This is pure speculation, but an intriguing notion if true.
Christine Gregoire's campaign was widely derided in political circles after 2004 for letting a low name-ID state senator catch and nearly overtake her down the home stretch. Supposedly, the flaw was an indecisive and overly large circle of campaign advisers.
This year there are many new faces on the Gregoire campaign team, including a number with strong reputations in the political world. One of them, Deputy Campaign Manager Zach Silk, garners strong professional respect from this blogger and former campaign hand.
Yet, relatively early on in this campaign cycle Gregoire has been drawn into more of a battle with BIAW than with Dino Rossi. So much so that the P-I's news pages have posed the question in lengthy coverage of the spat:
OLYMPIA -- Is Gov. Chris Gregoire running against Republican Dino Rossi or the state's building industry?Her campaign Web page has a section dedicated to countering Building Industry Association of Washington attack ads, which are independent of the Rossi campaign.
On Thursday, her campaign called a late news conference at which influential Democrats blasted builders for spending $160,000 on 61 billboards in Eastern Washington that said, "Don't Let Seattle Steal This Election" -- a reference to the 2004 Gregoire-Rossi race that Gregoire narrowly won after two recounts.
Gregoire supporters say the BIAW has already spent more than $1 million in its attempt to defeat the governor; that figure will likely be matched by union-backed independent expenditures attacking Rossi.
So what is this force that Democrats see as "the dark side" and why is it aiming its death ray at Gregoire?
Gregoire, who has run two ads attacking Dino Rossi while Rossi has run zero, has the gall to play the victim:
On Thursday Gregoire took on the BIAW ads directly. She said they were built around "innuendo and misinformation" and she decried how negative the campaign has become.
This is not becoming of an incumbent. And candidates jumping into the mud to wrestle in the special interest group pigpen is usually bad campaign strategy (not that as a conservative I'm complaining). Moreover, it raises a real question given the variance between the 2004 and 2008 Gregoire campaign organizations. How active a role does Gregoire take in her own campaigns?
Some candidates for offices this significant oversee their campaigns like an active Chairman of the Board, leaving details in the appropriately in the hands of others. Others dabble in the nuts and bolts of the campaign more like a CEO or even a COO, inevitably leading to a more disjointed operation and message.
Gregoire, with her many years running state agencies in Olympia, may well be the latter type - the micromanaging candidate. While pure speculation and a notion that could only be verified by a handful of people who aren't likely to talk about the matter (at least for now), it is an interesting idea increasingly supported by the ebb and flow of one campaign season as well as part of another.
Posted by Eric Earling at July 11, 2008 08:11 AM | Email ThisPromoting the idea that campaigns are not connected with the efforts of people who support them is ridiculous and based on obvious technicalities - it happens on all campaigns of this scale. Maybe not with a paper trail the PDC can trace, but people have phones and other ways of connecting and coordinating.
Independent? No sale here. Let's be real. My thinking is that people who promote that what's happening is "independent" in this case are either naive, not paying attention, or not telling the whole truth.
Posted by: Jan on July 11, 2008 08:57 AMHansen Kia in Olympia trashed Car Pros in Tacoma(while being w/in 200 dollars of our asking price). We drove up to Tacoma and bought the same car for 600 bucks less.
Granted Gregoire has screwed the pooch so bad in the past 4 years- she's got no where to go but negative, no promises she can make that she will keep and nothing but special interest favors to show for her time in office.... so I pity her campaign staff.
Couple all of this with the manic infighting that is especially endemic of liberal campaigns AND the incredible grass roots swell in fundraising and support going on for Dino... and you have team Christine in a real bad place.
I looke forward to watching them try to change the subject for the next 4 months
Hansen Kia in Olympia trashed Car Pros in Tacoma(while being w/in 200 dollars of our asking price). We drove up to Tacoma and bought the same car for 600 bucks less.
Granted Gregoire has screwed the pooch so bad in the past 4 years- she's got no where to go but negative, no promises she can make that she will keep and nothing but special interest favors to show for her time in office.... so I pity her campaign staff.
Couple all of this with the manic infighting that is especially endemic of liberal campaigns AND the incredible grass roots swell in fundraising and support going on for Dino... and you have team Christine in a real bad place.
I look forward to watching them try to change the subject for the next 4 months
She was loaded for bear and had 3 seminar callers try to lay into Dori right after. Dori nailed them all but the second was most telling- the guy was in a busy room and yelled back to someone in the audience wanted an answer to an easy question. The guy totally exposed the sham known as Gregoire.
Content-wise, Gregoire took credit for anything she could, including road projects that were started before she became governor and then they were eventually completed. But, it was always the Rossi budget if it were prior to her selection, and if it was after the selection of 2004, she said it was a team effort and she didn't have authority.
After listening to her talk (I had it on I-pod) I came away thinking that even the dufus wouldn't be able to give any support to her.
Mandatory listening and it dovetails nicely with Eric's post.
Posted by: swatter on July 11, 2008 09:19 AMFor one, 'everyday voters' are not your typical BIAW is the anti-Christ liberals. So your comparison falls short.
Two, if you want to split hairs on what is and is not 'independent' let's have conversations about SEIU, the Tribes, the state Democratic Party and Gregoire's campaign, kay?
Posted by: jimg on July 11, 2008 09:27 AMMy oh my, the queen does get a bit shrill and snappish when cornered! She has some great "I'm lying" tells, her voice goes up, she speaks faster but with staccato 'bullet point' words and/or she snickers/giggles nervously ("let that be clear", "you didn't hear ME say that").
She cracked me up when she indignantly screeched at 6:45 "cannot be bought, cannot be sold, I would not engage in anything illegal, I would not engage in anything unethical" ... and besides 'it's ALL Rossi's fault'!
Good grief... somebody please put her back into hiding. Posted by Ragnar Danneskjold at July 10, 2008 09:53 AM
Also, why would a union oppose the 'building industry' ? Don't unions build stuff? Serious, unions have their heads screwed on all wrong. Why are the always supporting Democrats. They make high wages, they should be worried about taxes not health care plans.
Posted by: John Bailo on July 11, 2008 10:45 AMShe sounded like my friend in the fifth grade who had the football and if he wanted to change the rules, he could or he would take the football away. Very, very, bullying.
I just didn't like it. But, her presentation. It was about normal so someone loaded for bear and hoping for a 'good' time at the expense of Dori, which didn't happen.
And duffman, thanks for the A-game.
Posted by: swatter on July 11, 2008 01:45 PMIf I were to make a comparison, it would be that Christine Gregoire's term as governor has been just as disasterous for our state as George Bush has been for our country. For the past four years,the citizens of our state have taken a beating at the national and state level. As a result, I do not want to be associated in any way with her. In regards to accurate reporting our governor seems to think that if she puts something in print that makes it so.
I am a conservative, no-nonsense Democrat and have been compared to Scoop Jackson. In actual terms I consider myself a Blue Dog Democrat. The Blue Dogs are dedicated to a core set of beliefs that transcend partisan politics, including a deep commitment to the financial stability and national security of the United States.
Taken from the South's longtime description of a party loyalist as one who would vote for a yellow dog if it were on the ballot as a Democrat, the "Blue Dog" moniker was taken by members of The Coalition because their moderate-to-conservative-views had been "choked blue" by their party in the years leading up to the 1994 election.
When I attend a course that was designed to teach military officers to become high level staff officers they told the following story. There was a family sitting around a table in a general store on a hot August afternoon in west Texas. Picture pickel barrels, sacks of corn, bean, coffee and rice along the walls along with a variety of canned goods. The wooden floor was a dark grey from years of weathering. Above the table where the family was sitting a ceiling fan moved slowly.
Grandpa looked at grandma and said, "What do you say we go into Abileen for dinner?" Grandma looked at her son and said, "I'm game if you are." The son looked at his wife and said, "I'm game if you are."
Off the family goes to Abileen in an old station wagon, no air conditioning and dusty roads, fussy children the entire trip. Several hours later when the family returned to the general store and were sitting at the table. Grandpa looked at grandma and said, "Am I glad to be home. I never wanted to go to Abileen in the first place." Grandma is obviously upset at this point and says, "You are the one that brought it up." Grandpa replies, "Hell, I was just making conversation."
The point being that often times people go on a trip to Abileen when in fact they don't want to. The point the military made was that as a staff officer, we had a morale obligation to stand up and disagree if we saw that there was a problem. Unfortunately, in politics individuals are afraid to speak up when they disagree with the party line. As a result, partisan politics causes a lot of problems because differing opinions are not heard.
We have a lot of problems and if we do not stand up to our party during an election, how can the voters expect candidates to stand up for them when elected. Below is a speech that I gave last night. Normally, I focus on national issues. However, since Christine Gregoire was scheduled to speak after me, I focused on issues in our state. My intent was to challenge the party. In doing so, I hoped they would see who I am and what I stand for. In addition, they could see what I do not stand for or tolerate.
Copy of the Speech that I delivered on 10 July to 25th LDD
Hello, I am Jim Vaughn, I am a former US Army Major and a candidate for US Representative. I am a no-nonsense, Blue Dog conservative democrat that has been compared to Scoop Jackson.
Blue Dogs are dedicated to a core set of beliefs that transcend partisan politics, including a deep commitment to the financial stability and national security of the United States. Given the limited amount of time, I am going to focus on the economy.
We have a huge budget deficit, a recession in full bloom and now an enormous trade deficit. When the depths of this recession become a reality and we receive fewer dollars from the federal government, the standard answer in our state to fix a problem has been to raise or create new taxes. But this not the answer. We need to run our government like a business. We must hold government agencies accountable for expenditures and accurate reporting.
In regards to accurate reporting, I have concerns when our governor claims that Washington State is one of the five best states to do business in according to Forbes Magazine. My campaign contacted the author Kurt Badenhausen, at Forbes Magazine and questioned the rating in light of the B&O Tax. Kurt replied, "Thank you for the insights on the B&O tax issue. He went on to say that WA scores poorly in their rating of states on taxes..." In addition, the Olympia Business Watch this past May stated: We are the 14th highest state for business taxes in FY 2007. So much for accurate reporting.
I am also concerned that when the Senate Ways & Means Committee came out with its $2.4 billion deficit projection, Christine Gregoire's budget chief, Victor Moore, said "I'm not giving any credence to that number," Moore said his office will come out with its own projection later. Again, so much for accurate reporting.
These are serious times and we need leaders to acknowledge the situation and provide real solutions.
An article in today's Seattle Times states that Gov. Christine Gregoire says higher taxes are "absolutely" a last resort in her plans for balancing the state budget. But if any new taxes are needed, she says they should go to voters for approval. I say it's about time.
Currently, the residents of Washington State are paying over 50 different types of taxes, the latest being the internet tax and our state continues to focus on creating new taxes. This past March, the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on two income tax proposals.
Given the governors inaccurate reporting and past tax happy term, I do not trust or nor do I believe her. Now let's talk about "tax expenditures" -- loopholes and subsidies -- extended to individual companies and entire sectors which have cut a huge hole in the state revenue base, which is replenished with largely regressive taxes on those least able to pay. For example the B&O Tax where Boeing pays under $3K for $1m in sales and a small business owner like me pays $15K.
I am also disgusted when I read in the Seattle PI that the Indian tribes' payoff $650,000 to the state Democratic party, and $49,000 directly to Gov. Chris Gregoire, in return for Gregoire's 2005 killing of a gambling compact which could have brought more than $140 million in annual revenues to the state. The compact Gregoire renegotiated with the Spokane tribe brings no revenue to the state. Obviously the our governor is not concerned about being fiscally conservative because $140 M is a great start on paying down the $2.5 B Deficit.
I am angered at politicians that are more concerned about getting money from special interests rather than representing the voters. Casinos are not people. Corporations are not people. Special interest groups are not people. Yet the governor gives away our tax dollars for her own political gain. An incident, which took place on Thursday, December 16, 1773, which sparked the American Revolution and remains to this day one of the most iconic events of the era. This event is known as the Boston Tea Party. History is repeating itself and the citizens of our state are faced with taxation without representation.
Not only are we taxed to death in this state, we continually see or tax dollars wasted. For example, why are we paying TransCore $18.7 million dollars to collect the tolls on the Narrows Bridge, when we pay people on L&I, Welfare and Unemployment to sit at home? This is one of hundreds of examples of fiscal irresponsibility that I can cite.
As a conservative Blue Dog Democrat, I will not play partisan politics. I will represent the citizens of our state and stand up to my party when I disagree. I stand for the person, not the party. I vote for the issues in-lieu-of party politics. I will do what is best for our citizens and our country. When I am elected the voice of the people will be heard.
When I am elected, I am concerned that my battles in Washington DC to obtain federal dollars for our state will be similar to the problems we experience with foreign aid where the dollars sent do not result in food, medical supplies for the poor and needy, but get siphoned off by the corrupt leaders in the 3rd World countries.
As a former Major in the US Army, running for US Representative and as a Democrat, I say to our Governor Gregoire, forgot who you represent and you lost my vote.
To the 25th LD, you have a choice to endorse me as a candidate that cares and will fight for the people, or endorse Darcy Burner who is another Christine Gregoire. In doing so you send a clear message that you either care about the people or that you are going to continue to play partisan politics and ignore their concerns.
Thank you for your service.
I am a retired Department of Defense project manager who worked extensively with uniformed (Navy) service members during the 1992-2007 timeframe. Virtually all (officers and enlisted) that I came to know on a personal level had no respect for President Clinton or Democrats in general. Conversely, of those I worked with in this decade, most greatly respected George W. Bush and Republicans. My question is, why are you running as a Democrat? Just curious, as I'm not in the 25th District.
Posted by: Saltherring on July 12, 2008 06:44 AMI will join with Saltherring in expressing my appreciation for your service to our country. I too am interested in knowing why you are running as a Democrat, and look forward to your response.
Posted by: NW Denizen on July 12, 2008 07:14 AMSome things you say here are reasonable, some aren't. The issue of taxes and fiscal responsibility seems to be more complex than how you're defining it here, but make government run more effectively and with less burden on the people is a goal that liberals and conservatives can agree on. (And yes, whinging right-wing nut gallery, that is the truth.)
My question to you, though, is this... politicians since the beginning of time have argued that they will stand up for the issues that they believe in, and the constituents that they represent, that they won't take special interest money, and so forth. But how do you expect to do this? And if you do plan to do this, how will you get things done in Congress? I'm all for the "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" vibe, but you've seemed to hit all the right platitudes here, and no actual plans.
Posted by: demo kid on July 12, 2008 10:08 AMKinda like B-HO...
NO!
Actually, JUST like B-HO!
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on July 12, 2008 12:54 PMHer mere insinuation that raising taxes may be necessary is a bitter slap in the face in light of a 33% increase in spending. If she's proved anything, it's actually her first choice.
Chrissy, it's time for you to do as the rest of us have done, particularly us self employed. If you don't have money to spend, DON'T SPEND IT! I wish she had competition. If I tried to make up for "budget shortfalls" by raising my profit margins (increase prices), I'd run myself out of business faster than you can say Enron. She's the phoniest, no good, blowhard talking head of a falsely-elected governor ever.
Posted by: Brent on July 14, 2008 07:06 PM