On The Road To 2008

• The End Of The Road

  Back in 2004, following the defeat of John Kerry by George W. Bush, I created this blog and gave it a name that defined its general purpose - a four year commitment - that would hopefully come to an end following a new presidential election when we could vote again [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 20, 2009, 12:01am EST
  

• A Recurring Theme: It Floods Around Here

  We've been getting a lot of snow and then rain.
  
  This is the dramatic result:

  
  A flooded Snoqualmie Valley © Alan Berner / The Seattle Times

  And so is this:

  
  Hwy 202 road collapse at Fall City © Thomas James Hurst / The Seattle Times

  This is' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 10, 2009, 11:43pm EST
  

• Merry Snowy Christmas

  

  
  Snowy Westlake Center, Seattle (Taken from a 360° panorama © Bradford Bohonus)

  Hope you're having a safe, warm and dry Christmas.' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 24, 2008, 5:33pm EST
  

• The Presidential Election Recapped

  

  Excellent series of articles from Newsweek, well worth the read:
  
  Ch. 1: Barack Obama: How He Did It
  Ch. 2: John McCain: Back From the Dead?
  Ch. 3: The Long Clinton-Obama Siege
  Ch. 4: McCain Camp Retools, Targets Obama
  Ch. 5: Obama [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 13, 2008, 12:14pm EST
  

• Our Next President: Barack Obama

  

  Obama Wins!
  A World Of Front Page Headlines
  

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2008, 2:38pm EST
  

• The Time Has Finally Come: VOTE!

  After waiting 1459 days since the last presidential election, election day 2008 is finally here.
  
  That 126 million second countdown to finally changing the direction of American is finally over.
  
  It has been a long haul, covering over 1200 blog entries and countless hours of research and writing, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2008, 10:03pm EST
  

• Burner's Final TV Ad

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 04, 2008, 9:34pm EST
  

• Reasons to Vote for Darcy Burner

  There are many good reason, and here are just a few:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And here is one other important reason:
  
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 28, 2008, 10:11pm EDT
  

• Hungry For Representation

  I couldn't have said it better myself:I found the P-I endorsement of Dave Reichert for re-election to Congress perplexing.
  
  Why should the citizens of the 8th Congressional District pass up the opportunity to vote for a "smart, well-informed and progressive candidate" like Darcy Burner in order to provide Reichert' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 15, 2008, 7:39am EDT
  

• Last Week To Register To Vote In Person!

  This is the last week one can register to vote for the upcoming elections. You will have to do so in person. You will need to contact your County Auditor for assistance and information.
  
  You may want to check if you are registered as you'd' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 13, 2008, 8:45pm EDT
  

• Newcastle Chamber of Commerce Forum

  Election day is just three weeks away, but there is at least one more chance to hear from the candidates, including Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert, and to learn more about a couple of initiatives on the ballot. The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce Forum is hosting a couple of events [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 13, 2008, 8:33pm EDT
  

• So You Think You're Registered To Vote? Think Again!

  Hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians have been scrubbed from the voter registration rolls since 2006:(Seattle PI) Since 2006, more than 450,000 voter registrations were canceled; of those, nearly 95,000 were ineligible felons or dead, and almost 55,000 were canceled because they duplicated registrations that already existed. The rest were [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 23, 2008, 10:06pm EDT
  

• 2000 Days

  The United States has now been occupying Iraq for 2000 days.

  Will it ever end? [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 08, 2008, 10:19pm EDT
  

• 3

  Three years later, Gustav reminds us of the disaster of Katrina, and brings disaster anew to New Orleans and the Gulf coast. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 31, 2008, 3:39pm EDT
  

• 72

  John McCain turns 72 today. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 29, 2008, 12:17pm EDT
  

• Don't Forget to Vote in the Washington State Primary

  It is time for the Washington State Primary.
  
  Let your voice be counted: Vote! [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 18, 2008, 10:07pm EDT
  

• 100

  100 days until the November 4 elections. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 26, 2008, 12:31pm EDT
  

• Sound Transit 2 Fifteen Year Plan To Go To Ballot

  Good! [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 25, 2008, 9:29pm EDT
  

• Time Running Out to Register for Primary Voting

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 17, 2008, 7:22pm EDT
  

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

  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' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 07, 2008, 2:54pm EDT
  

• The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 6

  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 ActPart 2 -' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 06, 2008, 3:52pm EDT
  

• Terrorism Defeated in Iraq!

  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?[...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 06, 2008, 12:46pm EDT
  

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

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

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 04, 2008, 2:16pm EDT
  

• A Simple But Powerful Message Garners Huge Support

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 03, 2008, 1:25pm EDT
  

• Loss of Seattle Sonics Will Reduce Road Congestion

  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' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 02, 2008, 8:12pm EDT
  

• Rising From The Ashes

  

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 01, 2008, 6:00pm EDT
  

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

  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 [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 01, 2008, 10:56pm EDT
  

• Q2 Fundraising Coming to an End

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 30, 2008, 7:45am EDT
  

• Israel Gains Nothing

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 29, 2008, 5:07pm EDT
  

• Elway Poll: Gregoire Leads Rossi 47% - 39%

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 27, 2008, 8:41pm EDT
  

• Big Bad Sheriff?

  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? [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 26, 2008, 10:00pm EDT
  

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

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 25, 2008, 8:55pm EDT
  

• The Incredible Shrinking Gas Tax Rate

  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].
  [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 25, 2008, 7:35am EDT
  

• Rossi: Will Deceive For Votes

  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. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 24, 2008, 7:51am EDT
  

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

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 22, 2008, 9:47pm EDT
  

• Donna Edwards Wins Congressional Seat

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 18, 2008, 8:01pm EDT
  

• Obama +4.0 Over McCain Nationally

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

  
  Source: RealClearPolitics

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 18, 2008, 10:50pm EDT
  

• McCain Channels Bush, Bush Channels McCain

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 18, 2008, 10:34pm EDT
  

• The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq Revisited

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 17, 2008, 10:53pm EDT
  

• Counting Down To The August Primary Elections

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 10:55pm EDT
  

• Upthegrove's Choice Disrespects the Democratic Party

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 16, 2008, 9:55pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part Five

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 15, 2008, 3:23pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part Four

  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 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2008, 3:52pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part Three

  The Convention has resumed, and the tedious and messy process of voting on this, that and the other has resumed as well. Then again when you get 1300 people in a room you will have motions, points of procedure and points of order, votes and whatnot. Lt. Gov. Brad Owen [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2008, 3:00pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part Two

  I've moved to the other side of the room to sit next to a power outlet. The press table is full and all outlets are taken, so I've found a free one further back in the room.
  
  Senator Maria Cantwell has been introduced by Temporary Chair Greg Nickels. She's [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2008, 1:03pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day Two, Part One

  An early morning rise to another clear blue sky day. The first event was the Congressional Breakfast, emceed by Darcy Burner, and featuring a recorded message by Jay Inslee (unable to attend in person so he could be present at his son's graduation), and speeches by George Fearing running [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2008, 10:31am EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day One, Part Three

  Time for the Convention Gala Banquet, and first up is State Party Chair Dwight Pelz. In his opening remarks he reaffirmed his pride in being a Democrat, and contrasted it with Dino Rossi's seeming shame in the name "Republican" (for good reason I might add), deciding instead to use the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2008, 9:50pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day One, Part Two

  I'm in attendance at the Blogging Workshop, with Goldstein and John Wyble. It is a large crowd of people interested in the technical side, or the political side, or just generally curious about political blogging.
  
  I'm generally here to keep an eye on Goldy, and to see [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 13, 2008, 2:33pm EDT
  

• WA State Democratic Convention: Day One, Part One

  Day One of the Washington State Democratic Convention in Spokane.
  
  It's a lovely sunny day, so of course I'm going to spend most of my time indoors in windowless rooms. At least that's one way to protect against skin cancer.
  
  I've registered and picked up my delegate materials: [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 13, 2008, 11:44am EDT
  

• On The Road To Spokane

  The Washington State Democratic Convention starts Friday and I will be in attendance as an Obama delegate first, and a blogger second. As such I may throw up a post or two during the event on whatever suits my fancy.
  
  The drive to Spokane was pleasant, and one way [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 13, 2008, 12:12am EDT
  

• Ron Paul Continues To Plague McCain's Nomination

  This is going to be a very bothersome distraction for McCain on September 2.
  
  Paul received a solid 15% plus in primaries after McCain wrapped up the nomination race. Those supporters could be critical to McCain's chances in November. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 11, 2008, 10:14pm EDT
  

• When Each Person Takes The Law Into His/Her Own Hands You End Up With Lawlessness

  This article from the LA Times, also printed in the Seattle Times this weekend, really seems like it was written in the Twilight Zone:

  Jensen carries his Glock 23 openly into his bank, restaurants and shopping centers. He wore the gun to a Ron Paul rally. He and his [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 09, 2008, 8:15pm EDT
  

• The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 5

  This is the fifth in a series of postings that seek to look more closely at Dave Reichert's voting record. You can read the first four 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, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 08, 2008, 3:48pm EDT
  

• More Candidates Filing Problems - This Is No Joke

  Filing week continues and the problems with party preference continue to plague candidates who have been confused by the new filing forms.
  
  On Monday Richard Pope observed that Brian Baird was listed as "Prefers Democrat Party". Richard contacted the Baird people and they then contacted the Secretary [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 06, 2008, 12:21am EDT
  

• Some Changes I Can't Believe In Quite Yet

  Last night as I watched MSNBC's coverage of the final Democratic Presidential Primary night, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Tim Russert and Brian Williams were talking about the significance of Obama's clinching the Democratic nomination, and thinking about the general election campaign race to come (full transcript here):

  MATTHEWS: That was [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 05, 2008, 10:51pm EDT
  

• Obama's Nomination Clinching Speech

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 04, 2008, 10:50pm EDT
  

• Washington Candidate Filings: Trouble With Party Preference Designation

  This is filing week for Washington State candidates, and a list of those that have filed so far can be found at the Secretary of State Web site.
  
  Those paying attention will know that this year we have a "top two" primary system. Only the top two candidates [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 04, 2008, 10:13pm EDT
  

• Obama Wins Nomination - Onward Ho We Go!

  With the final primaries today splitting between the candidates, and a flood of super-delegate endorsements, Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for President.
  
  Few would have thought such an outcome was possible six months ago, but Obama was able to energize voters like never before in the American [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 03, 2008, 8:36pm EDT
  

• Reichert Still Franking Away

  The Seattle Times revisits an old issue regarding Dave Reichert's use of congressional franked mail privileges.
  
  Like I said, this is an old issue that I've written about a number of times previously:

  • Reichert Electioneering With Tax Payer Dollars (June 29, 2006)
  • Reichert Spends $500,000 of Taxpayer Money [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 03, 2008, 9:10pm EDT
  

• Republicans Walk Out On A Plank Again

  The Washington State Republican Party held their convention this weekend in Spokane, and the Seattle Times reports that the platform they've adopted includes a provision that opposes the automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants:

  The state party approved a similar platform plank at its 2006 [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 02, 2008, 9:43pm EDT
  

• The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 4

  This is the fourth in a series of postings that seek to look more closely at Dave Reichert's voting record. You can read the first three 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, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 01, 2008, 4:06pm EDT
  

• Michigan and Florida Delegates Will Be Seated With Half Votes

  The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee passed with overwhelming approval two motions that will seat all the Michigan and Florida delegates at the National Convention but reduces their voting power in half.
  
  The Florida motion passed without dissent, 27-0, and allocated the delegates based on the vote percentage. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 31, 2008, 4:41pm EDT
  

• 1900 Days...

  ...since we invaded Iraq. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 31, 2008, 12:52am EDT
  

• Is Mak Worth It?

  Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata thinks that Mayor Greg Nickels' newly hired communications director, Robert Mak's $159,607 is too high.
  
  Personally, it does seem like a pretty hefty salary, but I think what has me scratching my head more is the fact it is more than the mayor's [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 31, 2008, 12:50am EDT
  

• Why The Truth Behind A Voting Record Matters

  Republicans have produced rankings of their own on "green" issues, based mainly on the voting record of Republicans in the House and the Senate, and have given Dave Reichert top scores in his party.
  
  The problem is that Reichert has a pattern of voting on at least 25 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 30, 2008, 10:49pm EDT
  

• McClellan Damns Bush Administration

  For three years, all following the initial invasion of Iraq, Scott McClellan stood before the press and told them one lie after another - and he wasn't very good at it if you ask me.
  
  Today we learn that it was in fact Bush that misled the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 28, 2008, 12:00am EDT
  

• An In-Depth Look At WA-08 Fundraising Numbers

  A couple of weeks ago the Seattle Times compared the fundraising numbers for Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert.
  
  The printed edition also included the following graphic:

  

  For some reason the graphic was not made available with the online version of the article. Perhaps because some of the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 26, 2008, 2:02pm EDT
  

• The Phoenix Has Landed

  NASA pulled off a perfect landing of the Mars explorer Phoenix today.
  
  Meanwhile the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers just keep going, now in their 1562nd and 1542nd Sols respectively.
  
  You can follow Phoenix's 90 day mission here. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 26, 2008, 9:02pm EDT
  

• And Now America's Discussion On Race Must Begin

  With Obama all but officially the Democratic nominee at this point it is time to take a first look at what that means for the November election.
  
  While people are already trying to determine possible electoral vote counts based on state by state polling, I think it is too [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 23, 2008, 11:26pm EDT
  

• Democrats Bullish, Some Republicans In Denial Over November Prospects

  The National Journal released their latest "Congressional Insiders Poll" on Saturday, where they asked the simple question, "How many House seats will Democrats gain or lose in November?", of various Senators and Representatives in Congress, and the answers indicate optimism from Democrats, and a great deal of wishful thinking [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 22, 2008, 11:54pm EDT
  

• Hillary Goes Off The Deep End

  So this weekend at the Washington State Democratic Congressional Caucus we had a sort of "Kumbaya" response to the ongoing Clinton campaign: we must all come together and reach out to and embrace Hillary Clinton and her supporters.
  
  Well, after reading this I'm pretty ready to reach out [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 20, 2008, 9:49pm EDT
  

• Shutting Up The Critics

  Chris Matthews explains why the misuse of the term "appeasement" and other talking points are a dangerous and destructive mechanism that serves to shut up critics and stifle free speech:

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 18, 2008, 11:59am EDT
  

• 8th Congressional District Democratic Caucus Recap

  Today I attended the 8th Congressional District Democratic Caucus as an Obama delegate, round three in the delegate selection process in Washington state.
  
  The caucus was held at Tahoma High School in Covington, and directly followed the 8th CD Nominating Convention at which PCOs made Darcy Burner their [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 18, 2008, 11:15pm EDT
  

• Burner Unanimous Choice of 8th CD

  Darcy Burner was unanimously selected by PCOs at this morning's 8th Congressional District pre-caucus nominating convention to be the officially endorsed Democrat running for the 8th CD seat in this summer's primary, and again in November. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 17, 2008, 6:40pm EDT
  

• The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 3

  This is Part 3 of an ongoing series of postings looking closely at Dave Reichert's voting record.
  
  In Part 1 I explained how Reichert has been manipulating his votes to shore up his "moderate" image, and how the mainstream media has effectively ignored seeking the truth behind them.
  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 16, 2008, 6:20pm EDT
  

• Gregoire 11 Points Up On Rossi

  Rasmussen has a new poll out that shows Governor Chris Gregoire with a 52% to 41% lead over Republican Dino Rossi.
  
  That's up from 47% to 46% lead in March.
  
  Also significant is that Rossi is viewed favorably by only 49% of the respondents, while Gregoire [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 16, 2008, 11:15am EDT
  

• Can You Spare Another Five Years?

  We've been in Iraq over 5 years, and now John McCain thinks we can "win" in Iraq by 2013.
  
  Are you up for that, and the huge cost in lives and resources and money it will take - assuming of course by then we're not being told that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 15, 2008, 7:53pm EDT
  

• Issues and Letters

  If you've been wondering why I've made so few posts in the past week plus, part of the reason was that I was out of town, and part of the reason has been that I stupidly upgraded my laptop to Windows XP Pro SP3 yesterday.
  
  Since then I've been [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 15, 2008, 7:45pm EDT
  

• The Same Old Republican Tactics

  The Washington Republican Party issued the following press release on Friday:

  This week, Rep. Rick Larsen became the latest member of the state's Democratic congressional delegation to pledge support for a presidential candidate.
  
  Some may question Larsen's late in the game support for the politician rated "most liberal U.S. [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 11, 2008, 1:37pm EDT
  

• Obama Takes Super Delegate Lead

  Well it finally happened: enough super delegates have endorsed Obama that he now has more super delegate endorsements than Clinton does.
  
  According to numbers at 2008 Democratic Convention Watch, Obama now has 274 super delegates to Clinton's 270.5, with 251 still uncommitted. In the past week he [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 11, 2008, 11:29pm EDT
  

• Earth To Clinton: Concede Already!

  Oh my god! The pundits have spoken - Clinton should concede!
  
  Forget the fact so many have been saying so for a couple of months already.
  
  Perhaps they've finally just got sick of their own mindless 24-hour "analysis" of this race - despite Wolf Blitzer's lame [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 07, 2008, 7:37pm EDT
  

• Clinton Fails To Change The Equation

  Obama wins North Carolina big and Hillary does nothing to show that she should continue to waste this nation's time for her blind ambition to be president.
  
  Which is why she'll keep going despite it all, because why not keep wasting our time, why not keep chasing the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 07, 2008, 11:23pm EDT
  

• Democrats Pick Up House Seat in Louisiana

  A sit up and take note election happened yesterday in Louisiana. I'll let the Votemaster at electoral-vote.com explain the significance:

  In LA-06, centered around Baton Rouge, state representative Don Cazayoux (D) defeated former state representative and local newspaper publisher Woody Jenkins (R) in a special election to fill [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 04, 2008, 10:05am EDT
  

• The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 2

  On Sunday I wrote the first of what will be many postings looking at the truth behind Dave Reichert's voting record.
  
  In Part 1 I explained how Reichert has been manipulating his votes to shore up his "moderate" image, and how he has been quite successful in [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 02, 2008, 10:39pm EDT
  

• Gas Prices: Clinton Panders, Obama Doesn't

  This is about as substantive a political ad as I've seen in a while:

  Too bad so much of the rest of the campaign season has been bogged down by Clinton hijinks, flag pins, and the Wright sideshow. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 01, 2008, 11:59pm EDT
  

• Reichert's Broken Image

  Dave Reichert has a shiny new congressional Web site.
  
  Unfortunately not everything is quite there yet:

  

  You'd think they'd get that biography page photo working correctly at the very least.
  
  Oh well, perhaps that's symbolically appropriate for Reichert: a broken image to go along with [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 01, 2008, 10:50pm EDT
  

• Eyman Loses Dunmire Backing

  Looks like Tim Eyman will have to work a little bit harder this time to fund his yearly initiative campaign.
  
  Legislation by initiative is not how any government should be run, and Tim Eyman has been abusing the system the entire decade. For once, he won't have [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 30, 2008, 10:01pm EDT
  

• Obama Closes In On Super Delegate Lead

  The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the super delegate race and shows how elected officials have edged Obama back to parity, while Clinton clings to her network of party official supporters.

  
  Source: Wall Street Journal

  Among elected officials, Sen. Obama leads in endorsements from [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 29, 2008, 10:36pm EDT
  

• The Truth Behind Reichert's Voting Record - Part 1

  As we close in on the 2008 general elections, November 4th being just over six months out now, this is intended to be the first in a series of postings I will be writing that look to dispel an ongoing myth: that Dave Reichert is a moderate.
  
  This [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 27, 2008, 4:55pm EDT
  

• Pick a Candidate Dwight!

  So Dwight Pelz wants the super delegates to make up their minds and choose a Democratic candidate for president:

  "It's time for us to end this."

  "Us" includes you Dwight! It is time for you to end this and pick a candidate. Enough lollygagging around already! [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 26, 2008, 9:24pm EDT
  

• Hoosier Hysteria

  So let me get this straight. Hillary, who had made light of Obama primary and caucus wins in "red" states, is seeking to demonstrate her strength by beating Obama in a red state, Indiana.
  
  We're supposed to believe that a state that will surely vote for John McCain in [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 25, 2008, 10:52pm EDT
  

• Electoral Strength and Weakness Cuts Both Ways

  So Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary by a bit over 9% of the vote. My prediction was 6%. Not a big difference, but the Clinton camp is happy enough they didn't lose more of their 20 point lead of six weeks, and for the Obama camp that means [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 23, 2008, 12:05am EDT
  

• Pennsylvania Predictions

  It is hard to predict the delegate count outcome for the (very) long awaited Pennsylvania Democratic primary because of the complicated means in which the 158 pledged (i.e. non-super) delegates are determined.
  
  However, everything starts with the outcome of the statewide vote count and the congressional district vote counts, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 22, 2008, 11:11pm EDT
  

• Debunking the Myth that Reichert is a Moderate

  The National Journal recently came out with their 2007 Vote Ratings, where they

  "rank lawmakers on how they vote relative to each other on a conservative-to-liberal scale in both the Senate and the House. The scores are based on the members' votes in three areas: economic issues, social [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 19, 2008, 3:49pm EDT
  

• Rossi, The Magic Man

  

  This week Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi unveiled his "plan" for solving Washington's transportation gridlock. The plan

  calls for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel and building a new Highway 520 floating bridge that can hold eight lanes of traffic.
  
  Overall, the proposal would [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 19, 2008, 10:43pm EDT
  

• WA-08: 2008 Q1 Fundraising Numbers in Detail

  Another look at the WA-08 Q1 numbers:

  
  WA-08 Q1 2008 Fundraising. Source: Federal Election Commission

  Darcy Burner out-raised Reichert in the 4th quarter by almost $200,000. That's on top of her almost $100,000 edge the quarter before.
  
  As compared to Reichert's numbers from two years ago, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 18, 2008, 12:26am EDT
  

• The Pathetic Debate

  If I ever needed any reminding of why I can't stand so much of the mainstream media political coverage, that first hour of the ABC "debate" between Obama and Clinton was more than enough.
  
  The entire hour was wasted on the stupid crap we're all sick of. It [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 17, 2008, 9:41pm EDT
  

• Condi Lies On Torture

  We've been lied to:

  [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 16, 2008, 7:45pm EDT
  

• WA-08 Q1 Fundraising: Burner raises $522K to Reichert's $331K

  Neither campaign in the WA-08 race wasted any time posting their FEC numbers for Q1 and the results are startling.
  
  Darcy Burner, the Little Engine That Could, posted record numbers for herself, and more than any Democrat ever has in the district for a first quarter:

  Total contributions: [...]

  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 16, 2008, 12:03am EDT
  

• Laura Bush Fundraiser Nets Reichert $90K

  Back on February 27th, Laura Bush came to town for a private $1000 $500 plate fundraiser for her husband's helper, Dave Reichert.
  
  Well the first FEC report for Q1 for the WA-08 has been posted, and it is from the Reichert Washington Victory Committee, the same committee [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: April 14, 2008, 8:22pm EDT