Dave Ross's former campaign manager has penned a tome on the topic of Democrats retaking the 8th CD. Interesting reading and largely wise counsel if a Democrat were to heed it, until this part of the piece: "Hit Reichert on His Record as Sheriff."
As much as such ideas make the netroots salivate, such tactics would be fantastically stupid. By 2010 Reichert will have spent nearly three terms in Congress, in addition to the respect (like it or not) he already won from voters for his service as Sheriff. Thus, such attacks would quickly construed as petty, mean-spirited, and utterly off-topic.
Not exactly the way to finally defeat a surprisingly resilient Member of Congress who seems to have a habit of closing his campaigns with vigor.
Posted by Eric Earling at December 09, 2008 09:32 PM | Email ThisIf Ross's campaign manager knew what he or she was doing, Ross would be the Congressman.
In other words... who cares?
Posted by: Hinton on December 9, 2008 10:07 PMDave won this race by his largest margin of the three campaigns. This despite the fact Darcy Burnout ran a 4 year campaign with EVERYTHING going for her (except honesty and integrity).
If you couldn't beat Dave by hanging the "We hate Bush" mantra in two elections where a blind democrat with a note in his mouth could win you are not going to get him in 2 years.
In addition in 2 years you are going to see a red wave kicking Dems out of congress in record numbers so the only chance the D's have is if Dave decides to run against Retread Patty.
Posted by: Not happening on December 9, 2008 10:30 PMWhat's with the use of the word "retaking"? Has a democrat ever taken the 8th CD?
Posted by: Smoley on December 9, 2008 10:36 PMHe says: "Dave Reichert (R-8) is starting to look like the Wile E. Coyote of Eastside politics. Every two years, a challenger drops an Acme safe on the congressman in a brutal campaign to unseat him. But when the dust settles, there he is--still standing..."
WHAT??
The COYOTE drops the safe of the Roadrunner who is minding his own business. The Roadrunner always escapes and the Coyote's plan blows up in his own face (Darcy Burner).
If the guy can't even get a cartoon right...!!!
The Dems should get Alex Alben to run again (he was beaten by Dave Ross in the primaries). As long as they keep running looney lefties like Heidi Berens-Benedict, Dave Ross, and Darcy Burner, I doubt that the Dems will win in the 8th CD.
Posted by: russell garrard on December 10, 2008 12:01 AMI think a lot of Republicrooks should be putting their affairs in order..... Maybe Reichert will survive. I doubt it. Americans know what party is destroying our country, the middle class, and our children's future.
Posted by: All Facts Support My Positions on December 10, 2008 06:42 AMNeedless to say, I am sticking with Dori and Kirby.
Posted by: swatter on December 10, 2008 06:59 AMYou fool, nuts like you were just sure Gore won the Fl. Even after one newspaper after another checked, checked & re=checked you fools lost.
PS.. All of the voting problems were in DEM run areas. So if any errors happened, it came from you guys.
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 10, 2008 07:23 AM"I also wonder what will be un-covered with a Justice Department interested in prosecuting someone other than Dems"
Really?
Maybe you should tell that to Randy Cunningham, or maybe even Scooter Libby, who was prosecuted by the very same guy who just nailed Gov. Blago.
Even with his convictions, Cunningham has done far more for his country as a Vietnam War Ace than any leftist twit like you will ever be able to, or even want to, for that matter.
Posted by: Kato on December 10, 2008 09:04 AMIf the Dems wise up and run a qualified candidate, though, we could be in trouble.
Posted by: D8_repub on December 10, 2008 09:09 AM2010 will be a backlash year against Obama. The GOP will gain seats in the house, though probably not enough to take control.
Posted by: Kato on December 10, 2008 09:19 AMAs a San Diego kid, a service member and pilot. I met The Duke many times at air shows and other events. I always knew him to be a good person and easy to talk with.
I must admit I was shocked when I learned of his greed. To do all that he had done then do something this stupid.
PS.. for all you libs. Randy C is in jail where he belongs. He broke the law and should pay!
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 10, 2008 09:26 AMThat said, however, I would not hold it against Pres. Bush if he were to commute The Duke's sentence to time served. Note I said commute...not pardon.
Posted by: Kato on December 10, 2008 09:54 AMIf the Democrats don't have a phenom, or a mind-numbed pack of victims, they can't win. And yet even with those, all they could find to run and lose was noted MS Executive, Harvard Economist and Camp Wellstone grad, Darcy Burner.
There is an easy way to win, but I'm not going to say and give them any ideas since they are too dumb to figure it out on their own.
Posted by: Jeff B. on December 10, 2008 10:23 AMIt's going to be fantastically fun to watch Obama try to turn the economy around by printing money.
The silver lining for conservatives is that now this whole mess is on your dime. Have fun with it. How about a few more bailouts, yeah that will work. Higher taxes, yeah that will help too. You go dawg!
Posted by: Jeff B. on December 10, 2008 10:26 AMThe D's were planning on doing the same thing to Giuliani if he got the nod. Attack his record as Mayor, especially his 9/11 response, viciously and hope people decide they were lied to.
Of course, they would be being lied to, by liberals, but that's not unusual. I think it might well have worked. Of course, Giuliani is...shall we say...a less then perfect individual, while Reichert is considered by pretty much everyone who knows him to be extremely honest, decent and hard-working. But that would mean if the attacks hit, it would be all that more damaging.
I'm not saying such tactics will work. I think they probably won't. But it's probably the best shot they have.
Posted by: cliff on December 10, 2008 10:41 AMPolitics is rife with corruption and only those incumbants who are know to be honest with high standards are going to be reelected in 2010. Reichert is a shoo-in for reelection but personally, I hope he runs against the dim-wit Murray.
Posted by: diamondshards on December 10, 2008 10:44 AMReal debate is no longer possible when platitudes become indistinguishable from policies.
People who think with their emotions aren't bad people, or even consciously ideological. I tend to refer to them as idiots not to insult them personally, but rather to describe the utter lack of introspection and content to their thought process.
But to be perfectly clear, it isn't so much that they are incapable of real thought, as they have been conditioned not to think. They don't question the underlying assumptions that left-wing activists use to draw their conclusions...
Intolerant ignoramuses on the left
It does occur to me now and then that we are well on our way to becoming a banana republic, but with a lot more bananas than republic.
OR, more likely, our pet liberals are simply predictable simple-minded sheep, mindlessly, continually vomiting the blue koolaid.
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on December 10, 2008 11:02 AMThe entire democrap state government of Illinois is going to prison and you insist on these bizarre platitudes?
"Republicrooks" indeed, you fricking hypocrite. Get back under your rock, and allow the adults to have a conversation.
Posted by: Hinton on December 10, 2008 11:36 AMIf Marco can't get that basic fact right why listen to what he has to say.
Do you think Darcy Burner have the same persistence, or is she done with seeking elected office?
Posted by: russell garrard on December 10, 2008 03:48 PMThanks,
Marco
http://archive.democrats.com/display.cfm?id=239
http://www.gregpalast.com/floridas-flawed-voter-cleansing-program-saloncoms-politics-story-of-the-year/
You can pretend that all these things didn't happen. Some of it is pretty darn bad, and I am sure the GOP is proud of themselves making sure all them legitimate voters don't get their votes counted. By the way, a lot of this stuff is criminal behavior. Prosecutions? Yeah right..... You gotta be kidding.
#10 Rebel. I am brainwashed? How many times did illegal voters, signed up by ACORN, vote illegally and get prosecuted? Out of millions of voters, maybe a half dozen tried to vote illegally nationwide. Meanwhile tens of thousands of legitimate voters living in "heavily democratic areas" or who are minorities "likely to vote democratic" get purged from the rolls in state after state. I am brainwashed? What, you need links?
http://www.gregpalast.com/drinking-the-kool-aid-how-cries-of-voter-fraud-cover-up-gop-elections-theft/
#17 "2010 will be a backlash year against Obama" Really Kato? Better not read the report on Bush. "the team compiled a list of 250 failures, which it then narrowed down to just 128 "that attracted bipartisan criticism and had major impacts on the lives of ordinary Americans." That's me and you Kato having our lives "impacted" on.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Watchdog_group_documents_Bushs_Broken_Government_1210.html
#21 Jeff. Why should Obama print more money? Bush just printed 8.5 trillion according to Bloomberg. You are running out of fingers and toes. I like it when you wingnutters use the word "conservative". There are no conservatives. Just ask Richard A. Viguerie.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/26/MNVN14C8QR.DTL
#22 Cliff, scorched earth campaigns don't work all that well here. Reichert is just lucky his opponent had little experience. Anyone with any prior political accomplishments would have easily beat him with a mediocre campaign. And I truly like Darcy, and have helped her many times.
#23 diamondshards. No one ever did any good work on Reichert, law enforcement career. If they did he would not be in congress. Sorry.
#25 Hinton. I like the idea of jailing ALL corrupt politicians, regardless of party. I wouldn't say the Illinois State government is any more corrupt than Alaska, Alabama, or Kentucky though. The dems have a few folks on the take. The GOP is more like the mafia..... Corrupt at every level, and having a platform that is more fraud than fact. Unless of course you want America destroyed, and to have the have mores control everything, bought at a bankruptcy sale.
#30 Russell. I know Darcy. I really doubt she will leave politics. Whoever runs in '10 will have the advantage of the 8th district's voters knowing exactly how much damage GOP control of our government had done, and which party can fix it (again). Reichert should be examining which lobbying firm he will want to go work for in Dec. '11.
All Facts Support My Positions.
Posted by: All Facts Support My Positions on December 10, 2008 07:13 PMDarcy is done. She might be able to pick up a seat on a school board or something but she is done as far as a viable candidate for a headline race.
She has been nailed for being a fraud in every part of her "background" and that is going to follow her for the rest of her political life.
Posted by: Truth Detector on December 10, 2008 07:59 PMThat explains a lot.
Actually, that explains just about everything.
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on December 10, 2008 09:42 PMYou obviously know nothing about Jay Inslee's political career.
Look in to how Adam Smith got his seat too.
Reichert is just lucky his opponent had little experience. Anyone with any prior political accomplishments would have easily beat him with a mediocre campaign. And I truly like Darcy, and have helped her many times.
I agree Rodney Tom could have taken him down. "Easily" with a "mediocre campaign"? No.
Besides, I was talking about the future. Reichert has survived the two toughest years he's likely to ever have to survive in. There are less options now.
Posted by: cliff on December 10, 2008 10:00 PMThanks to Marco for the article, as of course.
The idea that Reichert's past is ancient history falls apart when you consider that his past is the whole reason he has the seat.
My one criticism of Marco's article is that it understates how horrendous a job Reichert did investigating the Green River killer.
I'm not a cop, or a detective, I don't claim that I would be able to catch a killer if I were. But I do the job I have chosen in life very well, I give it 100%.
When Reichert was gifted with knowledge of the identity of the killer very early in this string of murders, he for some reason refused to believe that Ridgeway could be a bad guy, and kept looking for a suspect more to his (dis)liking.
Was he enjoying being head of a big task force? Is he the ultimate corrupt government tax and spender?
He is, either through incompetence, corruption or some other flaw.
The dems could win but only by making this an issue, otherwise, they are wasting their time and an alot of everybody's money if they don't.
Thanks all,
New Left Conservative #1
Posted by: New Left Conservative #1 on December 10, 2008 10:52 PMWe won't see Hunter, Tom, or any other elected give up their seat to take a shot at Dave. His past at a Sheriff may have gotten him the job but it isn't going to be turned against him and work.
Darcy had the best chance by having national nut roots support and that wasn't enough. Factless. If you do see Darcy this weekend tell her to find a real job because she isn't going to be elected to one.
Posted by: Truth Detector on December 11, 2008 12:09 AMWe won't see Hunter, Tom, or any other elected give up their seat to take a shot at Dave. His past at a Sheriff may have gotten him the job but it isn't going to be turned against him and work.
Darcy had the best chance by having national nut roots support and that wasn't enough. Factless. If you do see Darcy this weekend tell her to find a real job because she isn't going to be elected to one.
Posted by: Truth Detector on December 11, 2008 12:09 AMHer best bet might be to move to Seattle and run when McDermott retires (he's 72). For the 8th CD, I think Dems would be much better off to find a fiscal conservative/social liberal type, which is why I mentioned Alex Alben.
Posted by: russell garrard on December 11, 2008 03:50 AMAll six Democratic congressmen from this state - McDermott, Inslee, Smith, Dicks, Baird, Larsen - voted for the auto/UAW bailout.
Posted by: Steve Beren on December 11, 2008 07:04 AMPossible, but given how bad the year was, he could have. ANYBODY that wasn't a total joke like Burner, with any significant experience, could have won.
We won't see Hunter, Tom, or any other elected give up their seat to take a shot at Dave. His past at a Sheriff may have gotten him the job but it isn't going to be turned against him and work.
I agree they won't NOW. But had any of them taken the shot in '06 or '08, great years for D's, they might well have.
Tom still might in '12 when he won't have to risk anything since he'll be mid term. He probably missed his shot though.
Thanks Darcy for keeping Tom out of the race!
Darcy had the best chance by having national nut roots support and that wasn't enough.
The nut roots were a detriment. They got her money but they turned off swing voters.
But the money kept Tom out of the race. So go nutroots go!
Posted by: cliff on December 11, 2008 10:14 AMThanks to Diamondshards for the civil response to my argument that I wasn't really expecting. And perhaps correct response, also.
Plus, Reichert has the backbone and good sense to oppose the bailouts, and this act of what I would call "leftism" will play out in his favor over the long haul.
Now if only a few supposedly "leftist" Democrats would see the massive error in selectively socializing failed businesses.
Not that socializing successful businesses would be a good idea either.
Thanks all,
New Left Conservative # 1
Going after Reichert's record as a sheriff won't carry any weight compared to going after his record for what will be 6 years in Congress. If the voters of the 8th think he did a great job, who cares what sort of job he did before that?
On the other hand, if the voters think he did a lousy job for the last 6 years, it won't matter how many serial killers he put away as sheriff of King County - he'll be out the door.
I'm afraid I don't understand how you can refer to Reichert opposing a bailout as being "leftist". Darcy Burner would have voted for this bailout and she's about as left as they come.
Perhaps it's because you don't realize that this bailout is for the UAW and not the car companies?
Posted by: Smoley on December 11, 2008 11:53 AMBut they didn't use that when Reichert first ran, and they won't use it now. The problem here for Dems is that the nanny state needs LE as their pet pit bulls and don't want that relationship upset. So they won't touch that can o' worms.
Posted by: russell garrard on December 11, 2008 02:56 PMThere's a bit more than improper use of impounded cars, in Conduct Unbecoming. If my memory serves, try sex with prositutes while on the public payroll (Not Reichert, this would be Ring, but please don't anybody trust my memory, I assume the article is easy to access and it is a great read).
I agree that the bailout is for the UAW, and unions are generally regarded as left. But there's also an element of national chauvinism involved, "Hey we're the number one country in the world, we've always had an auto industry, we have to have an auto industry." And let's not forget that Republican Bush is still President and is pushing for it.
I call it left (I shouldn't have, I'm using my own definition of the word here) because it's a classic struggle of the little guys (& women) against the Big Guys with all the power, and the big guys seem like they will make sure to win as usual.
And btw I'm very impressed and totally favorably amazed that the Republicans in the Senate seem to be holding out against the odds in their heavily besieged defensive position.
A trillion dollar stimulus package is next.
Thanks all,
New Left Conservative #1