Goldy

If the cream rises to the top, then the Seattle City Council is the political equivalent of a nonfat, decaf cappuccino: there ain’t nothin’ on top but foam. In fact, the choices this cycle are so unsatisfying that if some of the candidates were running unopposed I’d still have a tough time making a decision. Still, there’s one race where the choice seems clear.

On the one hand we have council wallflower/campaign warmonger David Della, who City Hall observers assure me, really is the incumbent. My handful of brief conversations with Della don’t quite give me a fair basis for concluding, as the The Stranger has, that he “simply isn’t intellectually fit to be on the council”… but then, they don’t give me much to refute the assertion either. I’m no fan of the Sierra Club right now, but accusing the environmental community of being a bunch of racists…? I’ve known mildly autistic people with better political instincts. Really.

Then on the other hand, we have Tim Burgess, a man who has spent the better part of a decade writing fundraising letters for anti-gay, anti-woman, right-wing hate groups… letters that equated homosexuality with pedophilia and emergency contraception with abortion, and that accused the National Education Association of seeking to turn our public schools into gay propaganda and recruitment camps. Really. Sure, he says his positions have evolved… since 2005… but I can’t help but think he thinks we’re all stupid. No doubt he’d bring a great deal more competency to the council than Della — a great, great, great, great deal more competency, I imagine — but competency in the service of an agenda I do not trust, I can do without.

That’s why I’m unreservedly casting my ballot for Heidi Wills.

Wills was a promising young councilmember on the fast track to bigger and better things, when our mind-fuckingly puritanical media crucified her on a demi-scandal of no great significance, before Della and his political hatchet-man swooped in with their mean-spirited and misleading “Rate-Hike Heidi” campaign. It’s amazing what one can accomplish with a little alliteration.

So for all you assholes complaining about your choices this cycle, but who bought into that crap four years ago (or, who like the Seattle Times, just seem to hate the notion of young women in politics,) I’ve got a simple seven-word, bumper sticker response: “Don’t blame me, I voted for Heidi.”

Generally, I don’t recommend throwing away a vote under any circumstances, but perhaps if enough people write-in Heidi or the person of their choice, it might send a message that Seattle voters have a hunger for candidates who are both qualified and clearly represent their values. Perhaps then, four years from now, we might get a field of challengers we can vote for without sticking our fingers down our throats afterwards.

(Or, if you can’t do that, vote for Della. He’ll be the easier one to beat in four years.)

It ain’t much fun being a Republican these days, which explains Republican KCPAO candidate Dan Satterberg’s attempt to shroud himself in non-partisanship. But in an electoral system where political money seems to gain more First Amendment protections than political speech, the money speaks loud and clear.

A quick peek at the latest PDC filings shows Satterberg the happy recipient of $10,742 of in-kind contributions from the Washington State Republican Party, and $23,400 from the King County Republican Central Committee — most of it in the last two weeks. If Satterberg isn’t a loyal Republican, he’s certainly fooled the GOP.

Satterberg also received (and then gave back) contributions totaling $770 from KCRCC vice-chair Lori Sotelo (she of bogus voter registration challenge fame,) whose short list of contributions this cycle consists entirely of fellow elephants: the WSRP, the KCRCC, Jane Hague, and nominally non-partisan but obviously-Republican Mercer Island city council candidates Steve Litzow and Mike Cero.

In fleeing his party identification, Satterberg has repeatedly said that he would push to make the Prosecutor’s office officially non-partisan, but that would be as big a lie as his current campaign. There are plenty of “non-partisan” races in the region, and in almost every case, we know exactly who the Democratic and Republican candidates are… indeed, the only races Republicans seem to be able to win these days are the “non-partisan” ones. That’s why in addition to giving to Satterberg, the WSRP has also given identical $10,742 contributions to Republicans Bill Bryant and Bob Edwards in their supposedly non-partisan Seattle Port Commission races, while Sotelo recently gave Bryant a $1000 last minute contribution.

State and local party organizations are not in the habit of giving money to non-partisans or independents or whatever it is Satterberg fancies himself these days. The Republican Party is investing tens of thousands of dollars in Dan Satterberg because they expect his election to pay off dividends down the road. And if elected, it will.

When Postman asked his readers “What should Rossi say?” when he officially announces his campaign for governor tomorrow, commenters found it awfully damn hard to take the task seriously. Democrats could barely hold back the snark, while Republicans were at a loss for words.

Personally, I’m not sure what Rossi can or should say at his campaign kickoff, but I’m pretty damn sure what he will say tomorrow… the same thing he said back in 2004, and the same thing he’s been saying over and over again on the non-campaign trail this past year or so:

Yup, it’s hard to argue with 210,000 new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in state history, and one of the best business climates in the nation… but that doesn’t mean Rossi won’t try. How? Well, just like in 2004, he could just try making shit up:

At pancake breakfasts and candidate forums across the state, Dino Rossi has invoked his nephew’s name as an emblem for what ails Washington.

Rossi blames Washington’s unfriendly business climate for driving his nephew, Kenny, and his business to Arizona. The gubernatorial candidate also has cautioned that the next Microsoft or Boeing founder could leave for Arizona, just as Kenny did.

What Rossi doesn’t say is that Kenny was a self-employed car detailer and that he left for personal reasons as much as business, according to his nephew.

Oops.

In politics, the truth doesn’t always hurt, but as Rossi is discovering, it doesn’t always much help, either.

Yeah, sure… I’m a hate talker. But Glenn Beck, apparently not so much:

I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.
[audio:http://horsesass.org/wp-content/uploads/beck.mp3]

For the past week, Geov, Paul and myself have been posting our take on the morning headlines, attempting to provide a little context to the daily news. And in a way, that’s exactly what Beck tried to do in referencing the wildfires ravaging Southern California.

California wildfires, view from space

There are a lot of stories within the story of the devastating fires that have now forced half a million people from their homes, but for Beck, the story that leaps off the page is that some of the victims “hate America.” That’s the context Beck chooses to bring to this tragedy… a tragedy Beck doesn’t view as simply unfortunate, but unfortunate “for them.” It’s almost as if he’s gloating.

What sort of person looks at a natural disaster, and instantly sees the political ideology of the victims? What sort of person chooses to bring this sort of context to this story? Glenn Beck.

The Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally meets tonight (and every Tuesday), 8PM at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Come join us for some hoppy ale and hopped up conversation.

All candidates are welcome. We’ll just be sure to call you a cab.

Not in Seattle? Liberals will also be drinking tonight in the Tri-Cities. A full listing of Washington’s thirteen Drinking Liberally chapters is available here.

Wanna learn more about Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens? Check out RetireTed.com.

Sen. Hilary Clinton didn’t seem to change many minds last night, but apparently she didn’t need to.

I went to Benaroya Hall hoping Clinton would change my mind — or at the very least help set it — turning me into a true blue supporter instead of just somebody who kinda likes her. But mostly I went to see if she could change the minds of the legion of doubters who supposedly fear a Clinton nomination would be the surest path to Republican victory in 2008.

But as I mingled through the crowd I discovered I had walked into the hall under false assumptions, for while I talked to a number of enthusiastic Obama and Edwards supporters, Hillary-haters were ne’er to be seen. Sure, Clinton was not the first choice of many in attendance last night — perhaps even a majority — but my unscientific survey didn’t find anybody who wouldn’t happily accept her as the Democratic nominee, or who even remotely bought in to the familiar “Hillary can’t win” meme. This particular crowd didn’t need convincing; they needed reinforcing. And on that count, Clinton delivered.

Her speech wasn’t a barn-burner or a stem-winder by any account, but it was confident, well measured, personal, and hit most of the right notes. For years, Americans have been told that Clinton is a divisive figure who draws great animosity, but you wouldn’t know it from the Clinton who spoke last night. Most Americans want health care reform; they want to restore America’s reputation abroad and rebuild its middle class at home. Most Americans want to end the war in Iraq, and like Clinton, a majority of those who now oppose the war have seen their own position evolve in response to events on the ground. And while I personally wish Clinton would adopt more liberal rhetoric, and advance more progressive solutions to many of the problems that now plague our nation (ie health care), I think few Americans, listening to her speak last night, would disagree with much of what the senator had to say.

But most importantly, Clinton came across as, well… likable, personable, caring, even funny. Not exactly the hard-edged, calculating bitch Republicans are counting on.

Was I convinced? No. I’m still leaning toward Edwards, if ever so slightly. But I was certainly reassured that should conventional wisdom hold true and Clinton wins the nomination, she will not only easily dispatch her Republican opponent, but will serve our nation well. And once more Americans get to know Hillary Clinton better, I am convinced that they will be reassured too.

UPDATE:
Writing on Slog, Josh draws a more tactical observation from last night’s speech, noting that the best indication Clinton’s political prowess was that she was there at all…

Why is that? Why is it that even though Barack Obama and John Edwards are more popular and raising more money in Washington State than Clinton, Clinton scores the Maggie Awards dinner—a captive audience of the most influential Democrats from the fundraising, organizing, and messaging fronts in the state. Well played HRC. You are a tactical player.

Yeah… um… true. But it should be noted that the keynote address in 2003 was a red-meat-flinging scorcher delivered by presumptive Democratic front-runner Howard Dean. How’d that work out for him?

I’m pleased to announce that Paul Andrews has joined our team of HA co-bloggers, and will post on whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and as often (or as rarely) as he wants.

You may remember Paul as the longtime technology columnist for the Seattle Times. He and Geov will be forming a support group for former professional journalists who have obviously hit rock bottom.

Wildfires in California, a “murder epidemic” in Philadelphia, a proposal to turn Hanford’s B reactor into a hot new tourist attraction… two wire stories and a feature dominate the Seattle Times front page today. Meanwhile, the P-I is less newsy but more local, filling the front of their dead-tree edition with features on Seattle’s condo wave, new migraine research, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s race (… partisan candidates running a partisan race for a partisan office…? Who’d a thunk?)

So apart from just getting everybody’s name right, how would I prioritize the front page on a typically slow Seattle Monday? Well, I could feature the Seahawks 33-6 win over the hapless St. Louis Rams. (In the news biz’s corollary to Intelligent Design, if God hadn’t intended Monday to be a slow news day, he wouldn’t have put football on Sundays.) Or I could dwell on a spree of bizarre deaths that seems to be plaguing our regional newswires. Nah.

Nope, given my druthers, if there isn’t any compelling local news to report, I’d try to focus on national headlines, but within a local context. You know, like…

Everybody Hates Hillary. At least, that seemed to be the consensus opinion at the Republican presidential debate last night, where the GOP hopefuls mentioned the Democratic frontrunner’s name 34 times, compared to twice for President Bush. Mike Crowley of the New Republic believes the Republicans did Hillary Clinton’s Democratic opponents “a big favor“, with the audience whooping it up every time a candidate (or FOX News “reporter”) mocked or derided her:

It’s hard to watch that spectacle and feel that Hillary doesn’t have a unique visceral effect on Republican voters likely to galvanize them in an general election. Which is exactly what Hillary’s primary rivals want you to believe.

Yeah, but then, this is the same audience that booed 70-percent of their fellow Americans for wanting to pull out of Iraq.

So is Hillary really the great GOP uniter…? Is she really the Democrat the Republicans want to face off against most? Or, as Digby contends…

She obviously scares the living hell out of Republicans, whose macho pretenders would rather band together, whimpering like a bunch frightened little boys in the dark, than take on each other. So they are preening for the easy applause from their Cro-Magnon audience. It’s a little bit pathetic.

It certainly is. And I expect Hillary will get an entirely different reception tonight in Seattle when she speaks before state Dems at their annual Maggie Awards. Every doubter I know who has seen Hillary speak these past few months, has been disabused of the notion that she just can’t win. I’ll be looking to see if local doubters have the same reaction tonight.

Everybody Hates Brown People. Ethnic cleansing proceeds apace in Prince William County Virginia, as fear of mass deportations has led thousands of Latino residents — legal and illegal alike — to pack up and leave. The brown flight comes in the wake of an anti-illegal immigration resolution passed this July by county supervisors, and then approved this Wednesday. Message sent. Message received.

“This is not something that only affects the undocumented,” [real estate] agent Rosie Vilchez said. “Because in the same family, it’s so common to have some people who are citizens, some people who are residents and some who are undocumented. And those with papers are going to do whatever is necessary to protect those without.”

Within hours of the board’s vote, Salvadoran-born Aracely Diaz instructed her real estate agent to put her townhouse on the market. […] “Even after they passed that July resolution, I had hope that [the supervisors] would change their minds,” said Diaz, 37, who has legal status but worries about relatives who do not.

Now, she noted bitterly, “I’ll be selling at a loss. But I don’t care. I no longer have any affection for this place that treats us this way. I just want to get out.”

Which of course, is the point… we want people like Diaz to leave. Sure, our immigration laws need to be either enforced or amended, but I doubt there would be this public uproar if we were talking about millions of undocumented white people pouring across the Canadian border. (Well, maybe French Canadians.)

Here in WA the anti-immigration fervor is wreaking its own selective havoc. While economic concerns leave migrant pickers largely unhassled in the apple orchards of Yakima (at least during harvest), Immigration agents make a show of arresting an 18-year-old Seattle girl on her way to school, and then shipping her back to Mexico, dashing the high school senior’s dreams of becoming a doctor. Yet another one of our state’s hardworking immigrants being officially terrorized in the name of our War on Terror. Aren’t you proud to be an American?

Everybody’s Gonna Die! Turkish troops are moving toward Iraq, Bush wants yet another $196 billion for his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Vice President Dick Cheney warns that “we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon”… I suppose even if that means using nuclear weapons ourselves. Doesn’t all this ratcheting up the rhetoric about Iran remind you of 2002 when we were ratcheting up the rhetoric in preparation for invading Iraq? When Bush warns about “World War III,” is he really warning about Armageddon, or just cheering it on?

We’re all gonna die. Really.

Jesus… even when the Seattle Bothell Botch-all Times editorial board gets it right, they manage to get it wrong:

Judge, Bassett for Mercer Island

TWO candidates deserve election to the Mercer Island City Council based on their collective acumen and service. Kathleen Judge receives the endorsement for Position 3 and Bruce Bassett is best qualified for Position 5.

Oh. My. God. It’s Maureen Judge… MAUREEN… not “Kathleen.” How the hell do you print an editorial endorsement of a candidate and get their name wrong?!

That said, it’s a pretty damn good endorsement…

Location is the island city’s most direct influence on the region. A fraction the size of Bellevue or Renton, Mercer Island and its representatives play important roles in transportation, regional planning and cross-lake cooperation.

Judge and Bassett seem best-prepared for that role. The Island is ready for the next generation of leadership to step into the ranks of prominent Island voices of the past.

A glance at the town center, with its booming condos and businesses, is a look into the future of Mercer Island. With near-capacity on local roads and parking, with a new park-and-ride facility dominating the landscape south of Interstate 90, and with the rattle of old utilities framing future debates, the community needs energy and an infusion of new talent.

Absolutely. And speaking of the need for “an infusion of new talent,” I wonder if there are any fact checker positions open at the Times?

Tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on News/Talk 710-KIRO:

7PM: Should insurance companies have the right to screw policy holders with impunity?
With a stroke of the governor’s pen earlier this year, WA joined forty-four other states in penalizing insurance companies for “bad faith” actions such as denying claims without cause… at least, WA would have joined these other states if the insurance industry had not immediately filed a referendum seeking to overturn it. Dana Childer’s is the spokesperson for the Reject R-67 campaign, which is spending over $10 million of insurance industry money to invalidate the law. Sue Evans represents the Approve R-67 campaign, which is fighting to keep the law on the books. Both join me by phone.

8PM: Open lines with Bill Sherman
Absentee ballots are already pouring in, so Bill Sherman, Democratic candidate for King County Prosecuting Attorney joins me one last time to talk about the issues and take your calls.

9PM: Republico-Fascist Awareness Night
Tomorrow, right-wing hate-monger David Horowitz kicks off Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week, and College Republicans nationwide will be joining in the festivities, apparently eager to even further diminish the GOP’s standing with their fellow young folks. Joining me in the studio to explain exactly what “Islamo-Fascism” is, and why Muslim classmates shouldn’t be offended by the term, will be University of Washington College Republican President Tom Walker.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

Noemie does what Noemie does best… an incredibly thorough examination of, and interview with Richard Pope. And she’s not really suggesting that HA’s comment threads sometimes change minds, is she?

Tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on News/Talk 710-KIRO:

7PM: Were the folks at The Stranger drunk…?
Was the Stranger Election Control Board drunk when they endorsed “No” on Prop 1 and “Yes” on Tim Burgess? Did they hit the bottle after Venus Velazquez got pulled over for a DUI just days after earning the SECB endorsement? Will they lose a drinking buddy if Councilman Richard McIver loses his council seat? Josh Feit joins us for The Stranger Hour, to discuss these and other issues of the day.

8PM: What is the Armenian Genocide, and why does it matter?
It looks like House Democrats are preparing to back off a resolution condemning the Turkish genocide of Armenians during World War I. Realpolitik? Cowardice? Prof. Peter Balakian joins us for the hour to fill us in on the history of the genocide and why it matters.

9PM: Regional Blogger Roundup
A round-table discussion of regional and national news with TJ from Loaded Orygun, Jim from McCranium and McJoan from Daily Kos. TJ’s going tell us Portlanders really hate their light rail, Joan will tell us if Idahoans really love Sen. Craig (you know, in a platonic sense,) and Jimmy’s gonna tell us why the hell he’s running for office. That and other stuff.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

Looking at Seattle’s dailies from across the continent, I’m not really sure what’s in the news today.

It was windy! Or maybe it wasn’t. The Seattle P-I says 280,000 were left without power yesterday, but the Seattle Times says “tens of thousands.” I guess, mathematically, they both could be right. Also, one man was killed kite-surfing in 40 mile-per-hour winds. I’m sure somewhere else in the world a man was killed yesterday sticking a fork in a toaster, but I don’t see any headlines about that.

The War on Christmas seems to come earlier every year. Damn commercialism. Anyway, looks like those pussies at the Port of Seattle have decided to opt out of the annual multicultural debate by clear-cutting their Christmas trees and replacing them with a monoculture of snow dusted birch. Nothing like going out of your way to make all sides unhappy.

“I find the whole thing stupid,” attorney Harvey Grad told the Times. I agree.

Meanwhile, the state has announced it will add a nativity scene to the “Holiday Tree” and Chanukah menorah in the Capitol rotunda. I’m so confused.

Forgive and forget? Seattle City Council candidate Venus Velazquez asks voters to forgive her for her DUI:

“I guess all I can say right now is I hope and believe that voters will see this as a human mistake,” Velazquez said. “At some point you make a judgment call and, clearly, I made the wrong one because — legally — I was impaired. My own judgment of myself not being impaired didn’t match up with the legal definition.”

[…] “It’s for the voters to decide whether this mistake is enough to disqualify me from serving them,” Velazquez said. “So many times, in these situations, we’ve said, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ “

Will accepts her apology. Joel thinks voters should judge candidates on their ability to serve in office, not their ability to drive. I think she’s finally struck the exact right tone, but it may be a day too late to save her campaign. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, it looks like the state’s leading Republicans would likely accept Velazquez’s apology, what with Rep. Dave Reichert, Attorney General Rob McKenna, and non-candidate Dino Rossi all endorsing Jane Hague, months after her drunken swear-fest with the state patrol.

“Jane Hague… Leadership that works.” You know, when it’s not drinking. And driving.

Rossi also had some run-ins with alcohol. When he was 18, he and a friend got drunk on a bottle of vodka and then, with Rossi behind the wheel, crashed his Pontiac into a house and totaled the car. No one was injured, but Rossi was charged with drunken driving and underage drinking. The charge was later reduced and, instead of jail time, he had to go to a class and pay a fine.

“It’s one of those things that happens when you’re 18 and you know everything there is in the world to know,” Rossi said.

Yup, it’s just one of those things that happens when you know everything there is in the world to know.