I talked with Sen. Brian Weinstein this afternoon and while he gave a lot of reasons for not seeking a second term — tired of “banging my head against the wall” on issues like the Homeowners Bill of rights, disgust at the recent special session, etc — he says his primary motivation is that he simply needs to make money again… a commentary on our “citizen legislature” that I think deserves a more in depth conversation. Far from bitter or defeated, Weinstein seemed genuinely cheerful at the turn of events, and gave credit to Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown for bringing Fred Jarrett into the fold, a goal that had consistently eluded House Speaker Frank Chopp. Weinstein may not have always been the most politic politician, but he was passionately progressive, racking up one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate. He’ll be missed. (At least by me.)
As for Jarrett, well, now that he has torn that scarlet letter from his chest and replaced it with a bright blue “D”, I feel free to divulge a little secret. Back in January of 2006, when it became apparent that no other experienced candidate was willing to get into the congressional race against Dave Reichert, I went to Jarrett and pleaded with him to seek the Democratic nomination. He simply responded that he was “too old,” and that as a state we needed to pursue a “seniority strategy” by electing a younger candidate, preferably mid 30’s, to be in a position to eventually fill Norm Dicks’ role in the delegation.
I liked Darcy Burner, but up until that point I’d always thought of her youth as a liability. Jarrett’s response got me thinking about the many unique advantages Burner would bring to the job, and when, a few weeks later I started to forcefully advocate for her election, I did so with unquestioned enthusiasm. It was an uphill battle for an unknown novice to challenge a sitting incumbent, but I was confident that if she won, Burner would serve her district and the state well.
A while later I approached Jarrett again, this time asking him to publicly endorse Burner, arguing that the support of a respected Republican like him could sway enough votes to swing a close election. I was reminded of that conversation while reading Jarrett’s quote to Postman today:
“I felt there was a strong tradition in the Republican Party that really couldn’t be lost. So what I’ve been doing as long as I’ve been in the Legislature is trying to articulate that moderate Republican, progressive Republican, viewpoint, and what I found is I may have a lot of ego, but I don’t think I have enough ego to think anymore that I can do it.”
That’s kinda what Jarrett told me a year and a half ago, though not exactly in those words. I don’t know if Jarrett ultimately voted for Burner, but I can tell you that endorsing her would have required him to switch parties, and he just wasn’t prepared to go that far at that time. This was his GOP, dammit, and he didn’t want to give it over to those bastards. At least, that was the impression I came away with at the time.
But times change, as do political parties, and I think it fair to say that the GOP left Jarrett long before he left it. Jarrett’s decision was years in the making, as was the political transformation that has been sweeping formerly Republican suburban districts nationwide. As I wrote back in November of 2004, even in the immediate wake of the deeply disappointing 2004 election, the path toward a Democratic majority was clear: subdivide and conquer.
Just like the Democrats lost their base in the South with their support of civil rights legislation in the sixties, the GOP risks alienating their moderate, suburban base by abandoning fiscal conservatism to focus on right-wing social issues at home, and military and economic imperialism abroad. The neo-cons may dominate the national Republican leadership, but they do not represent the majority of suburban voters.
Families move to places like Mercer Island for better public schools, cleaner streets, safer neighborhoods, and all the other public services that a higher property tax base provides. These are people who believe in government because they benefit from it every day, and they routinely tax themselves to pay for the services they want.
These are people with whom urban Democrats have common ground, and we have an opportunity to exploit the wedge the neo-cons have provided, to expand our base politically and geographically. For in addition to a shared belief that good government is necessary to maintaining a high quality of life, suburban and city voters have a mutual interest in maintaining an economically and culturally vibrant urban core.
Welcome home Fred.
Speaking of the scarlet letter, I really wish I could find Robert Novak’s comments on a network chat show the night of the 04 election, when he ranted and bragged that Bush’s squeaker of a win signaled that Republican hegemony in the US would last a generation or more.
Two thumbs way up!!!
Hows about we get him to DL? It would be great to meet the guy and buy him a beer.
What was disappointing about the 2004 election? We won. Rove had to steal it — and debase himself and his party by blocking combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from voting — to cling to the illegitimate power they stole in 2000. They manufactured 4 million phantom votes in black boxes to do it. Think of all the hardworking, taxpaying, young Americans standing in freezing rain for 6 to 8 hours in Cleveland, only to get inside and have their right to vote challenge by some fucking wet-behind-the-ears Republican Brownshirt … this is what Republicans have done to the rights their own fathers and grandfathers fought and died for on a hundred battlefields in France and the Pacific. Jarrett was right to walk away. The GOP is beyond saving. The Republican Party, in Ann Coulter’s own words, “just needs to go away.”
@1 Novak is a traitor who should spend the rest of his miserable worthless life in a 6 X 9 concrete box.
SeattleJew – They have a DL on Mercer Island. He should at least attend that.
Damn! That just about kills my bipartisan/independent cred. Fred is a genuinely good guy with a passion for public service. I’ve known him about 15 years and have always liked and admired him. Now the only Republican I can even contemplate supporting is Secretary of State Sam Reed.
Go Fred!
Weinstein. The fucking poster child for birth control.
Can you imagine how fucked up his parents were?
Democrats in the legislature respected Jarrett and there were elected Democratic legislators that advised against an opposition candidate. Now I understand why. Eastside city electeds also advised against recruiting a serious opponent. There once was a Republican Party in Washington state that a person could consider supporting, but that was long ago. Even with the McKenna/Esser/Rossi group in charge, they are the same old story with a more sophisticated marketing approach than the old Vance/Tebelious/Carlson wing of the Party.
Brian took on Jim Horn, beat him, and made the state a better place in big ways on transportation, the environment, civil rights and insurance. Few one term Senators have ever made as much difference. Brian has never really had many big fans among the gals who run the Senate Democrats, even though he’s a big reason why they’ve had a majority.
Fred Jarrett is one of the good guys. This is good for Fred (even though he’s going to take a ton of heat from the GOP foamers), good for Democrats, and good for the state. He’s more liberal than many moderate democrats.
In an odd way, it might also be a wake up call to the reality averse within the state’s GOP. Unfortunately for them, there’s no bench and little hope. Their elect Dino strategy just took another hit. Just like Mcgavick before him, the media will build Dino up again, but people know the truth already: No Sale.
Let the GOP waste all the money and energy they want on Dino Rossi, who proundly named his dog after George w. Bush. Their strategy puts all their eggs in a single losing basket.
The 50 state strategy.
Go, Howard Dean!!!
“YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I hate Republicans and everything that they stand for.” Howard Dean
Republican Crook #IR-12-580647923-07
“WASHINGTON (AP) – The FBI is investigating the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Justice Department officials said Thursday, following allegations of misconduct from former employees. …
“According to one of the officials close to the investigation, the FBI is looking into several issues of possible fraud and abuse … [a] grand jury has been impaneled, and has issued subpoenas for documents.
The official said … the FBI is … looking into whether Bowen … inappropriately used taxpayer funds [for personal] expenses ….
“Congress Daily, a publication that focuses on Capitol Hill, first reported the FBI’s investigation into the matter on its Web site Thursday.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://news.aol.com/story/_a/f.....4609990026
Kucinich Barred From Iowa Debate
“The field of debaters was trimmed to six at the direction of the newspaper that hosted it. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio was excluded because he does not have a campaign office in the state. …
“It was not clear why the same rules did not exclude former Ambassador Alan Keyes from the Register’s debate of Republican candidates on Wednesday.”
http://news.aol.com/elections/.....3509990001
To Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, and wingnuts everywhere who think the guy in the Oval Office can do whatever he wants simply because he wants to, I say:
The president is an employee, not a king.
Let me criticize a fellow Democrat. Brian Weinstein has made more money in his life than most of us can even consider. Then, he was an effective legislator. Now, he wants to return to the private sector because of “financial issues.” Spare me. Goldy, I love you baby, but Weinstein doesn’t get a break here. He is rich as hell. This is not a “citizen legislator” issue. And, if he’s thinking about higher office, I’m not on his side. It’s tedious to represent the little people, Brian, and, I guess, that took too much out of you.
Proud Leftist: A rich democrat? say it ain’t so…….
I wonder if he puts his money in overseas accounts like George Soros so he doesn’t pay taxes?
I want to be like George!
As someone who spends time in Oly, let me say, Brian will be truly missed. Actually, Brian is a true breath of fresh air, a staunch, unapologetic progressive who has changed the culture in Olympia. He is disliked by many lobbyists because as a Committee Chair, he does not tolerate BS from people in front of him. He is smart and well prepared in a way that allows him to challenge the BS on issues that come before him. If you are not prepared, he hands you your lunch. This is not popular with lobbyists, but he doesn’t care. That makes hiom very different.
For 20 years, far too many Dems have joined R’s in allowing the legislature to crush consumer protections and rights. We rolled back limits on interest rates in consumer loans, opened the door to the insurance industry abuses, sub prime lenders, and stripped away many rights of homeowners, injured workers, etc, with the collaboration of Democrats.
Brian has changed that almost singlehandedly- in addition to hios work on education and even transportation, he has killed many pieces of bad, anti-consumer legislation on Judiciary and in his committee, and he has worked hard to pass changes to the Consumer Protection Act, to protect homeowners, and of course his successful effort to finally give WA voters rights against the heavy handed and abusive acts of insurers. I hope before he leaves, he can accomplish what he set out to do.
I don’t know about his financial status, and I bet you don’t either, but I know he worked himself up as a child of lower working class families to be one of the great lawyers in his field, and then worked 24/7 for twenty years to establish his career working for fammilies against toxic polluters and asbestos companies who have killed almost as many Americans as the tobacco industry. I don’t begrudge him the need to put his children through college and take care of his family.
Thanks Brian. We will miss you. Good luck to Fred, and good luck to you.
-Tom