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Did sexist press coverage sink Hillary Clinton?  I’ll be a guest on KUOW’s The Conservation this afternoon, sometime during the 1PM hour, to discuss this and possibly other issues.

I was talking to a real journalist last night, and not surprisingly the subject of the Burner-Reichert race came up. Also not surprisingly, the journalist raised the question of whether Darcy Burner had done enough over the past two years to address concerns about her perceived lack of relevant experience.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard a member of the local media raise this question, and it immediately got my hackles up. Campaigns tend to focus on the job performance of the incumbent, not the challenger, and with good reason: to criticize the challenger for lacking the relevant experience of the incumbent would be an automatic argument for incumbency.

To wage a successful campaign a challenger must typically do two things: A) raise substantial doubts about the job performance and/or character of the incumbent; and B) present themselves as an acceptable alternative who voters might reasonably give a chance in the job. And generally, in that order.

But that’s not how this race has been covered thus far. The media narrative, that Burner must somehow match Dave Reichert’s legislative experience to qualify for the job, is a narrative that comes straight from the Reichert campaign, and one that she cannot possibly win, as it can be argued that nothing prepares one for Congress like on the job experience. It is a narrative that runs counter to the intent of the founders, who envisioned a citizen legislature, and counter to the mood of a public grown weary (and wary) of professional politicians. It is a narrative that defaults to the incumbent.

But elected office has never been a prerequisite for holding elected office; it was never an issue during Mike McGavick’s run for the US Senate, and it hasn’t seemed to hamper Gov. Schwarzenegger in California. Indeed, representing one’s fellow citizens in Congress is supposed to be an act of public service, not a reward for it.

If I sound a bit defensive it is because I am, for Darcy Burner is clearly being held to an unfair standard. Capitol Hill is filled with Representatives and Senators who never held lower office before first being elected (or appointed) to Congress. Ironically, the best example I can think of to support the notion that legislators should work their way to the top before acceding to Congress is Reichert himself, who had zero legislative experience before winning his current office, and whose track record there shows it.

The primary question before voters is not what Burner has managed to accomplish since losing her race in 2006, but what Reichert has managed to accomplish since winning. Which brings us to the video clip at the top of this post, in which Rep. Jay Inslee cites Burner’s Responsible Plan while debating Iraq War funding on the floor of House.

Inslee describes Burner as a “citizen,” and that’s all she is, and yet through sheer grit and determination she has managed to influence the public debate on Iraq, while Reichert, with all the powers of office at his disposal, has done nothing but parrot the platitudes of the Bush administration. Where is Reichert’s plan? Where is his leadership on this issue or other pressing issues? What has he done during his four years in office other than issue an endless stream of press releases and glossy franked mail pieces?

When critics ask what Burner has done these past two years to prepare herself for office, voters should ask what Reichert has done these past two years with it? And local journalists, however well meaning, should start asking the same question.

More and more news is surfacing about the ongoing problems that medical marijuana patients in this state are facing. Here are some more links:

Dominic Holden writes about another transplant patient being denied.

Carol Ostrom writes in the Seattle Times about how the State Department of Health is now likely to miss the deadline for establishing a legal 60-day limit for medical marijuana patients and providers because law enforcement didn’t like the initial number proposed. I commented on the whole mess here.

This is what the GOP has been reduced to:

Pathetic. And this is exactly the way to respond:

HuffPo cofounder Arianna Huffington is speaking at Seattle’s Town Hall tonight at 7:30PM, and signing her new book “Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe.” Eighth and Seneca.

In a more intimate setting, FrameShop founder Jeffrey Feldman will be stopping by Drinking Liberally tonight, chatting with folks and signing his new book “Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy.” 8PM, Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E.

See a theme there?  Somehow, I’m going to manage to attend both.

It’s been all over the news, so you’ve probably already heard it, but Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. I’ve got no idea what the prognosis is, but clearly, things like this are never good.

Kennedy has long been a bogeyman for the right, beyond all reason, and no doubt there are more than a few assholes out there cheering his illness. But for the most part the reaction from the right has been muted thus far, and the statements of his Republican colleagues have been respectful, supportive and downright heartfelt.

I personally don’t believe in prayer, but those of you who do, have at it.

Well, the Times hasn’t endorsed Barack Obama in the general election yet, but they will. They’ll also endorse Dino Rossi, Dave Reichert and Rob McKenna. But you know, because they’ll endorse the Democrat at the top of the ticket it will prove that they are in fact nonpartisan.

Remind me of my prediction come November.

I just got back from a long weekend in Chicago, and I’ve apparently missed out on a few local medical marijuana cases. Here’s a quick roundup:

– A medical marijuana patient named Alex Morris, who is suffering from Crohn’s disease, is serving a 30-day jail sentence and is unable to use the medicine a doctor has authorized him to use. He’s lost 10 pounds in 8 days. Even under the Washington State law approved by the voters, his medicine is not legally available to him while in prison.

I’m not able to find out if Morris was sent to jail for marijuana-related charges or something else, but the effects that his lack of medicine is having on him should make us question having a person in his condition serving a 30-day jail sentence in a state where the prisons are already overcrowded.

– Another Crohn’s patient named Steve Senn was sentenced to one year in jail today, although he will be out on bail awaiting appeal. A Snohomish County judge has ordered Senn not to use his medicine while under Department of Corrections supervision. Even though Senn had already served his deferred prosecution for a refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test, the judge cited failed drug tests due to his legal medical marijuana use as the reason to invalidate the deferred prosecution.

– Bruce Olson, the husband of Pam Olson, had a pre-trial hearing today in Kitsap County. The case may be postponed until after July 1, when the state Department of Health is expected to announce the quantity guidelines for medical marijuana patients. As with all cases, showing up at the courthouse to show your support for the patients is always appreciated.

Speaking of political campaigns making effective use of the Internet, the WA State Dems have put up a new web site of their own, The Real Rossi. I especially like this audio clip of Rossi, which I think pretty much sums up his entire campaign:

[audio:http://horsesass.org/wp-content/uploads/rossismile.mp3]

One of the fascinating things about this election cycle is the way the Internet is breaking the stranglehold of traditional political and media institutions. For example, we all knew that Hillary Clinton was a lock for the Democratic nomination because nobody could compete with her massive money machine… that is until Barack Obama used the Internet to go straight to the people, and set new fundraising records in the process.

The same is beginning to happen in terms of media coverage, with some wags referring to 2008 as the first “YouTube election.” The video above is a great example, generating nearly 400,000 views in its first 24-hours online; not quite the audience of a network news program, but damn impressive nonetheless. It begs the question how much longer the national media can stick to the “Straight Talk Express” narrative without damaging (further) their credibility?

Meanwhile the DNC is doing its part to help both voters and reporters discern truth from fiction with today’s launch of McCainPedia:

McCainpedia.org is a wiki run by the DNC’s Research, Communications, and Internet teams. The goal is to centralize research material, allowing the general public to use it as they see fit.

Opposition research is nothing new, but its product is traditionally aimed at journalists and opinion makers, who then regurgitate the tidbits they find most compelling, and in the context of their choosing. Campaign seasons are typically filled with swarms of press releases pushing one factoid or another, most of which never make it into the mainstream media narrative.

With McCainPedia, the DNC is both seeking to cut out the gatekeepers, while simultaneously giving them a tool to do their job better. Sure, this is a partisan site created by a partisan organization, but facts are facts, and each citation is thoroughly documented.

The legacy media may want to ignore these new developments, but they do so at their own peril.

State Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz, a superdelegate to the national convention, has officially declared his support for Sen. Barack Obama. Following a theme we’ve seen throughout Obama’s recent flood of endorsements, Pelz writes:

Throughout this campaign, I have gained an enormous respect for Hillary Clinton. This country and this party are unquestionably far stronger for the contributions she’s made throughout this campaign and throughout her long career in public service. I will be eternally grateful for Sen. Clinton’s appearance at our awards dinner last year, as she was warmly welcomed by Washington State Democrats, and for the time she has spent campaigning in Washington state. I have no doubt that Sen. Clinton would be a tough, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate, and supremely-prepared President of the United States.

At this point in time, however, I feel the voters have spoken, that Sen. Obama will be our nominee, and that it is time for us as Democrats to begin the final stretch of this historic 2008 campaign to take back America. It is time to unify our party around one candidate.

There was a point early on when Clinton led Obama five to one in WA superdelegates. Obama now leads seven to five, with five remaining. (Actually, it’s seven to four with five remaining, as Ron Sims isn’t technically part of WA’s superdelegate slate, earning his slot as president of the National Democratic County Officials. But why get technical?)

An estimated 75,000 rallied to hear Barack Obama speak in Portland today, just days before the Oregon primary.  Blue Oregon has video of the massive rally that gives a good feel for the size of the crowd.

Imagine John McCain drawing a crowd of this size.  Betcha can’t.