September 24, 2008
The Governor's Race in a Nutshell

Erica Barnett's take from the Stranger:

Seattle may have a lot of Gregoire signs--I saw a half-dozen on my way to work this morning--but in Eastern Washington, north of Everett, and Pierce County, Rossi's support is strong. If Gregoire wants to hold on to her job, she's going to have to do a lot more than snipe that Rossi's distorting her record--she's going to have to make the case that her record makes her worth keeping. [emphasis in the original]

That's the problem. She doesn't have a record that resonates with voters, else she would be talking about it with six weeks to go in this election.

Furthermore, Barnett - in the midst of her stereotypically urban liberal view of Rossi, the evil Republican - divines some other barriers facing Gregoire. The candidate is "canned," inauthentic, evasive, prone to wonkishness, and ineffective at times compared to Rossi's comforting, tell-it-like-it-is demeanor.

Does that mean a Rossi victory? No. That feat still requires oodles of hard work by his campaign and by volunteers supporting it out on the trail.

It does mean Gregoire's campaign is weak, just like her candidacy. And the left knows it.

P.S. I would also point out to Barnett that one doesn't need to go north of Everett, east of the Cascades, or into Pierce County to find strong support for Rossi - who in 2004 won more suburban neighborhoods in south Snohomish County and parts of King County than many Democrats care to acknowledge.

Posted by Eric Earling at September 24, 2008 08:14 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Hey Eric--
A County Auditor told me that because Rossi ran as GOP in the primary, Rossi MUST run as GOP in the main event.
This law trumps all the Dems speculative arguments.
End of discussion.
Watch how quickly this goes away---
The Dems know it..but are so desperate to cast a political shadow over Rossi and disrupt the Military Vote at the same time...that they resorted to this low-level desperation politics, knowing full well it was a hopeless stab in the dark.

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on September 24, 2008 08:28 PM
2. I don't think it will matter how many votes Rossi gets.

I think the election will be fixed. I think G will win.

I hope I am wrong but I don't see how I can be.

Posted by: Same Game Different Day on September 24, 2008 08:47 PM
3. And Gregoire does not come across as likable. She has to try hard to appear relaxed and friendly which comes natural to Rossi. In short, very little charisma.

Between the lack of persona, poor decisions or outright hiding for much of her term, and the latent King County vote frustration, it's going to take a lot more than Bill Huennekens and 139 provisionals to get her elected again.

Posted by: Jeff B. on September 24, 2008 09:00 PM
4. It will be harder to fix this election. The got rid of the dead from the rolls. No more zombies welcome in the polling places. No more dead mailing in Ballots. I know it racist to pick on the zombies but if you are dead I do not believe you have a right to vote.
On the other hand the over a thousand more ballots counted than people listed as voting can be a problem. But if Dino can pull off a 10% lead. Stacking the deck can not happen in King County without getting caught.
You can hide a few thousand extra votes but 10000 or more votes than voters well the Federal Prosecutor will have to take notice because it is a Federal election. And they can see fraud if the QUeen has to find thousands of extra votes somewhere. If it is too close to call Yes King County again will give the election to her. They just keep counting and adding a few hundred votes each time. Saying we found these votes.
We have to get the vote out and increase the margin of victory so that fraud can not take place in King County.

Posted by: David Anfinrud on September 24, 2008 09:07 PM
5. Ah, Cynical and all, I had wondered what label Rossi had run under in the primary and figured it probably was same, so why hadn't dems been unhappy about that then? Seems we have our answer.

Posted by: Michele on September 24, 2008 09:15 PM
6. Michelle--
Gregoire and her henchmen know darn well this lawsuit is going nowhere...yet they did it anyway.

Ask yourself...why didn't they sue over this issue BEFORE the Primary?
The fact is they didn't.
Rossi must run in the Main Event using the same NAME and Party Preference.

The Gregoire Sh*tstirring squad of goons knows this is merely costly harrassment....taxpayer $$ must be used to sift thru this.

If County Auditors hold back those Military Ballots, they are engaged in a disenfranchisement scheme orchestrated by the State DEMOCRATIC Party.

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on September 25, 2008 07:07 AM
7. The support for Rossi is overwhelming. Just take a drive to the coast. Rossi signs everywhere! I saw only 2 Gregoire signs. Other than King County she has virtually no support. The only way she will win is to cheat again and hopefully Rossi will win by thousands and they will not be able to have a recount and "discover" boxes of ballots.

Posted by: Vicki on September 25, 2008 09:49 AM
8. Vicki @ 7: I was on the coast a week or two ago and it is Rossi country. I felt right at home. Had a burger at a place plastered with Dino signs. Woo hoo!

To add to your observation; I often wonder how many King County Rossi supporters just don't want the harassment of putting up a sign. After getting signs repeatedly stolen I know I don't. Somebody on the radio the other day was recounting how a significant number of Rossi 4' x 8' signs have completely disappeared. Not just vandalized or knocked over but disappeared into the ether . . . two by four structure, support and all. I think that the leftists have been very successful at shutting down the GOP campaign sign communication medium in King County.

I was just thinking, it seems to me that if the left keeps stealing, mutilating and vandalizing opposition campaign signs, the GOP will eventually have to learn to get along without them (or maybe they already have!). Maybe this is a blessing is disguise, forcing the GOP to use more 21st century mediums of better and more easily measured results.

Posted by: G Jiggy on September 25, 2008 10:11 AM
9. Hey, it's not just the yard signs being shut down as a form of political speech. How many people do you know who won't put a conservative oriented bumper sticker on their car for fear of the car being vandalized?

Posted by: Paula on September 25, 2008 11:07 AM
10. Our Rossi signs in this district have been stolen or vandalized. I'm only handing out replacement signs to people who will nail them to a tree, or hang them from the roof.

Most of our large signs have been cut to pieces. One 4x8 sign that we had (on private property) on the corner of 200th and Aurora Ave. had the middle cut out of it. Fortunately, they left enough of that sign so that it's still evident that it's a Rossi sign. Sends a more powerful statement than the defacers ever dreamed. We left it so that 1000's of commuters can see what some people think of their free speech rights.

Unfortunately, the other signs are just plain gone, or too damaged to do anything with.

Posted by: Lisa on September 25, 2008 01:33 PM
11. Rossi and other GOP signs have been disappearing in Clark County as well. Seems some don't think free expression extends beyond themselves.

Posted by: Lew Waters on September 26, 2008 12:04 AM
12. Gregoire's incompetence and media reinvention began in her very first year when much was printed and aired about her cutting 1,000 redundant middle management jobs in state government in order to
balance the budget.

Of course, it NEVER happened and the media never followed up on her much ballyhooed proclamation.

Her record of performance must stay hidden as she takes the easy road to wooing Washington liberals by running against George Bush.

Posted by: Baynative on September 26, 2008 11:43 AM
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