spenders?" Not the Democrats.

This year's budget dedicates over $1 billion new dollars to education. It covers all kids in the state with health insurance. It focuses on creating new jobs, and protecting the ones we have. And the naysayers repeat tired clich/s instead of figuring out how to make government work better.

The next time Ralph feels nostalgic for the 80s, he shouldn't quote bumper stickers or conservative think tanks to mislead readers. He shouldn't "run so far away" from the reality in Olympia, because he's missing the fact that Democrats are governing well, within our means, and focused on the right issues.

Rep. Zack Hudgins

D--Tukwila