Reichert said Burner called to congratulate him on a second term, and the two shared their frustrations about the slow pace of Washington's largely vote-by-mail elections.Congratulations to Congressman Reichert."Finally, something we agree on," Reichert told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Washington, D.C.
And best wishes to Darcy Burner on her next endeavors.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 13, 2006 10:06 PM | Email ThisHopefully in the future Darcy Burner will be more honest about her previous experience and realize that aligning oneself with the most extreme elements of a party is not the best way to build support in a moderate district.
But there is a real winner in the Burner household. Henry Burner, who now gets to have a mom.
Posted by: Jeff B. on November 13, 2006 10:13 PMCongratulations to my congressman, Dave Reichert. We are glad to have ya' returning in the 8th.
Posted by: Michele on November 13, 2006 10:15 PMConsidering that this District has never been represented by a Democrat, and considering that 49 percent-plus of its voters didn't think Darcy was "extreme," I'd say it's a pretty darned good performance.
But hey, let's not disturb your little fantasy world, shall we? The voters have spoken for now, and we'll be back to take the 8th in two years.
Posted by: ivan on November 13, 2006 10:22 PMShe lost. And your points about the district are good ones. She should have won. Who's extreme? David Goldstein and the Nutroots progressives. I'm not at all surprised that there are Americans out there, level-headed, good folks who want change. I happen to know many Democrats who fit that description. But they are not unhinged progressives filled with Bush hatred and advocating for outright socialism. In fact if you go look at the results you'll find many Dems like Heath Shuler who won with very conservative Republican like values in their campaigns.
If you can't understand that Darcy's consistent appearances with the unhinged wing in Seattle and her lack of any meaningful campaigning in Pierce County was indeed an extreme position relative to the 8th CD, then you are the one that is deluded.
But keep up the rhetoric and see where it gets you.
Post election a full 79% of Americans are worried that Dems will be too hasty on Iraq. 69% are worried that Dems will drag us into endless probes of the Bush Administration, and 66% are worried that Dems won't do enough to address Islamic terror.
There are still serious issues facing this country, and it was precisely her lack of willingness to address these issues with any more than shrill extremist rhetoric that cost Darcy Burner a win.
Posted by: Jeff B. on November 13, 2006 10:42 PMhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061113/ap_on_re_us/threatening_letters_arrest
Posted by: me on November 13, 2006 10:51 PM
http://sadlyno.com/archives/4268.html
Posted by: me on November 13, 2006 10:53 PMMatters not. Nobody's gonna cut and paste your link into a browser just to see what you clever mind has come up with this time...
Posted by: ajopalm on November 13, 2006 10:58 PMI applaud Mrs. Burner for calling the congressman to concede the election. (although King 5 news this evening at 11pm said that she still hadn't conceded.).
I am just happy that the Robo-calls are over and my mailbox is now not being stuffed with flyers.
Posted by: Skeptic on November 13, 2006 11:02 PMI don't disapprove of the war because we are there or because all war is evil or because I'd love to try to re-create the '60s. I disapprove because it seems our soldiers have their hands tied.
To even consider Bush extreme shows just how left the entire political spectrum has shifted in the last 50 years. Compare the Bush policies to those of JFK. Compare the programs Democrats call for with those of Socialist/Communist countries.
Nice try, however, even in a blue state..in a very blue election...with an unpopular Republican President...Dem's still couldn't take the seat. I'd say this year should have been a slam-dunk. I wouldn't put much stock in 2008. But beyond that...who knows.
As for Burner--Stefan, why not start some kind of unemployment parody for her?
Posted by: Patrick on November 13, 2006 11:23 PMAnd who knows: All those media events with Burner standing right next to Baghdad Jimmy McD. might have been the final assist that put Reichert over the top. Whatever: It's great to see Reichert pull it out in ''Blue WA'' in a (D) ''wave year''.
And now ??.. I expect one of the more interesting spectator sports in early 2007 will be watching how Pelosi and Reid deal (or not) with the likes of Joe Lieberman, Tester from Montana (big 2nd Amendment supporter), and Webb in Virginia (a former (R) ). There will be a minimum wage hike (most states are higher already anyway), but beyond that my guess is that the netroots may be in for a bigger disappointment than most people realize; especially given that in 2007-2008 I expect that President Bush will (finally) find his veto pen (out-of-control earmarks and pork are clearly one of the big (R) failings at the national level in the last few years, IMO).
Posted by: Methow Ken on November 13, 2006 11:30 PMNo, many of us are hinged capitalists. But we are all filled with Bush hatred.
Posted by: Bruce on November 14, 2006 01:25 AMIt is my sincere desire that you and Jeff B and ERNurse take over the Republican Party in this state.
Posted by: ivan on November 14, 2006 03:51 AMFor now, warmest congratulations to Dave Reichert. I must admit those negative ads were getting almost cult like with Reichert and Burner negative ads running back to back. I particularly enjoyed the faux interview of Ms. Burner for the job by a female. That was cute and very sadly true about competence for the position.
GWB won this election Darcy !!
Posted by: A Bainbridge critic on November 14, 2006 06:14 AMI don't know how long Reichert will be in office, but I'd be amazed if the person who replaced him had an (R) behind their name.
Bellevue is becoming Seattle without the street bums.
Posted by: South County on November 14, 2006 06:41 AMMr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.
The Neo Socialists like yourself are going to spend the next two years exposing their true intentions to the public. In the meantime Conservatives will regain the proper place as the party of fiscal responsibility.
Look at the bright side, maybe the Ames Lake Homeowners Association needs another part time president. Sorry I forgot, she already failed at that job.
Posted by: swassociates on November 14, 2006 06:56 AMI was going to reply to your comments at post #5.
But Mark D. did such an excellent job of writing what I was already thinking at post #12.
Hey, maybe Darcy can get her old job back again at Microsoft. I'm sure they need more of her kind.
Posted by: proudpapa on November 14, 2006 07:12 AMSo, is this a new dynamic of the young and rich voting D?
Posted by: swatter on November 14, 2006 07:20 AMI thought he was a tough, no-nonsense cop and I will never forget the video of him out busting heads with his nightstick during the WTO riots. But I was really disappointed by his first term in congress and how he started to look like just another limp-wristed RINO.
From sucking up to Nancy Pelosi during the infamous shoe incident, to his position on ANWAR, to the Terri Schiavo decision, he just continued to disappoint me.
But I am mostly disappointed in the Republican party. If they would allow internal challenges in the primary, we wouldn't be faced with such an unpalatable decision as Darcy Burner in the general election just to end the eternal incumbency. Being an incumbent shouldn't mean that you are the unchallenged primary winner for life.
I also got three different doorbellers at my Sammamish home for Darcy during the final week before the election. I never saw one for Reichert. The only time I heard from the Republican party was when they called (several times) to ask for money.
The Republican party has taken the eighth district for granted and treated it as a sure thing for years. I'm hoping (but doubt) that this close shave gave them and Reichert a tune-up. My sincere congratulations, Congressman Reichert. Here's wishing for a better second term.
This is by far the sensible choice. We can't kick out 12 million people. They are integral to our economy. And why should we deport people who are willing to come here and work? If they are on the dole or committing crimes, get them out now! Otherwise, we need to incorporate them into the American dream.
If Republicans go off the rails on this one, look for the newly made legals to be HUGE supporters of the Democrats. They should be natural constituents for the repubs, but why would you support a party who is so virulently against your presence?
Posted by: Janet S on November 14, 2006 09:15 AMNow that you've officially conceded, can you please go out and take down all those red signs you've got littering the eastside (especially in the rural communities off the 18 freeway.)
Pretty much all the other campaigns have already removed theirs.
Can someone tell me where/how I can determine if my absentee ballot was counted by King Co Records and Elections? URL? Email contact? ...?
Thanks!
Posted by: Matt on November 14, 2006 10:11 AM"Finally, something we agree on,"
A fine display of the maturity that he has gained in his many years serving public office. What a guy.
Posted by: Brendan on November 14, 2006 10:52 AMno--can't simply round people up, but you sure can pass laws & have some political stones like some recent TX and PA towns that made illegal aliens ineligible for benefits, housing & made English official. Simply dry up the government freebie well. Let private charities & private citizens sponsor them & pay all their costs. Like adoption. Isn't personal responsibility an American value?
And it's not simply 12 mill more. It's their bring-along & born kids, imported aunts, uncles & grandparents who would LOVE to be on our medical programs after paying squat into our system. And integral to our economy? Then why do we pay our own people to sit on their bums & collect & have babies? Make them work. Like in the 30's dust bowl times when there was no welfare. And the next wave of illegals or those who overstay their work passes or birth while working here? Another few million more? And the poor b-strds who waited legally in line? Nobody fighting for them.
As for Darcy, can she work for KC elections? Maybe Buck's assistant or replacement? Great training ground for political experience for that resume! And math counting skills are honed to a point "any bank would envy"
Repubs should take note, Darcy came close to a win, and she should have won. This is a very Blue state, Repubs here are often in denial about just how far off the Progressive deep end the Western residents of this state have gone. On so many levels, deeply un-american, anti-capitalist, Marxist, collectivist forces have taken over this state. That's why Darcy should have won.
But, you can't sell such hateful collective ideologies at their face value. They've got to be disguised as pro-child, or pro-worker, or pro-elderly or whatever it takes to get voters to buy the package. Darcy Burner could have easily worn more of a soccer mom, aww shucks face. She could have spent less time in Seattle and more time in Auburn. She could have downplayed her Nutroots supporters. But she did none of the above, and was arrogant enough to challenge those who called her out on her inexperience or improper listing of her credentials.
It's telling to note that Goldstein's solution is not a contrite or learned and nuanced introspection that would yield the subtle refinements necessary to tune progressives for future wins. No, he's got the guns a-blazin' angry, Nutroots, hothead, approach of making future campaigns even more negative. He suggests that if only he had really attacked Reichert more, Darcy would have won. This is instructive because if what he did to McGavick and Reichert during their campaigns was not negative personal attacks, I can't imagine what would be a lower more aggressive line of attack for '08, physical violence? And at the same time, I rejoice, because its the over-the-top nature of the Nutroots that severely handicaps their efforts.
Folks, if you want to assure any hope for even a mildly conservative future for WA, you've got to start pointing out the ideas that are behind people like David Goldstein. Individual freedom, academic competition, fair taxation, election integrity, and even the meekest expectation of personal responsibility will all be obliterated if Goldstein and crew have their way.
You think it's bad in WA now? There will be many more Darcy Burners, inexperienced but programmed to appeal to new young Democrats, dutifully marching to the beat of their Nutroots handlers' drums.
One thing's for sure, Goldstein is telling the truth, he will be back in '08. Those who are more preoccupied with the control of others instead of the world around them are never satiated.
Hopefully, Mr. Reichert learned something from this and will listen more to his constituents this time - the same goes for the remainder of the House Republicans.
Posted by: KS on November 14, 2006 12:27 PM"I'm taking my son to Disneyland"
+++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++
Finally this woman is getting her priorities in the proper order.
Posted by: Metronatural Rube on November 14, 2006 01:53 PM
I do agree that the 8th District is changing. A lot of people are fleeing the poor schools, crime, etc. in Seattle and moving to Bellevue or Kirkland. In the process they bring their left-leaning views with them.
Posted by: Tucker on November 14, 2006 04:37 PMWe need to stop demonizing people who risk their lives to come here for a better life. Our immigration quotas have been way too low for too many years, hence the illegal problem. Rather than berate the Mexicans, why not figure out how to make it all work to our advantage? I say send the the Welcome Wagon.
Posted by: Janet S on November 14, 2006 05:09 PM