BlatherWatch endorsements 2006: you retort, we decide

Who cares BlatherWatch endorses in the election? That question is probably the most important one asked by our many dozens of readers this election season..

(If you are amongst that tiny sample of humanity, you already know who we like and are already sick of the whole blithering deal. You can go over to YouTube and amuse yourself while we straighten out the rest of these people, 'kay? ).

We can't help it- it's just that we believe: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION SINCE 2004!

There's an overbalance of power and an underbalance of integrity in Washington DC, and it's a time for everyone John McCain and left to vote for Democrats, no matter how cranky you might be about them.

(Goddam it, the political game is played on the 2-party playing field, (as the right-wing knows so well) and the only way to hold the incompetent, amoral right-wing Republican government accountable is to replace it with Democrats. We're so close to making the GOP a minority in one or both houses, that voting for a Loser-tarian or a Green is as stoopid as pissing into the air conditioning).

But you know that.

There's no question we'll be voting for Sen. Maria Cantwell over her squeaky, more-moderate-than-thou opponent, Mike McGavick who's flailing away with baseball bats at the no-see-ums that Maria's campaign lets loose in his pup tent. McGavick is running an expensive campaign, sure, but it's so impotent and inept, dogs with footballs come to mind- and we can't help but think what a disaster should he ever get a chance to govern. For you fellow lefties, the time to oppose Maria was in the primary with a real candidate who could win. That luxury never availed itself (assisted by  deft primary maneuvers by Maria's ace campaign guy, Marty Meehan). Now is now, and we need Maria's warm, incumbent body (you know what we mean) in the Senate to bolster the fight against this disastrous administration. Next time, get your own deft primary maneuvers, or just shut up and vote.

Dear to our hearts and near to our political souls is Darcy Burner, the smart card running in the 8th District against the just-another-pretty-faced Rep. Dave Reichert. Partisanship aside, listen to them and you'll vote for Darcy. The tight, tight race is between an energetic, bright, passionate, well-educated, young policy tigresa, and a hackneyed career bureaucrat whose one term was predicated by exaggerating a dubious local law enforcement record and marked by a slavish loyalty to a corrupt House leadership and George W. Bush. Permission for Reichert's few deviations from the party line, he's admitted, was granted him by leadership because he needs to be reelected in a "liberal" district. We can do better, and Darcy's incredible metamorphosis from an unknown to a toss-up candidate in a nationally regarded race is impressive.

Few House members are more liable for the unchecked corruption in the House than Doc Hastings of the 4th Congressional District. As chairman of the House Ethics committee he should have been investigating the funny stuff with the Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the years-old Mark Foley sex-with-page-boys scandal. But Doc was a Tom Delay/Hastert pal and they shut down the committee for years so the mice could play and these these scandals and others could fester. Delay resigned in disgrace and indictment, Hastert is a dead man walking, and Hastings is only now going through the too-little-too-late investigation of the boy-dandlings. We endorse Richard Wright. (Yeah, you're right- he's unknown and a not-ready-for-prime-time candidate, but there's a magic there we can't ignore: the D behind his name.)

There's a helluva lot more than a simple D about Peter Goldmark, running in the 5th Congressional District against the ambitious one-termer, Cathy McMorris that makes us excited about endorsing him. Goldmark is an incredibly able guy- a rancher, and geneticist from a longtime Okanogan political family. This is Tom Foley's old seat and Democrats long proved they can serve these red, red, constituents; Goldmark might get a chance to demonstrate that ability again if a sea-change happens this year like the one in 1994 by Republicans that dumped Foley. Goldmark's candidacy, like Burner's, was considered a long shot until the Republican implosion, and voters got a listen to what Goldmark had to say and how well he was able to say it. The race is now within the realm of possibility for an upset and the national parties are both dumping money into it.

Is there anyone running against Jay Inslee in the 1st district? We don't think so. Inslee is blessed with everything a politician needs- looks, brains and a district who appreciates him. His exciting New Apollo Energy Project, mouldering in the Republican Abu Ghraib of Other People's Ideas, will get a fair hearing if the D's get a majority. Inslee's an up-and-comer in state politics and we endorse him wholeheartedly. (and if anyone knows who's running against him, please drop us a line).

The 3nd District is a tough one to represent, what with the conservative ruralities and the blue collar cities. But Rick Larsen does it well and there's not much chance his challenger, Doug Roulstone can change that situation, even with all that money.

We support Brian Baird in the 3rd; Norm Dicks in the 6th; Adam Smith in the 9th; and Linnea Noreen in the 7th.

Please, please, please vote for Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens who been targeted by a tag team of special interest groups: the vile BIAW, the Evangelicals Against Everything, and Designated GOP Liar Stefan Sharkansky. They've focused on the Supremes this year because, a) the conservatives can't elect legislators anymore; and b) they need activist judges to get their political work. They overreached in the primaries with their attack ads against Gerry Alexander, and they're keeping a lower profile in this race, but they're still pumping in the money.

And oh yeah: Caitlin Ross for State Representative in the 9th legislative district. She's smart, liberal, well-informed, she's taken the WASL test, and she's Dave Ross's (KIRO m-f, 9a-12p) daughter. She's running a hard race against a racher twice her age who's not very forthcoming about how he feels about issues. The sad part- it seems to be working for him.

We're pretty sure that sane, responsible citizens should not vote for Richard Pope because we've come to the conclusion that Richard is neither sane nor responsible. And who could be more scary than a guy like that and who also has a law degree? The King County Bar Association rate him as “not qualified,” their lowest category, saying he has a history of unprofessional conduct. We do know he's run 10 times for public office in the past 10 years. This time he's running for judge in Northeast King County and actually got into the finals. If we could vote in that election, we'd vote for his opponent, judge pro-tem Frank LaSalata, (despite his name is the Italian for Frank the Salad).

Statewide Ballot Measures
I-920 NO. Don't repeal the estate tax. The tax affected only 250 very wealthy estates last year. The first $1.5 million of an estate is automatically exempted -- a number that climbs to $2 million after this year -- and family farms are exempted. Ninety-nine point 5 percent of the heirs in Washington will not be subject to this tax, and state revenue streams for education will be whacked. And oh yeah- The Seattle Times endorsed this bill.

I-933 NO. Kill this dangerous idea that'll open up farmland to development, whack zoning laws, break local government, endanger the environment, deprive small children of milk and diapers, and give developers free rein.

I-937 YES. If they won't do it, we will: mandated alternative and renewable energy sources and public enticements for business to be responsible. "It's only the wind..."

Comments

[JDB]

Good list. I do want to underline that you should vote for Susan Owens for Supreme Court. She is a very good justice, and deserves your support. She was a District Court Judge up in Clallam County (Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks), and it is good to have a little diversity on the court and not just a bunch of Seattle Lawyers.

All and around, a very good choice for Justice.

[sparky]

Sort of off topic, sort of not...

In light of all the troubles some of the Republicans are having ( notice I said SOME)...comes this headline on Yahoo News this morning:

Modern Humans, Neanderthals May Have Interbred..

bwahahahah

[joanie]

Yes on McDermott. A reliable - which Noreen is not - liberal in Congress.

[Fremont]

Great analyses and recommendations, Bla'M! I'm not going to celebrate El Dia do los Muertos until I know, for sure, that the Repug majority has died. I refuse to allow my nascent thrill to emerge, lest it be shuffled off a la 2004...once burned, twice warned. Still....LET'S GO!!

[sparky]

One MIGHT think, upon reading some of the comments here, that the major deciding factor is if the candidate has a nice set of ta-ta's. Perhaps McDermitt might be a more desirable candidate if he bought himself some falsies.......

[lukobe]

Joanie, what don't you like about Noreen, again?

And, Michael:

(Goddam it, the political game is played on the 2-party playing field... voting for a Loser-tarian or a Green is as stoopid as pissing into the air conditioning).

Two questions:

1. You may have addressed this before, but how do you feel about proportional representation/IRV as a way to combat the 2-party system?

2. I know your politics lean more Green than Libertarian, but do you really have to call them Losertarians? The Greens are about as ineffective as the Libertarians, really, when it comes down to it (though not in Seattle). I guess it's true, most Libertarians lean conservative, but a quarter of us lean left, and it kind of hurts :)

[lukobe]

sparky--they're not THAT big are they?

[blathering michael]

Lukobe: I like proportional representation/IRV,and parliamentary government, and exciting out of the box ideas. My problem is: those things are not going to happen in this country. They're too complicated for voters to get excited about which would be OK- if they didn't usually take the huge efforts of passing constitutional (either state or federal) amendments.

As for 3rd parties- they're not going to happen.

(I agree with the Greens much of the time and have an American libertarian streak). The 2 party system is too imbedded in our political culture and the laws of the states and counties. They have a poor history, rising and falling insignificantly over the years, and the deck is stacked against them in thousands of small jurisdictions all over the country. I'd rather figure out how to work my beliefs into the party that comes closest to my politics (in my case, the D's) and figure out how to use the infrastructure in place.

The power grabbing by the R's working the system the way they have, is a dire enough circumstance to prevent me from getting involved in the mega-picture stuff. Too many people on my side eschew involvement because the process isn't perfect or to their taste.

[RobP]

Here's the funny thing: Year after year, the Dems look like they're on the cusp of taking over - then something happens to shoot them in the foot.

Thanks to John Kerry's "botched joke", 2006 keeps the tradition going. Had Kerry simply apologized - this would have been nothing. But it's front and center - and as we all know, you don't dis' the military - jokingly or not.

BTW - my comments aren't politically motivated as I agree with most of BlaM's analysis above.

[Proregressive]

Funny stuff:

SNL RNC Ad Parody

[sparky]

I dunno lukobe....I have never heard of her until today because I dont live in Seattle!
I have never seen her either.

[sparky]

rob, I dont get why they consider it a "joke"? Did Kerry mean it as a joke, or a snark towards Bush and his Harvard education??? I have only heard radio clips..maybe Keith Olbermann will have it on his show tonight

[you'reanass]

You are a socialist who lives in Seattle outside the bounds of marriage and morality. Supporting someone like Jim McDermott and Darcy Berner and Rick Larson just whows who you are. Out here in Kitsap, we are praying for an earthquake for you in Seattle. Bellevue will burn too if Berner is elected. Did we mention the gays for Rick Larsen? You too, will burn.

[coiler]

Ooooh that's sounds so scarry... An earthqauke from Seattle, can we pray the resulting tsunami will take out Bremerton? Being Halloween, why not have an Ellen Craswell look-a-like contest.

[JDB]

Sparky,

In context, Kerry had been telling a bunch of one liners at Bush's expense before the line came up. That being said, it will be the heart of the GOP spin machine for the next day or two until the next thing comes up.

But look at how ineffective the GOP spin machine has been. They spent a week trying to make hey over Michael J. Fox, and the lastest polls show MO and MD moving pro-Dem. Now we have a bunch of people who avoided service ("I had better things to do" -- Dick Cheney) attacking a war hero. I wish as hell Kerry could learn to think before he speaks, but it won't be that costly in the end. Best thing they can do is get Senator Max Cleland to come out and say that this is the normal GOP style of personal attacks instead of discussing the issues.

And, in the good news department, it pretty well keeps us from having to put up with a Kerry '08 campaign.

[sparky]

oohhh I hope so!
Thanks JDB...I did get a chance to see it on Countdown tonight.
I saw a great political cartoon tonight...shows Rush trying to dump FDR out of his wheelchair, saying " Get your faking liberal ass outta there!"

And Mr. or Ms. Ass, since my furnace is currently not working, and its about 58 degrees in my house...a quick trip to Hell to warm up sounds like a good thing!

[joanie]

Lukobe: To clarify, I'm reposting what I wrote: A reliable - which Noreen is not - liberal in Congress. That should speak for itself.

Michael: (I agree with the Greens much of the time and have an American libertarian streak)

Gee, you're just something for everybody, huh?

[joanie]

Michael: Too many people on my side eschew involvement because the process isn't perfect or to their taste.

Isn't perfect? How about is rigged from the get-go.

[lukobe]

I guess that does speak for itself, Joanie. Oh well--not like it matters anyway in this district.

[joanie]

Sparky, my furnace isn't working either! And the part is almost two weeks away! What a year for an early freeze!

[joanie]

Proregressive . . . I watched the SNL parody. Sort of funny . . . I think conservatives will think it's just right. Probably will help the Rethugs.

Also, regarding the Osama ad . . . why don't the Dems air that ad as is with a voice over or picture clip in the corner of Bush joking about not knowing where he is . . . is over here? under bush? Anybody remember him joking about Bin Laden at the dinner for his base?

Geez, there are so many ways the Dems could use this stuff against the man. Sometimes I think they are asleep at the wheel!

[joanie]

Listening on You Tube to Olbermann's commentary about the ads . . . he's gotta shorten his monologues. I love him . . . but he could be way more powerful if he'd shorten it up.

[Other Steve]

Kerry for Prez in "08" I'm sure the troops will just love his sense of humor.

[JDB]

Cheney for Prez in "08" I'm sure the troops will just love being sent to their death to keep Haliburton's stock up.

[Fremont]

Are those six freaking planets still in Scorpio?? (I had to splice wires and try-and-err electrical connections to get my furnace to function....poverty requires patience....) Kerry should NOT apologize!

[coiler]

Interesting that Bush gets a pass for his "I dunno where Osama is nor do I pay that much attention"..

[joanie]

Agree Fremont that Kerry should not apologize. But, I think it was a basically stupid comment anyway.

Hopefully, people are burned out with the Republican attack machine. Like the boy who cried wolf . . . they're going back to the same game plan way too much.

[joanie]

Michael: (I agree with the Greens much of the time and have an American libertarian streak). The 2 party system is too imbedded in our political culture and the laws of the states and counties. . .

Should have listened to Open Source tonight. Lani Guinier and Chris Lydon talking about small efforts to change political electioneering here and there . . . I didn't catch it all but you might find it interesting. You just never know when people will have had enough . . . "Experiments in Democracy"

I have to listen to the whole program myself . . . easy to download.

[Fremont]

Bla'M, a Repug named Larry Ishmael is opposing Inslee in the first district. Good luck and call me, Ishmael...

[sparky]

Fremont..isnt that pesky mercury going to wreck havoc soon by going retrograde? I hate it when that happens