Sen. John Braun, You Sly Dog, Delaying Rent Stabilization!

This fuggin guy

Democrats were this close to finally passing the compromise rent stabilization bill off the Washington Senate floor Friday night — but then a procedural grenade, courtesy of Senate Republican leader John Braun, blew it all up.

On Friday night, when this reporter was already volunteering as a fruit fly on the other Capitol Hill, Braun pulled some bureaucratic violence on the Senate floor after an hour of speeches I will now have to suffer through again.

Braun argued the bill broke the Senate rules because the bill's title no longer matched the substance of the bill. Though I believe he's wrong for putting his colleagues in a last-minute tailspin over a technicality, he's right that the Democrats axed the landlord resource center mentioned in the bill's bloated, kitchen-sink title.

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, after a long break, ruled in favor of Braun. Every progressive legislator lost their absolute shit, the ten people following along on a Friday night started scouting a candidate to replace Heck, and I already started drafting the bill's obituary. But rent stabilzation is not dead.

Lawmakers patched up the compromise bill late Friday night and now will take it to the floor again on the final day of the session. Ah!