December 31, 2003
THE RED TIDE LAPS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST:
The Four Musketeers: Ideology and demeanor distinguish a new generation of Republican leaders (George Howland Jr., 12/31/03, Seattle Weekly)
What to call them? Republican soccer dads? Metrosexual conservatives? Reagan babies? The labels don't quite fit, but their presence is undeniable. As the Jan. 12 convening of the Legislature in Olympia draws near, a new generation of standard bearers has arisen in the state Republican Party: former state Sen. Dino Rossi, 44, is running for governor; King County Council member Rob McKenna, 41, is campaigning for attorney general; state Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, 34, was just elected Senate Majority Leader; and Luke Esser, 42, is the state Senate's new floor leader.Besides their relative youth, they have at least four other things in common: their residence (the Eastside suburbs of King County), their demeanor (nice guys), their physical appearance (good looks), and their political philosophy (Republicans should focus on pocketbook issues—the business climate and controlling government growth —not social issues).
"We are starting to build a team again," says state Republican Party chair Chris Vance. He likens the emergence of these four to the generation of Republican leaders that emerged in the 1960s—Dan Evans, Slade Gorton, and Joel Pritchard. Vance adds, "This sort of thing needs to happen to invigorate the party."
Vance says the four also share an ideology that is ascendant within the GOP. "It's not enough to pretend that the free market can solve every problem, but we reject the liberals' point of view: 'Government can fix everything.' It's a third way, between government should not be involved and government should solve it all."
Is there any state in America where the Democrats are as excited about the future of their party as the Republicans are everywhere? Posted by Orrin Judd at December 31, 2003 7:49 PM
You're right. In not a single state. You have to bore down to the city and county council level to find any bright futures for Dems (San Francisco, for example. . . beat the Greens!) Our town, Seattle has been a one-party "state" for as long as I can remember. How bad it actually is was demonstrated for me recently when a man gathering signatures in front of the QFC asked me to sign his petition so as to to be allowed to run for city council: "Why should only Democrats control the City Council?" he bleated to the passersby. Got my attention. Was he a Republican? Not a chance: Workers World Party. I signed and he made it onto the ballot. His intro statement in the voters election guide mailed to all homes called for the overthrow of capitalism around the world (an objective to be executed apparently from the Seattle City Council, using the city's considerable materiel and power). Sadly, he did not win election. So, yes, Democrats have a bright future in Seattle and other "one-party" city-states (Portland, San Francisco and Washington, DC, to name but a few.)
Posted by: Bone Gilmore at January 1, 2004 7:48 AMThose people should simply call themselves what thay are,Cheap Democrats.
Posted by: M. at January 1, 2004 9:16 AMI'm excited at the prospect of a Dean candidacy!
Posted by: Genecis at January 1, 2004 11:53 AMOrrin,
You forget Illinois, where corrupt Republican regulars make $800,000 commissions off of a Democratic Legislature's Bond deal (Bush Campaign Coordinator Bob Kjellander)....
.... and the party head (the mentally challenged Judy Barr Topinka) informs the sitting Senator (Peter Fitzgerald) that the party will not lift a finger for his re-election, forcing him to leave the Senate or spend all of his fortune to stay in office. (possibly costing us the 60-40 you write of)
If you have any cache with any in the national party network, help rid of us of these idiots. They are costing Republicans dearly in Illinois, where democrats are happy indeed.
Posted by: BB at January 1, 2004 5:11 PMDemocrats are happy in Delaware too. The state GOP can't even find candidates to run for state legislative seats in a year when George W. Bush is going to be at the top of the ticket. Even though they control the lower house of the legislature, they've decided not to oppose the Democratic governor on anything -- including tax hikes, a statewide smoking ban that Nurse Bloomberg can only dream of, and every gay rights bill that comes down the pike. The governor's a dim bulb, but nobody knows the name of the GOP challenger.
Posted by: Random Lawyer at January 2, 2004 1:52 AMBio 21 seems like a good idea, as long as the gov't isn't dictating which projects can/should be undertaken.
M.:
Cheap Dems are the ideal political animal.
Of course, I may be biased, since I am one.
Random:
Smoking bans are good public health measures, as long as smokers can find accomodation in separate facilities, i.e., private clubs or separate rooms.
(If not, it's still good health, just bad policy).
When Helena, Montana banned smoking in public buildings (bars, restaurants, casinos, and workplaces), from June '02 to December '02, admissions to the local hospital for heart attack symptoms dropped 60% during the length of the ban.
Once the ban was lifted, admissions immediately returned to previous levels.
Other research shows that people working in non-smoking sections of public areas, where smoking is permitted indoors, had blood nicotine concentrations of up to 80% of that of actual smokers, and all tested had some nicotine in their blood.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at January 2, 2004 6:51 AM