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Open thread

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Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottle Something on your mind these days? We’ll be raising the ceiling tonight at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally. Stop by…you know you need to talk about it.

There are unsubstantiated rumors that one or two Seattle City Council challengers will be dropping by, as well.

So please joins us for drinks, conversation and politics under the influence. We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00 pm, but a few folks show up earlier for dinner.


Can’t make it tonight? Drinking Liberally Tacoma meets this Thursday at the Hub Restaurant. Starting time is 7:00pm. And with 231 chapters of Living Liberally, including seven in Washington state and seven more in Oregon, chances are excellent there is a chapter near you.

Returned

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If there was any redeeming moment, any bright spot in this ugly terrorist/hostage situation that has unfolded in Washington D.C. over the past couple of months, this was it:

Drinking Liberally — South Bellevue

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DLBottle
Last week I forgot to mention in the Drinking Liberally post that tonight is the monthly meeting of Drinking Liberally South Bellevue.

They meet at 7:00 PM at the Mustard Seed Grill and Pub.

From their mailer:

The topic, of course, will be the debt ceiling. Tuesday is the deadline to raise the debt ceiling. Will we have a deal? If so, how bad will it be? What is the damage assessment?

Dictionary.com: Extortion : 2. the crime of obtaining money or some other thing of value by the abuse of one’s office or authority .

The debt ceiling extortion on behalf of the Tea-Party and House Republicans represents the most brazen and potentially destructive abuses of political power I can remember in my lifetime. In an attempt to achieve their political agenda, Congressional Republicans are threatening to blow up our economy and the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government. Many of them are, I’m afraid, actually too stupid to understand the implications of default. Lawrence O’Donnell yesterday characterized them as “uneducable”. Even the US Chamber of Commerce thinks they are nuts.

Some have called the endeavor “economic terrorism”and even”treason”. Ironically, it is being perpetrated by the group that fancies themselves as the most patriotic Americans.

Why are they doing this? To weaken the President, cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and shield the richest individuals and corporations from any shared sacrifice in the attempt to get our deficits under control.

Meanwhile, Congress has completely abandoned any and all efforts to create jobs.

This is truly a very low period in our political history. So lets have a beer or soda and commiserate.

Hope to see you Monday.

Can’t make to Bellevue tonight? The Seattle chapter meets tomorrow night and the Tacoma chapter meets on Thursday night. Essentially, with 230 chapters of Living Liberally, including seven in Washington state, chances are excellent there is a chapter near you.

Open thread

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The Undefeated appears to be defeated.

Breaking Crime News:

  • FBI is checking out a “promising lead” as a “routine part of our investigation” in the 1971 D.B. Cooper case
  • DNA evidence will be used to see if a 14-year-old Ted Bundy killed an 8-year-old Tacoma girl in 1961.

Read of the day: Getting bin Laden: What happened that night in Abbottabad.

Today in Debt the Ceiling Hostage Situation:

Time to vote

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Still have that ballot sitting on your kitchen table?

Fuse has produced their Progressive Voter’s Guide for this election.

Actually…they only have a voter’s guide for nine of Washington’s 39 counties, but if you are reading this, there is a good chance you live in one of those nine counties.

Do you vote in King County? Fuse recommends a yes vote on Prop. 1 that would renew a levy to fund some veterans & human services.

Oddly enough, the Seattle Times recommends a yes vote as well. Strange bedfellows. No, wait, that’s the other daily….

Whatever…just make sure you vote.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Congressman Deadbeat Dad:

Newsy: Register to vote…get free pot.

Ed: Voter suppression in Wisconsin.

Beck massacres Kilmeade and Ingraham to become Worst Person in the World.

The Media Responds to Norwegian Terrorist Attack:

Bill-O the Clown beats out Michele Bachman as Worst Person in the World.

Jon on the perpetual victims at FAUX News:

Lawrence O’Donnell: Teen suicide rate high in Bachmann’s bigoted Anoka-Hennepin County school district.

Sam Seder: Scumbag NewsCorpse gives mourning mother a phone and then hacks it.

Anthropogenic C****** C*****:

Jon on Twitterized newscasts.

Seattle city councilman Tim Burgess rapping (via Slog).

Rep. Billy Long defeats FAUX’s MacCallum, and Lush Rimbaugh for the title Worst Person in the World.

The Republican Primary Asylum:

Ralph Goneau, 79, and Richard Wilhelm, 87, waited 41 years to say “I Do”.

ONN: Social Security reform bill encourages Americans to live faster, die younger.

Ed: Florida voter suppression.

Young Turks: FAUX News infotainer says cut Medicare to fund wars.

Newt triumphs over Rep. Culberson and Glenn Beck Worst Person in the World.

New Fuel Efficiency Standards:

Lawrence O’Donnell: Right wing wackjobs let FAA funding expire.

Jon does an extended interview with Juan Williams.

Olbermann with Robert Reich on America widening wealth gap.

Newsy: Seven billion and counting.

Debtmageddon:

White House: West Wing Week.

Newsy: God’s 52% approval rating.

Olbermann wit Rep. Keith Ellison on (Peter) ‘King’-sized fearmongering .

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

McKenna doubles down on his funding fuck-up/PDC dispute with new whopper

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Earlier this week I offered Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna some solid advice:

[T]he sitting state Attorney General should NOT have his campaign stooges give uninformed legal babble opinion—it reflects badly on the legal prowess of the Attorney General.

But now, McKenna is doubling down on this sort of idiocy…by mailing out a fundraising letter built around a whopper of a lie, built on their fringe legal theory.

Publicola reports on McKenna’s letter that starts out:

The leading Democratic contender, Congressman Jay Inslee, has a war chest of over $1,000,000 in his re-election campaign for Congress. This week the media is reporting that he intends to illegally transfer that money to his state campaign for governor.

By “the media”, the McKenna campaign means this AP piece that was carried by numerous media sources.

A plain reading of the AP piece yields these facts (reordered):

  1. McKenna had $40,000 left over from his 2008 campaign
  2. McKenna didn’t segregate the money into a surplus account; rather, he rolled over those funds to his 2012 campaign
  3. The rolled-over funds commingled with new money and, therefore, are subject to campaign contribution limits
  4. Inslee has $1.2 million surplus from past campaigns squired away in a separate account.
  5. Inslee asked the PDC for permission to use the surplus, with donor consent, for his gubernatorial bid.
  6. About $1 million of Inslee’s money never commingled with new money so it would not be subject to campaign contribution limits
  7. The McKenna campaign characterized Inslee’s money as “illegal,” and claimed that Inslee was circumventing Washington state law
  8. The PDC disagrees with McKenna’s intrepertation; they agree that Inslee can, with donor consent, use about $1 million for his gubernatorial campaign without contribution limit issues
  9. The only challenge to the PDC’s interpretation of the law in the article comes from McKenna

This last point is important. It means McKenna’s fundraising letter is premised on a lie. It says:

This week the media is reporting that [Inslee] intends to illegally transfer that money to his state campaign for governor,

Not true. The media does not suggest the proposed transfer would be illegal. Here is what an honest McKenna could say:

This week the media is reporting that [Inslee] intends to transfer that money to his state campaign for governor. The PDC says this is legal. We disagree.

That would be an honest summary of the situation.

Instead this whole episode leaves us with a troubling picture of McKenna:

  • He (or his campaign) fucked-up their own cash roll-over, apparently through ignorance of the state’s campaign laws
  • He espouses a fringe legal theory about campaign cash roll-over, one that is contradicted by the PDC
  • He is willing to blatantly lie to his potential donors

The episode not only throws into doubt if he has the integrity to be Governor, it throws into doubt his competence as our state’s top lawyer.

A “credible” opponent for Cantwell?

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The Republicans are still trying to find a credible opponent for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in 2012. Former Bush Deputy White House spokesperson and Bush-Cheney ‘04 Press Secretary, Scott Stanzel is considering it.

But I said “credible.”

And now Seattle Weekly‘s Mike Seely writes:

…lately we’ve been hearing somewhat credible rumors that 8th District Congressman Dave Reichert might be up for abandoning his seat and challenging Cantwell. So is this chatter serious, or is there a stealthier factor at play here?

By “stealthier factor” he means that Reichert is using such rumors to leverage a more favorable redistricting outcome.

Seely ponders:

But what if Reichert’s motives are more pure? What would ensue would be a fascinating race between polar opposites: Cantwell, the wonkish brainiac who takes on issues of substance yet struggles with retail politics and staff retention, versus Reichert, the dull knife who gets by on Ken-doll looks, law-enforcement legend, and timely tacks to the center.

That would be fun! I like it. Reichert is, for sure, a stronger opponent for Cantwell than is Stanzel. But a Reichert challenge would accomplish two things. First, it opens up the Democratic-leaning 8th CD (which, of course, may be unrecognizable by 2012). Second, it means Republicans would dump lots of money into the race. Less so with Stanzel; Republicans would find more promising races upon which to spend their spoils.

This is Reichert’s big Window of Opportunity…but could he win?

In a statewide competition against an uberwonk, Reichert would not get away with his usual strategy of dodging all things substantive. He’ll have to speak in public and try to come off as intelligent and informed. No more “I’ve looked in a microscope and seen the heartbeat of a stem cell” moments; no more, “I don’t know enough about this issue, so I’ll pass on the question” answers like he gave in his 2006 debate against Darcy Burner. No more confessions of voting the way the leadership tells him to vote. The Cantwell campaign would eat him alive for such blunders.

So, no, he can’t. If Reichert sticks his head through that Window of Opportunity…he’ll get his freakin’ throat slit….

Dick and Jane

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The last time Jane Hague ran for re-election to King County Council (district no. 6), it was discovered that she had been hiding a DUI arrest, and was abusive of the arresting officers. We learned that she had lied about having a college degree. She also got hit with multiple PDC complaints. Alas, most of this came to light too late for a strong candidate to challenge her.

She has some serious electoral competition this year, with three challengers. One challenger, Richard Mitchell, is rated “Outstanding” by the King County Municipal League. Hague is rated “Good.”

And what does the Stranger have to say for this race?

Mitchell is the most accomplished and promising challenger to Jane Hague on the Metropolitan King County Council, and earns [our] endorsement. In our interviews with the four candidates for this seat, he stood out for his quick mind and grasp of detail.

[…] The County Council is nonpartisan, but when asked Mitchell said he is a Democrat because of that party’s identification with immigrants, civil rights and environmental justice. He describes his politics as “fiscally conservative and socially progressive.”

“Accomplished, ” “Quick mind,” “grasp of details”? Typical reality-based blather from a left-wing rag.

Oh wait…my mistake, that was the Seattle Times endorsing Mitchell over Hague.

I know, I know…the bland writing was a dead giveaway. Here’s another giveaway:

Our concern about Mitchell is that he might be too quick to raise taxes. That caveat noted, he is one of the most attractive new faces on the local scene, and we endorse him for the County Council.

Hmmm…somebody on the Seattle Times editorial board is rather aroused by this candidate….

Here is what The Stranger had to say:

The Stranger Election Control Board wants to have Richard Mitchell’s baby. Mitchell is intelligent, passionate, progressive, eloquent. We’d vote for Mitchell for anything. City council. School board. Legislature. Cruise director.

If there are issues on which Mitchell and the SECB disagree, we’re probably wrong. The man could dig a deep-bore tunnel that even the SECB could get behind.
[…]

Mitchell can walk on water. He can raise the dead. He can even manage to answer a reporter’s question directly, without a hint of equivocation, all the while remaining nuanced. That’s not meant as a slam against fellow challenger John Creighton, a pleasant surprise as a port commissioner, but a stereotypical waffler as a politician. Oh wait. We guess it is.

Mitchell is exactly the sort of smart politician everybody says they want, but who never seems to get elected.

Without hesitation, Mitchell said he would approve a $20 car tab to avert a devastating 17 percent cut in Metro bus service and believes in a minor sales tax bump to rescue the county’s underfunded criminal-justice system. Vote Mitchell.

I’ll take that as The Stranger’s endorsement with a medically-concerning extended duration erection.

Here’s his web site and an intro video:

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottle
Please join us tonight for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00 pm, but a few folks show up earlier for dinner.


Can’t make it tonight? The Burien chapter of Drinking Liberally meets tomorrow (Wednesday), July 27 at the Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub. Starting time is 7:00pm.

And with 230 chapters of Living Liberally, including seven in Washington state, chances are excellent there is a chapter near you.

McKenna fucks up his own campaign cash roll-over and tries to shut down Inslee’s cash roll-over

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Gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna (R) has his undies all atwist over gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee’s (D) plans to forward up to $1 million of congressional reelection surplus to his gubernatorial election war chest:

Republican candidate Rob McKenna’s campaign, responding to an inquiry from The Associated Press, characterized the money as simply “illegal.”

“He’s trying to claim that because it would be convenient for him to try to grab that money and evade Washington state law” McKenna campaign manager Randy Pepple said.

“Babbled” would have been a better last word for the sentence.

He added that the campaign or someone else would likely challenge any formal opinion that would allow the money transfers.

The PDC has reviewed the law and, in their opinion, finds such a transfer acceptable:

PDC staff believes Inslee’s interpretation is correct, and agency spokeswoman Lori Anderson said past candidates have taken similar steps.

“I don’t think that’s a fuzzy area,” Anderson said. “It’s spelled out well in our statutes and our rules.”
[…]

PDC officials pointed to a section of state law that allows candidate’s with dedicated surplus funds to roll them over to future elections for the same office without the money being subject to contribution limits. Because Inslee is running for a different office, officials also turned to a separate section of law that allows candidates who are running for a new office to get approval from donors to use past donations for a new campaign.

Those laws combined show Inslee’s interpretation is correct, Anderson said.

Three amusing observations:

First, the sitting state Attorney General should NOT have his campaign stooges give uninformed legal babble opinion—it reflects badly on the legal prowess of the Attorney General.

Second, the AP story points out:

After his 2008 campaign for attorney general, McKenna rolled an extra $40,000 over to the 2012 election cycle. Because that money was mingled with new cash, it is all subject to campaign contribution limits, according to the PDC.

Anderson said that McKenna could have placed that money into a dedicated “surplus” account and got the same benefits as Inslee.

OOPS!

In other words…McKenna’s campaign royally fucked up its own campaign cash roll-over. And now they presume to tell the PDC how the process is supposed to work for Inslee?!?

Uh-huh.

Third, as Jerry Cornfield points out, if the McKenna campaign sues the PDC over its interpretation of the law…

…[t]his could create an interesting situation down the road because McKenna’s office typically defends PDC interests in court.

That’s an amusing irony—kind of. And it reminds me of an episode from the chronicles of Horsesass involving McKenna’s predecessor.

Back in early 2003, when it became clear that Goldy’s Horses Ass Initiative, I-831 might conceivably make it to the ballot, then state Attorney General Christine Gregoire sued to keep it off the ballot.

Goldy lost the case. But just in case he won, and the initiative subsequently became law, Goldy was prepared to sue over the legality of the law. Doing so would have put Gregoire in the position of defending the new law.

Of course, McKenna has an easy out, by virtue of his own precedent: McKenna could simply refuse to provide the PDC with legal representation.

Problem solved.

Wu resignation good for Democrats

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Via Goldy:

Oregon Democratic Rep. David Wu announced today that he would resign from Congress in the wake of sexual assault allegations.
[…]

But if you think Republican Party insiders are rejoicing at the news, think again. Wu, who’d already been the subject of conjecture and criticism due to his increasingly erratic behavior, had been seen as a vulnerable target in this otherwise safe Democratic district spanning parts of Portland and the surrounding counties. But his resignation all but hands the seat to popular, progressive, Democratic Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.

Blue Oregon’s Carla Axtman points out to Goldy that “this is very bad news for the Republican Party of Oregon…. Without Wu to run against, they have no game.”

Wu, a former college roommate of Sen. Bill Frist, created some controversy during the last election when some of his staff resigned after demanding an intervention for his increasingly erratic behavior.

Hmmm…maybe he was just all giddy with love/infatuation at the time, a la former South Carolina Gov. Mark Stanford. Except, apparently, unreciprocated for Wu.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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ONN: News of the week.

Thom: The Good, the Bad and the Very, Very Ugly.

Ohio Gov. Kasich is Worst Person in the World.

Fiscal Apocalypse:

Mark Fiore: We are the whirled.

White House: West Wing Week.

The G.O.P. Presidential Lunatic Asylum:

Obama calls the International Space Station.

Thom talks to a deprogrammed teabagger.

Allen West’s Letter:

Young Turks: Abstinence-only education problem in Texas.

Sen. Smith and Bill-O-the-Clown lose to James Murdoch as Worst Person in the World.

Obama ends DADT.

The ALEC Caper:

ONN: Tensions mount after North Korea destroys all of Asia.

Sam Seder: The Teabaggers don’t pay their debt.

West and Palin lose out to Casino boss Steve Wynn as Worst Person in the World.

News Corpse:

Thom: Can Republicans get elected without fraud and treason?

Stephen: CA gay history bill.

Sam Seder: Rush claims “It’s not hot—Government trying to fool you”.

Young Turks: FAUX News asks whether there are any poor families in America.

Faggot joke amuses FAMiLY LEADER’s (14-point marriage fidelity pledge) Bob Vander (via ThinkProgress).

Cenk Leaves MSNBC:

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Legislation by the wealthy

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Washington’s initiative process has failed as a tool of The People. It has largely become a means for the wealthy to pass their own pet laws.

The problem is so bad that even the Seattle Times has had to acknowledge it:

WITHOUT addressing specific pros and cons of any of the three statewide initiatives that appear likely to qualify for November’s ballot, it is hard to deny one glaring truth: None are truly grass roots in origin.

Got enough money and a bug up your ass about something? Buy yourself an initiative! It’s easy. It’s fun!

Just ensure the initiative dangles a small, tangible, immediate benefit to voters, and their eyes glaze over with green dollar signs as they unwittingly vote to dismantle the The Commons that they previously supported and put in place. Seriously…it’s a perverse exploitation of human greed.

This year’s prime example is Tim “biggest lie of my life” Eyman’s I-1125, which is likely to qualify for the ballot (maybe today).

The initiative will severely restrict the State’s ability to toll highways AND prevent light rail from crossing on I-90.

An initiative born of a populist grassroots uprising? Hardly. The effort is primarily funded by Bellevue real-estate baron Kemper Freeman, who has contributed over a million dollars to the initiative campaign.

Freeman has a bug up his ass…he doesn’t like light rail or something. So, he is attempting to purchase himself a law.

The law would thwart the will of the voters, who have twice voted to bring light rail to the east side. Freeman sued to stop it, and lost. So now, Freeman will exploit fear of and self-interest over tolling to pass an initiative that will stop light rail—something that voters have made abundantly clear they want.

Yesterday, King County executive Dow Constantine was on KUOW. He pointed out:

“If you shop at Bellevue Square you contribute to [the I-1125] campaign.”

Conversely, you, your family, your friends can choose to take your money elsewhere.

Ultimately, the initiative process itself must be repaired. My first choice for repair is to get rid of paid signature gatherers altogether, as Oregon did in 1935. But Oregon’s current process, passed in 1985, that prohibits signature gatherers being paid per signature would be an okay start.

Until reform happens, the wealthy will retain the privilege of purchasing their own laws.

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