On The Road To 2008

Time Running Out to Register for Primary Voting

2008-07-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

There are only 32 days until the Washington State Primary elections on Aug. 19, 2008.

With the primaries only 32 days away, that means there are ONLY 2 MORE DAYS to get registered by mail to vote, or 17 days to register in person to vote in them:

Registration Deadlines

The deadline for registering or transferring your voter registration is 30 days before an election. If you register by mail, your application must be postmarked by the 30-day cutoff or it will not become effective until after the election.

If you are not already registered to vote in Washington and you miss the 30-day deadline, you can register in person at your county elections department until 15 days before the election. Contact your County Auditor for assistance and information.

You can even register online.

Bush, Indebted to the Chinese, Will Attend Opening Olympic Ceremony

2008-07-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

So President Bush has declared that it would be "an affront to the Chinese people" if he were to not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.

I'm sure one could quibble about whether or not the Chinese would prefer he attend, and of course it will be an affront to many Americans if he does attend, but given that China owns $500 billion of U.S. Treasury Securities, and over $1 trillion in dollar denominated assets, one can understand why Bush might not want to piss the Chinese off any more than necessary, even while his popularity here continues to set new record lows.

The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 6

2008-07-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is the long overdue sixth in a series of postings that seek to look more closely at Dave Reichert's voting record. You can read the first five postings here:

Part 1 - H.R. 1, Implementing the 9/11Commission Recommendations Act, and H.R. 2, Fair Minimum Wage Act
Part 2 - H.R. 6, Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act
Part 3 - H.J.Res 20, Further Continuing Appropriations for FY 2007
Part 4 - H.R. 1361, Relief for Entrepreneurs: Coordination of Objectives and Values for Effective Recovery Act
Part 5 - H.R. 1592, To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes

You can also read my thoughts about why these vote switches matter.

Votes on this bill, H.R.1684, known as the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, followed the same pattern I've described in detailed previously, where Dave Reichert voted with his Republican colleagues against the bill every step of the way, until the final passage vote, at which time he flipped his vote when it was clear the bill would pass regardless. Roll calls 310, 311 and 314 through 318 taken May 9, 2007 provide the details.

The first order of business was H.Res.382, providing for consideration of the bill. After an hour of debate, the previous question was ordered and passed 217-199, with all Republicans, including Reichert, voting against. The resolution then passed 222-197, again with total Republican opposition.

After voting on a couple of amendments that were proposed, one of which would have deleted a provision that requires that identification cards, uniforms, protective gear, and badges of Homeland Security personnel be manufactured in the United States, and failed across party lines, and another that passed along party lines, Republican congressman Charlie Dent (PA-15) made a motion to recommit the bill with instructions to Homeland Security, inserting a section pertaining to an automated targeting system for persons entering or departing the United States. The motion passed with all Republicans voting to recommit the bill. However, an amendment was then passed by voice vote to include the section contained in the Dent motion to recommit, allowing the bill to come up for a final passage vote, at which point Reichert flipped from his previous opposition, and voted for the bill, which passed 296-126, but with a majority of Republicans still voting against it.

So here's Dave Reichert, a member of the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, voting against a bill that came out of the Committee on Homeland Security, that he sits on, with unanimous consent, before finally voting for it on final passage in the House.

You'd think that this seeming incongruity would be covered by the local press, but it never was.

Terrorism Defeated in Iraq!

2008-07-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Iraqi PM says government has defeated terrorism

BAGHDAD: Iraq's prime minister said Saturday that the government has defeated terrorism in the country, a sign of growing confidence after recent crackdowns against Sunni extremists and Shiite militias.

So, that's that then, we can bring all our troops home, right?

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

2008-07-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Every year we need a reminder of the truths we hold to be self-evident:

A Simple But Powerful Message Garners Huge Support

2008-07-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a bad day for WA-08 candidate Darcy Burner. Her house went up in flames. She and her family barely escaped before the raging fire engulfed just about all her possessions, and unfortunately killed her cat. The family dog somehow managed to survive despite being caught inside the house while it burned down.

That afternoon while visiting the Seattle Times Web site I came across this front page:

The photo of Darcy Burner with the gutted house behind her was heart wrenching, but I was also taken by the T-shirt she was wearing.

The caption for the photo made mention she was "wearing a gray T-shirt", but fellow geek that I am, I understood that this was XML code for "End War", and knowing she must have been wearing it when she was woken up by the screams of her son Henry when the fire started, said to me something more. The primary issue that Darcy has made the central focus of her campaign is bringing a responsible end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. She doesn't just campaign about this, she's consumed by it, and literally eats, sleeps and drinks the issue. Her passion led her to spearhead the creation of A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, that has now been endorsed by over 50 other candidates for Congress.

So there she was wearing a simple T-shirt, yet it said so much, so concisely.

At Drinking Liberally that evening I showed fellow bloggers the photo and the quick posting I'd put up about it. David Goldstein of HorsesAss.org was there and talked about working with national blogs to do a campaign fundraiser to help raise money while the Burner family dealt with rebuilding their home and the loss of their possessions. He and others also saw the power of the photograph when I showed it to them, particularly within the Netroots, a grassroots group fervently against the war and made up of a lot of geeks who'd recognize what the T-shirt was saying.

The next morning I quickly threw up a similar posting at Daily Kos, which got a modest number of recommends and comments. An hour later Goldy posted his fundraising appeal, which was quickly joined by postings at Open Left, Eschaton, MyDD, and Swing State Project, but most significantly by one by Markos at Daily Kos. The goal: raise enough money for the campaign so that Darcy could spend as much time she needed focusing on her family and new house. The estimate was that every $5,000 raised would buy her an extra day she would be able to spend putting her personal life back together. Markos' ambitious target was $150,000, enough to buy her a full month of such personal time. All of these online appeals showed a copy of the same photograph with the T-shirt.

At 11pm on Tuesday night Darcy Burner's ActBlue totals for this election cycle stood at 7,669 supporters and $247,088 raised. Within 40 minutes of Kos' posting $8,000 had been raised. That grew to $15,000 in a little over an hour. By noon, $30,000 had been raised. By 1am this morning the totals stood at 9,095 supporters and $327,099 raised. Twelve hours later and we're at 9,343 supporters and $341,012 raised.

In little over a day the Netroots have raised, through ActBlue alone, $93,924 from 1,674 supporters, for an average of $56 per supporter. Surely more has come in directly to the campaign. That's simply amazing!

Last year the Netroots also rallied in support of Darcy Burner when George Bush came to Bellevue for a Dave Reichert fundraiser. Over a four day weekend period in late August, in an election off-year, the Netroots collectively raised close to $125,000. Back then the impetus was George Bush's visit. That drive managed to negate its effect and propel Burner to a better fundraising quarter than her opponent. It also led to the germination of the Responsible Plan.

This time Burner's personal loss, and that simple T-shirt have managed to garner an even greater response from Netroots supporters, and will help propel Burner into the final four months of this campaign with added determination and drive.

This is a critical time for the campaign due to the head to head nature of this year's primary. With only 46 days until the August 19 primaries, there are only 16 more days left to register by mail to vote or to transfer a voter registration if you've recently moved, or 31 days to do so in person if you want to be able to vote in the primary. If Darcy cannot campaign or fundraise during this time we need to help her out. Your donation is one way you can help. Volunteering to help get people registered is another, or you can simply spread the word by talking to your neighbors and friends to remind them.

Loss of Seattle Sonics Will Reduce Road Congestion

2008-07-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

So the Sonics will move, supposedly with a new name, colors and logo to Oklahoma City next year.

While Don Ward is blaming elected officials for this, instead of Howard Schultz who sold the team to the Oklahoma buyers a couple of years ago, I'd think that Republicans should be dancing in the street over this news. After all, the absence of the Sonics will result in 41 nights of less of road congestion, particularly along the always troublesome Mercer, Valley and Broad Streets.

Alternatively we could have poured hundreds of millions of public dollars into financing the construction of a new arena to prop up a money losing private business venture. Perhaps that's good public policy to some, but most people in this area didn't think so. Maybe it is time for city sports teams to be actually owned by the citizens of the city and the fans. At least then we'd make more responsible decisions, and the team wouldn't move to another town.

Rising From The Ashes

2008-07-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Political candidates will have their good and bad days, but this was one rough day Darcy Burner certainly didn't envision with just over four months until election day. The above photo shows a distraught Darcy in front of the charred remains of her house. While the house is a complete loss, the Burner family thankfully made it out safely. Unfortunately they did lose their pet cat to the flames.

It is easy to dehumanize candidates during a heated campaign, but then with a thud, stuff like this happens and suddenly the political race seems far less important than the need to pick oneself back up and rebuild a home and a life.

We learn a lot about other people, and about ourselves in times of adversity. The Burners will have a different outlook on things because of this personal loss, but I suspect they will also bounce back strong, and Darcy, the candidate, will find renewed determination to do whatever it takes over the next four months to win the election so she can work in Congress to end the war in Iraq.

We need to do whatever we can to help.

White House and Congress - A Very Dangerous Escalation of Iran Situation

2008-06-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

Seymour Hersh continues his investigative reporting of U.S. actions against, and now in Iran.

Crooks and Liars has an interview with him from CNN, in which he states:

...The end game is, as far as -- and I do have some access into some of the thinking, particularly in the vice president's office. They do not want -- Bush and Cheney do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program, with, they believe, a nuclear weapons program. They simply don't believe the national intelligence estimate that came out late last year that said they haven't done anything in nuclear weapons since '03. They just don't believe it.

So they believe that their mission is to make sure that, before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program.

Forget what the intelligence has told us about the state of Iran's nuclear program. Forget how wrong the Bush administration were about WMDs in Iraq. Forget the mess we're in now in Iraq and the fact the military is stretched so thin. Forget all that. These guys in the White House live in their own world, make up their own rules. Be damned everything and everyone else.

Meanwhile, our congressional representatives are just handing over all the rope we need to collectively hang ourselves. In late May, a resolution (H.Con.Res.362) was introduced and referred to the House Committee of Foreign Affairs that escalates the situation further. The resolution's title: "Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to international peace, stability in the Middle East, and the vital national security interests of the United States by Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and regional hegemony, and for other purposes." A Senate version, S.Res.580 was introduced in early June.

Here is what the text states:

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--

(1) declares that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, through all appropriate economic, political, and diplomatic means, is vital to the national security interests of the United States and must be dealt with urgently;

(2) urges the President, in the strongest of terms, to immediately use his existing authority to impose sanctions on--
(A) the Central Bank of Iran and any other Iranian bank engaged in proliferation activities or the support of terrorist groups;

(B) international banks which continue to conduct financial transactions with proscribed Iranian banks;

(C) energy companies that have invested $20,000,000 or more in the Iranian petroleum or natural gas sector in any given year since the enactment of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996; and

(D) all companies which continue to do business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps;
(3) demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program; and

(4) urges the President to lead a sustained, serious, and forceful effort at regional diplomacy to support the legitimate governments in the region against Iranian efforts to destabilize them, to reassure our friends and allies that the United States supports them in their resistance to Iranian efforts at hegemony, and to make clear to the Government of Iran that the United States will protect America's vital national security interests in the Middle East.

While the resolution stipulates that "nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization of the use of force against Iran", what would in effect be a blockade would be exactly that if not endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. The Seattle P.I. editorialized about this very fact a week ago.

Republican congressman Dave Reichert has joined Democrats Norm Dicks and Adam Smith as co-sponsors of the resolution, that has 83 Republican co-sponsors and 64 Democratic co-sponsors in the House. 12 Republicans and 8 Democrats are co-sponsoring the Senate version, including Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.

Is this the road we are heading down? Is this what Americans want their government to be doing, calling for embargoes and blockades and provoking a war? Have we not learned anything from the Iraq invasion? Will our arrogance never end?

If we keep silent we will have given our tacit approval. Contact your Representatives and Senators and tell them that they're heading down a very slippery slope that will lead to no good and possibly to a war we want no part of.

Q2 Fundraising Coming to an End

2008-06-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

It is the end of Q2 fundraising and three Washington Democratic challengers for Congress will be looking to report strong totals with your help: Darcy Burner in the 8th, George Fearing in the 4th and Mark Mays in the 5th.

Please make a donation today of even the smallest amount if you can.

Update: Please note that George Fearing's Web site is now http://www.georgefearingforcongress.com/

Israel Gains Nothing

2008-06-29T17:07:00.001-07:00

Remember that 34 day war that ensued after Israel launched attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006, supposedly in response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers?

The war ended without anything gained from it except a demonstration of Hezbollah's ability to withstand the Israeli bombardments.

Now it turns out the two Israeli soldiers, who were never freed, are now dead and the Israelis have agreed to a swap of a living Lebanese killer, for the remains of the two soldiers.

And somehow Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is still leading that nation. Amazing.

Elway Poll: Gregoire Leads Rossi 47% - 39%

2008-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Governor Chris Gregoire is up on Republican Dino Rossi 47 to 39 in the latest Elway poll according to the PI.

Rossi isn't getting McGavick's numbers, and only 78% of the Republican vote. That's not where he wants to be. Yet, with him clumsily trying to run away from the Republican Party by filing as preferring the "G.O.P Party", and his deep BIAW connections, it isn't a surprise that his popularity would be low, while Gregoire's support is on the rise.

Democrats will be hoping he keeps doing what he's been doing, given how poorly that's been working for him.

Big Bad Sheriff?

2008-06-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show played part of this incredible campaign ad for Texas Senator John Cornyn last night:

Can you imagine Dave Reichert doing a "Big Bad Sheriff" version locally?

Clinton's Campaign Debt Shouldn't Be Obama's Burden

2008-06-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

As expected, Obama supporters are being asked to help retire debt accumulated by the Clinton campaign during her run for the nomination.

I say phooey to that.

The race dragged on almost three months beyond the ultimately decisive outcomes of the February and early March contests. At that point Clinton should have gracefully bowed out and conceded as she had no realistic chance of winning the nomination. Instead she stubbornly forged on with a scorched earth approach in a desperate attempt to damage Obama to her benefit. It was foolhardy and costly. The donations to her campaign coffers in April and May were both too much and not enough. It was money that could have been directed elsewhere, and now has become a debt her opponent's supporters are being asked to help pay back.

That just doesn't sit well with me.

This was her decision. The contributions were her supporter's decision. It should be their burden to bear.

Yes, I'm sure Obama's wealthiest donors will help pay off that debt, but really this is a debt Clinton's wealthiest supporters should suck up and pay. They gambled and lost, and the Democratic Party and Obama campaign were the ones that suffered for it. The least they can do now is admit to their responsibility and deal with the debt they ran up.

The Incredible Shrinking Gas Tax Rate

2008-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

I write letters. This one only made it to the Seattle Times' online page:

Louise Pasche wants the final gas-tax increase that was approved by voters when they overwhelming defeated Initiative 912, a whopping 1.5 cents per gallon, to be canceled ["Washington's gas tax," Times, Northwest Voices, June 23].

At present prices, that would be a mere one-third of 1 percent the cost of a gallon of gas.

The price of gas has risen locally by more than $1 in the past year, which has effectively reduced the state's tax rate on a gallon of gas by 28 percent in that time.

Washington voters recognized the need for investing in our transportation infrastructure three years ago, and that need has not gone away. Gimmicks such as calls for a federal gasoline tax "holiday" have been seen for what they are — pandering — and even worse, reckless energy policy.

Cancellation of a 1.5 cent gas-tax increase will only starve us of much-needed revenue for hundreds of projects statewide.

Rossi: Will Deceive For Votes

2008-06-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

According to this Fox News report, Dino Rossi says he's always used the "Grand Old Party" nickname (1m50s into the video).

Except that's a lie as Goldy points out. Here is his voter pamphlet statement from 2004:

Rossi - Republican in 2004

Not one reference to the "G.O.P. Party".

Video: Reichert's Convention Address (Including His Clinton Joke)

2008-06-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

TVW has added the ability to embed their videos and indicate a start point and end point for playback. They still have some improvements that I think they should make (no easy replay button for the chosen segment for instance), but it is a start.

So it provides me with opportunity to point people to Dave Reichert's 12 minute address at the Washington State Republican Party Convention last month:

The infamous joke is at the 25 minute mark (about 1 minute into the selected segment).

Reichert then asks, "What does 'change' mean? 'Change' is [the Democrat's] theme: we're going to change the greatest nation in the world?" Then he questions the Republicans' version, "Change that you deserve. What does that mean?"

Instead he chose to focus on "H.O.P.E." Taking a page out of Obama's mantra that we're not a nation of Democrats or Republicans, but that we are all Americans, Reichert also asked the contentious crowd full of Ron Paul supporters to agree that we are all "proud Americans". He followed that up with three increasingly loud calls that "Today we support John McCain as our nominee!", while the Ron Paul supporters chanted "Ron Paul! Ron Paul!" Sure doesn't sound like party unity listening to that shoutfest.

He then spelled out his definition of "H.O.P.E.": Honor, Opportunity, Prosperity and Equality, referencing the "American Dream".

Clearly Reichert will be seeking to appropriate the messages of "Change" and "Hope" as his own over the coming months. That might be a tough sell to voters who have seen Republicans trash the honor of their charge, limit the opportunities of the down-trodden, seek to prop up the prosperity of the wealthy at the expense of the middle class, and walk all over our constitution and civil liberties.

Donna Edwards Wins Congressional Seat

2008-06-18T20:01:00.001-07:00

Donna Edwards, an early vocal endorser of the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, was elected to fill the open seat in Maryland's 4th CD on Tuesday. She won in a landslide with 80.2% of the vote.

That's one candidate elected (she will run against the same Republican opponent again in November), and 53 others to go to change the face of Congress and elect candidates that will help get us out of Iraq.

Obama +4.0 Over McCain Nationally

2008-06-17T22:50:00.001-07:00

Now that's what I call a consistent result - almost unheard of in election polls:

Source: RealClearPolitics

McCain Channels Bush, Bush Channels McCain

2008-06-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

Who made who? Who came first?

Two headlines:

- Bush to seek an end to ban on oil drilling

- John McCain calls for offshore drilling to ease US fuel crisis

You can't tell one apart from the other.

BTW, $4/gallon gas is not a fuel crisis. They've been paying more than that in Europe for many, many years. We better get used to it.

The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq Revisited

2008-06-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Back on March 17th, at the Take Back America conference, Darcy Burner and five other Democratic challengers for Congress unveiled the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq.

The document germinated six months before when Darcy Burner asked Retired General Paul Eaton to help her put together a detailed, concrete plan that brings together legislation already introduced (but not passed) in Congress, and recommendations as yet unrealized from the Iraq Study Group (or Baker-Hamilton Commission).

There are those that would like to question Burner's role, and downplay the importance of the document she was the primary author of, and the effort she spearheaded. Nevermind the fact that publications such as The Nation, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Politico, and The New Republic have all written about her leadership role and authoring of the plan.

The unveiling event for the plan at Take Back America was streamed live online. Burner spoke first and was followed by five of the early endorsees, candidates Donna Edwards (MD-04), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Tom Perriello (VA-05), Sam Bennett (PA-15) and Jared Polis (CO-02).

The following two quotes from the speeches underline the nature of Burner's leadership role.

Sam Bennett, candidate for U.S. House 15th CD, Pennsylvania:

I was asked to speak to you about why I'm signing on [to The Responsible Plan], and before I tell you why I'm signing on, I think we haven't done a very important thing yet. I've been on this planet 50 years, I have two girls in college, and I have a late life gift, David, he's five - Darcy and I both have five year olds at home - but I would like to commend the leadership of Darcy. For a young woman to put this forth, the effort and the vision, and then to have the largess to invite her fellow challengers to join with her in this, I can tell you in my 30 years of being a business woman, a leader, that it's very unusual. Please, a round of applause for Darcy Burner.

Jared Polis, candidate for U.S. House 2nd CD, Colorado:

I'm Jared Polis from Colorado. I'm running for Congress to propel Darcy Burner into a leadership position in the Democratic Party as quickly as possible! Isn't it remarkable, Darcy's leadership, and also that our class is beginning to take on the mantle of leadership even prior to being elected. We need the Democrats in Washington, D.C. to show same kind of backbone that many of the Democrats here who are running for office are showing today.

Since then the list of endorsees has grown to 54 House candidates.

Here are a couple of videos of the early endorsers and General Eaton talking about the plan:

Last week, Nancy Pelosi spoke about the impact of the plan on recent work in the House:

Democratic leadership recently has worked harder to stick to its own agenda. That was particularly true, she said, with recent votes on Iraq.

advertising

"This time we just said, 'What do we want in this bill? What is the statement that needs to be made?' "

Part of that statement has been to reflect what is in a document called the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. Created by Burner and a team of experts, the plan calls for a rapid troop withdrawal and an increased diplomatic and humanitarian effort in Iraq.

The plan has been endorsed by other Democratic congressional challengers, as well as some retired military officers.

Big threads of the plan include legislation that already existed in Congress but failed to pass under two years of Democratic control.

"You could think of a million things you could do better in terms of Iraq, probably at least a million," Pelosi said. "But it's a question of where you put the focus. And yes, indeed, what she has done helped focus that."

And Burner got other candidates to sign on. "That drumbeat isn't lost on Congress."

And Congressman Jay Inslee has also cited the plan on the House floor.

Getting the word out about the plan is an ongoing effort for these candidates, but thanks to their efforts and Burner's leadership it is starting to make a difference.

You can read the plan at http://www.responsibleplan.com/plan.

Counting Down To The August Primary Elections

2008-06-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

I've added a new countdown to the top of the blog that tracks how many days until the Washington State primary elections on August 19.

It is currently only 64 days away.

Why is this important?

The "top two" primary system this year means that top candidates will be in head to head competition on the ballot against their biggest opponent. While for some the primary will be a scramble to survive just to make it to the general election ballot, in most races with a clear Democratic and Republican candidate, the primary will constitute an early barometer of the state of the race to come.

While primaries never get as many voters as a general election, as voters tend to feel the primary results don't matter as much, a show of strength in the primary against an eventual general election opponent will be highly prized by candidates looking to have a positive result behind them while campaigning and fundraising for the November election.

In races such as the Governor's race or the Congressional races, the results of the primary voting will be highly scrutinized by all observers. With the ability for all voters, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, to choose any candidate, how a candidate fares in the primary could have a significant effect on voter sentiment and support going forward.

With the primaries only 64 days away, that means there are only 34 more days to get registered by mail to vote, or 49 days to register in person to vote in them:

Registration Deadlines

The deadline for registering or transferring your voter registration is 30 days before an election. If you register by mail, your application must be postmarked by the 30-day cutoff or it will not become effective until after the election.

If you are not already registered to vote in Washington and you miss the 30-day deadline, you can register in person at your county elections department until 15 days before the election. Contact your County Auditor for assistance and information.

As we were so often reminded during the convention this weekend, elections are won by turnout, and the get out the vote (GOTV) effort cannot wait until October this year, it has to start happening now. That means talking to neighbors and walking your precinct to make sure people are registered to vote, and urging them to participate in the primary election. You can even register online.

The next 49 days will have an important impact on these races, and come late August we should have a good sense of just which races will be close, and which won't. If all the Democrats that were energized by the Presidential Primary and Caucuses vote in the August primary, it could bode well for Democratic candidates.

Upthegrove's Choice Disrespects the Democratic Party

2008-06-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

Andrew at NPI informs us that one of the national Obama delegates chosen today in Spokane to fill a "party leader and elected official" (PLEO) position, was 33rd District State Representative Dave Upthegrove.

You may recall that the past couple of weeks I have been writing about the candidate filings for this year's elections, and the couple dozen candidates who initially filed as "Prefers Democrat Party". I emailed every one of these candidates to alert them to their filing, as the form they had to fill out probably tripped them up.

One of these candidates was Representative Dave Upthegrove, but while he did not respond to my emails and phone calls, David Postman seemed to have no problem getting the following quote from him on the matter:

"I don't think it matters one way or the other. Voters just want to know which party we belong to. Either wording gives them that information. Any concern is much ado about nothing."

Now Mr. Upthegrove is the only Democratic candidate whose filing still reads "Prefers Democrat Party", and whether he likes to think so or not, that does matter.

While 157 Democrats are now uniformly listed as "Prefers Democratic Party", Upthegrove seems to think he knows better. Instead he has filed as belonging to another party in my view. There is no such thing as the "Democrat Party".

When you go to the party Web site at http://www.democrats.org/ it says "Democratic Party". On their history page it states:

"Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic Party in 1792 as a congressional caucus to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the elitist Federalist Party. In 1798, the "party of the common man" was officially named the Democratic-Republican Party and in 1800 elected Jefferson as the first Democratic President of the United States."

And then adds:

"...In 1844, the National Convention simplified the Party's name to the Democratic Party."

Furthermore, any self-professed Democrat wanting to refer to the party as the "Democrat Party" should read this.

Upthegrove has now been chosen to represent hundreds of thousands of Washington State Obama supporters in Denver in August as a State Delegate. While he continues to stubbornly insist on belonging to the "Democrat Party" he does not represent this Obama supporter, and I'm sure it will irk many other Democrats. Needless to say, I am not happy to know that he was chosen as a delegate over other PLEOs.

WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part Five

2008-06-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

After making my last post, I wandered the Convention floor and took a few photos:

2008 Washington State Democratic Convention

2008 Washington State Democratic Convention - Voting

2008 Washington State Democratic Convention - Lt. Gov Brad Owen at podium

Things then got interesting as the question of amending the charter regarding how delegates are allotted was discussed. The charter amendment called for all or some of the state delegates to be chosen based on the Presidential Primary. Currently they are all selected via the caucus process.

I've commented a number of times that my preference would be that we have a closed Primary in Washington State. However, many in the party prefer caucuses. The voting was considerable against the charter amendment with 632 against to 334 for (and 25 absentions). The vote count also established that there would not be enough votes to approve any of the charter amendments and business then moved on to the party platform.

At that point I determined that I really needed to start the long drive westward if I wanted to avoid driving in the dark after a long, tiring day, so I missed how things turned out. However, Andrew from NPI has a couple of postings that cover the 45 minutes I missed, here and here. Coverage of the last part of the day can also be viewed at TVW.

I should mention that you can also read blogged coverage of the convention from David Postman (Seattle Times), Niki Sullivan (Tacoma News Tribune), Jim Camden (Spokesman-Review) and Bryan Bissell (PolitickerWA).

In general it was an interesting convention. Delegate attendance was surely impacted by the location. Had the convention been in Seattle I think attendance would have been much higher, but one understands the desire to rotate things around the state. The organizers could have also considered the needs of the press a little better - the simple things like having somewhere to sit and plug in. The main lobby might have been set up with more campaign tables instead of spreading them out into the corridors. It would have creating density where there was a lot of empty space. Otherwise, the convention seemed to run smoothly, without noticeable in-party discord between Obama and Clinton supporters (I never really noticed Clinton supporters, who kept a low profile in general), and attendees were in good spirits about the upcoming races this year.

Andrew at NPI is providing continuing coverage of the final selection of national delegates today.

WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part Four

2008-06-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

One reason to get rid of the Electoral College might be to also get rid of the process of electing the electors who end up casting the votes. We're going to spend an hour or more listening to candidates for these positions make their pitch. It is technically possible for hundreds of people to nominate themselves for a couple of positions being filled at the Convention.

Meanwhile, a quick survey of outside news yields up this headline as displayed at Google News: "Obama blasts McCain on energy, taxes". Really? "Blasts"? Clicking through to the article presents a less bombastic headline: "Obama lays out energy, tax plans, criticizes McCain's" I can't keep track of how many times headlines use the term "blasts" in such contexts, as if the criticism has been delivered with such a force of nature the recipient of the attack would be as if verily blown away by the sonic onslaught - right, and Presidential campaign politics are otherwise made up of comfy chairs and soft cushions. The fact the headline was changed suggests someone else also made this observation.

Back to the Convention, they're still taking nominations. It is interesting how people approach trying to convince others to vote for them for this mostly symbolic position. Diversity takes many forms, as redundant as that sounds.

Breaking News: they've announced Jim McIntire has won the nomination vote for the contested State Treasurer position. No surprise there.

As they count the votes for the electors, business moves to Charter Amendments. Time for someone else to stand up, blocking my view. Can't blame people for stretching their legs I guess. He sits down but another person is there to obstruct the view. Maybe it is time to move again to a new location given my battery is fully charged now.