Rep. Ahern of the far east of the state does his best to make a state house hearing into an uncomfortable Thanksgiving meal. Rich Roesler at the Eye on Olympia blog does a good job summing it up:

Among the critics: Rep. John Ahern, R-Spokane, who drew audible gasps from some in the crowd Tuesday when he asked if the state’s checking up to make sure people aren’t registering their pets as partners. (Couples must file notarized state forms.)

I’m just kind of worried about whether or not there could be some individuals out there scamming the system and that they’re actually claiming a dog as a domestic partner or just a, you know, a figment of their imagination, just whatever,” Ahern told Pedersen. “So do we have a Gestapo situation…”

Here’s the audio of the exchange (Thanks TVW!), if you want to feel the full squirming of the moment yesterday.

There is a break between the first and second portion of the file, where someone else asked a question before Ahern came back with another squirm inducing question about Rep. Pederson’s kid’s last name.