When people blithely talk about how only a “moderate” can win down here in WA-03, I feel like pulling my hair out. But then I’m reminded that the machinations of politicians often mean little compared to what the public actually thinks.
From The Columbian’s newly revived political blog, concerning a poll commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and done by Research 2000:
In a follow-up question, voters were asked whether they would favor or oppose “the national government offering everyone the choice of buying into a government-administered health insurance plan — something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get — that would compete with private health insurance plans.” A whopping 66 percent favored the idea; 24 percent opposed it, and 10 percent were undecided.
Presumably, using today’s commonly accepted definitions of what constitutes a “moderate,” nobody in their right mind would campaign in favor of government involvement in health care, because the Tea People hate the gubmint. It’s a scary year, at least to the easily scared, and we should just cower behind the pants leg of any sugar daddy we can find. (Note: this strategy is properly known scientifically as “The Democratic Party Formula for Failure Before Howard Dean Came Along.)
The problem with pat conventional wisdom is that, er, it’s pat conventional wisdom, passed around the tribe until it either becomes a fait accompli or is proven to be wrong. Hopefully the sillly notion that one can even define “moderate” in a multi-faceted district like WA-03 dies a swift death.
“Moderate” doesn’t even mean anything, it’s just a bit of pablum that indicates one member of the tribe prefers a certain member of the tribe. Do you know many Democratic Party politicians who, these days at least, conceive of themselves as immoderate? We’re talking about delivering a vital social service, health care, not starting a vegan commune in the woods with lots of naked people running around creating a vastly different consciousness (nothing against the latter if that’s your thing, though.)
But if a strong majority in in WA-03 likes the idea of a “Medicare for everyone” type plan, then I guess the sensible course would be to favor single payer, huh? Imagine that, the people in backwoods-y, hicksville WA-03 actually get it. I guess the Uncle Sam billboard on I-5 isn’t a majority down here after all!
Please do yourself a favor, and cast any remaining assumptions about WA-03 provided to you by certain Democratic Party illuminati and a certain Seattle alternative newspaper overboard. I try to shy away from absolute predictions, so I can only predict this: Craig Pridemore isn’t going to shy away from this race, and if more voters get to know Craig and his compassion for regular citizens, he’ll stand a great chance of winning in November.
Unfortunately many of the mandarins of the party think Denny Heck is their best chance in the district due to his generally Republican in Democrat drag policy views and willingness to wet himself anytime a conservative says “boo!”.
The semi-good news is Denny Heck has been out of electoral politics for a long time and seems to have assembled a team made up of similar fossils. Sure he has a ton of money, but the average age of his staff and volunteers is older than most retirement homes.
The government isn’t the problem. The only thing Tea People have to fear is each other.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LHfU...../AK-47.jpg
“Tribal conventional wisdom” is a fascinating subject. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of years Republican ancestors hauled elephant carcasses back to their villages on carts with square wheels before somebody knocked the corners off?
And when somebody did, the GOP village elders called him a “radical” and banished him from the village, so he went off into the savannah and started his own tribe, which came to be known as the “Democrats”.
Click here for photo of 21st-century Republican cart.
http://www.ncd-uk.com/images/CART%20WHEELS.jpg
I like the Uncle Sam billboard. It’s a constant reminder to the traveling public of how crazy the far right is.
There’s another reason I like it, too. Old man Hamilton, the late turkey farmer, was a conservative who actually believed in free speech (unlike most of them).
When the government told him his billboard was an eyesore and ordered him to take it down, he told them to take a flying leap. They did, all the way to the state supreme court, where the turkey farm won in no uncertain terms.
Now his kid owns the sign, and he’s just as stupid a wingnut as his old man was.
how come when i go off topic i get deleted, but roger can post a whole string of off topics and nothing happens? i’m beginning to think there are some backroom deals going on? rog, are you paying goldstein’s healthcare premiums?
@6 “how come when i go off topic i get deleted”
Because Darryl knows garbage when he smells it.
@6 “rog, are you paying goldstein’s healthcare premiums?”
You can’t be serious. I’m not his mother. Oh, and one more thing, this isn’t Goldstein’s thread, dumbass.
@6 By the way, jackass, every single one of my posts in this thread comments directly on something Jon said — but I’m sure that flies over your head.
@2
Just like a Rightie to get a gun that he thinks looks cool, but has lousy sights and jumps around like crazy when you fire it. I bet he loves Hummers too.
there is a guy that digby is selling – I live in the middle of wishy-warshy (hint, seattle), so I won’t be voting on this – but, that is good enough for me.
“moderate” – ha ha ha. to be moderate to the fascist string pullers, something must be within reach of dick cheney’s left hand.
to be “moderate” to our two sell out pathetic united states senators, something must be out of cheney’s grasp, once in a while, maybe … unless, it isn’t bipartisan.
rmm.
“Not all conservatives are stupid, but all stupid people are conservative” Wayne Fontana