From the TNT’s Political Buzz:
It seems Sheriff Dave has changed his Web site, which for months touted a rating showing him being the second most effective House member from Washington state during his first term. But according to the Democrats, sometime earlier this month that reference was dropped from his Web site. Reichert is now listed by congress.org as the least effective Washington state member and 401st out of the 439 House members.
No doubt House Republican leaders had high hopes for the silver haired Sheriff when he first came into Congress, gifting him plum committee assignments that bumped up his rookie year ratings. But in the three years hence he’s proven the biggest local bust since Brian Bosworth, trailing fellow WA Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers by a wide margin, along with 32 (out of 40) other members of his class.
The TNT points out that “the party in control sets the agenda, which affects the ratings,” and that’s good perspective, but so is the fact that when you compare apples to apples, Reichert now ranks only 171st out of 200 fellow House Republicans. Of course, that’s still better than 29 other GOP House members, some of whom aren’t even retired, indicted, behind bars or dead.
Why Reichert would choose to highlight his downward spiral, I don’t know. I suppose that explains the sudden web site edit.
oh noes, duz vesely know this?
I’m not sure the comparison holds. Bosworth’s collegiate career wasn’t overhyped by as much BS as Reichert’s police career.
Interesting front pages this morning: The Times’ headline is about food inflation, and the P-I’s lede is about soaring rents. Wingnut liars love to blame Carter for the Nixon-Ford inflation of the ’70s, but the truth is Republican borrow-and-spend policies created the horrendous stagflation of that era, and identical policies by the Current Occupant are directly responsible for creating the Bush Inflation we’re witnessing now. There’s no such thing as a free trillion-dollar war; if you don’t pay taxes to Uncle Sam, you will pay the “inflation tax” at the gas pump and grocery checkout.
Reichert has to run for re-election as the incumbent of the Inflation Party. Wonder how that will play with CD-8 voters? Looks like the higher cost-of-living in his district is already forcing his supporters to cut back on their campaign donations. They just might cut back on giving him their votes, too.
The Fed has engineered inflation into our economy because deflation is politically unpopular.
Price “shocks,” such as the surge in oil prices aren’t technically called “inflation.” Inflation is a chronic and persistent rise level in prices throughout the economy. To say that there is inflation in the economy is stating the obvious, since the Fed is pretty much guaranteeing we always have inflation.
Whether this is a wise policy remains to be seen.
Well according to Iran’s prez…gas prices are not high enough and have not kept up with inflation:
$10/gal coming soon to a gas station near you!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....iran_oil_2
Just out of curiousity, I’d like to see something about the Republicans who actually rated lower than Reichart. That would have to be a pretty low bar to meet, and the comparison might be significant.
By the way, this is a golden opportunity for any Washington State Republicans to chime in and argue about what great legislative feats Reichart has accomplished, and to argue that he doesn’t deserve his poor rankings.
Of course, if past experience is any indications, all we will get is some name-calling against Burner and attempts to change the subject.
And also in the news today, in 2007 the Army has almost doubled the number of convicted felons it has enlisted over 2006. Although the total numbers are still small, it shows a bit of desperation to meet the recruiting numbers required to prosecute a continued war in Iraq and Afganistan simultaniously with an all-volunteer army, along with its other obligations.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24243460/
Of course, I think even convicted felons should be given an opportunity to start a new life, after careful consideration of their potential to re-offend. But the enlistment of sex offenders will undoubtedly be troubling to countries like Japan who have already grown increasingly frustrated with offenses commited by our troops while on their soil.
No republican – including the republicans who come here posing as Dems – has ever been able to defend ANYTHING about Big Hair’s work in Congress – nor after 20 attempts by Goldy to get ANY Gop idiot here to tell us why we should vote Davie – has anyone responded. PITIFUL!
Yep, some four and a half hours after this topic was posted, and here is the Republican defense of Reichart’s Congressional legacy:
(sounds of cricket’s chirping).
Maybe they are posting only on right-wing blogs, where their prevarications won’t be riduculed?
@4: sorry – the reason we have inflation is three-fold:
1. Huge budget deficits (records) caused by Bush and the Iraq war
2. Huge trade deficits (ditto bush and the republican trade policy – mostly with
china)
3. No energy coherent policy (except to raise profits to record levels for Exxon and the other oil companies) – see the Cheney energy policy task force run by cheney and advised by Ken Lay of Enron (“Kenny boy” is what Bush calls him).
@10 “Maybe they are posting only on right-wing blogs, where their prevarications won’t be riduculed?”
That’s what I would do if I were them to protect my self-esteem, but I doubt they have any self-esteem (nor should they).
4, 11 Anytime the gov’t prints money to pay for a war we get Inflation.
WTF Lee do you know about his police career? About as much as anybody in the eighth cares about what Goldy or any of the other delussional morons that post here over and over again, day and night. What a collection of loser outcasts living in self imposed alternate realities with Goldy as the drum major of the idiot parade.
Roger & CNR,
Sure, inflation can be produced by over-stimulation of the economy. The government, regardless of what they’re spending money on, contributes towards inflation by simply printing money: it doesn’t have to be a war they’re spending money on. It can be damn near anything.
Former Fed Chairman Paul Volker, back in the early 80’s, broke the back of inflation by maintaining high interest rates to cool-down the economy. It worked.
Alan Greenspan later adopted a built-in mechanism for insuring inflation. A little inflation is easier to get away with than deflation, largely because Americans expect prices to go up over time. Currently, the boys and girls over at the Fed are shooting for an inflation rate of about 0 to 3 percent per year. Inflation at that level tends to keep the economy going and keeps the “proles” in their place.
One thing we need to be concerned about is government intervention in the markets. The failed businessmen and failed attorneys that make up the government will make a mess of things should they try to “solve” the current run-up in oil prices.
Poor politically incorrect – why don’t you ignore the true sources of inflation – the huge budget deficit and the fact we are spending 3 trillion dollars and more on the war and getting – nothing. When the US spends so much on so little – then the money becomes worthless. In addition, we get oil prices going higher – that drives all prices up due to transportation costs (the “global economy”).
@16 So voting for a democrat so taxes go way way up is going to help the scenario you laid out, how?
17 M
Tell us which taxes are going up, will you? The presidential candidates have pledged to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire only for those making above some threshhold like $200K/yr. I know Obama is promising tax rebates and tax cuts for lower-income citizens.
So why don’t you inform us as to whose taxes are “going way up,” hmmm?
Don’t you think national trends will be reflected in WA-08? This from Rasmussen:
“Downward spiral.” I like that. Dave Reichert has been in a downward spiral ever since he took office.
He won his open seat narrowly against a horrible Democratic candidate. He won re-election even more narrowly in 2006 against a virtual unknown. He’s got no “narrow” left, and Darcy sure as shit isn’t “unknown” this time around. He’s going down.
That’s the best the Republicans got in defense of Reichart? Arguing over whether the Fed is responsible for inflation, rather than the Bush administration’s Republican policies?
Geez, even the trolls here seem to have written off Reichart this time around.