Politics Joel Connelly doesn’t think I’m funny :(
But maybe he would if he grew a sense of humor.
In a PI article today titled “Cantwell’s vilification by left is bizarre”, devout SLOG fan Joel Connelly censures me for criticizing Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell here and here and here.
Courtesy of the PI:
The senator was pilloried again in a profane article on The Stranger’s blog for remarks after Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne was nominated as interior secretary. Cantwell told a news-service reporter that Kempthorne “knows the Northwest.”The blogger, who grew up in Idaho, has a real hate for Kempthorne; witness this line: “I bagged (Kempthorne’s) groceries once in the Boise Co-op when I was 16, and that night my parents told me they were getting divorced. Coincidence?”
[Confidential to Joel: It’s pretty weak that you lifted a joke from my original Kempthorne slog post to illustrate local Cantwell slandering. It wasn’t even a joke that “pilloried” Cantwell. How does that prove your point at all?
You could have at least referenced Kempthorne’s hideous enviro-record, which led to the subsequent concerns I had about Maria’s nonchalance about working with him. I cannot overlook your poor reporting any more than you can overlook my sense of humor, it appears.]
Elected officials are not above reproach, Joel, Honey. And I have not vilified Cantwell, in fact, on several occasions I have given her mad props for winning a swimsuit competition. Other than that, what I’ve done is bring attention her squirrelly acquiescence to work with an environmental villain.
Here’s an email I wrote morning after reading Joel’s article:
Time will tell how Cantwell handles working with Kempthorne. It’s not like I want her to punk out on the environment, but preserving it is obviously not Kempthorne’s main concern (given his record—which I’ve pointed out many times), and Cantwell’s eagerness, or even friendly acceptance of Kempthorne still makes me confused and wary. This is what I was trying to draw attention to, and it’s reason enough for enviro-lovers to demand that she explain herself. Can we get some clarity? Just exactly what issues does she think she can work well with him on?
Because I called Cantwell’s local offices, and they weren’t able to offer any clarification whatsoever. The most I got out of them was, “She likes that he’s from the Northwest, and she thinks he understands Northwest Issues.”
Vague and Dissatisfying. I was then told someone would get back to me in 4 weeks with more information.
Being from the Northwest doesn’t mean shit to me if you’re not going to work to preserve it, and I still have no clue what these “Northwest Issues” are that Cantwell and Kempthorne will work hand in hand to resolve.
Every environmentalist who is glancingly familiar with Kempthorne’s record is biting their fingers to the knuckle about thisexcept Cantwell. Why?
Kempthorne was one of the governors who sued to undo the Clinton Administration wild forest protection rules; he’s advocated weakening protection for wildlife, has been outspoken in his desire to strip protection from America’s grizzly bears — and is a strong advocate of drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
I am not casting Cantwell as a villain, but I do think she is casting herself as a fool. Someone is going to have to compromise in this imperfect unioneither Cantwell or Kempthorne. And by not acknowledging Kempthorne’s hideous enviro-record, and instead expressing vague enthusiasm for working with him, I believe Cantwell has already shown a readiness to compromise herself.
Suck that, Joel.
In this example, Joel is misguided at best. I think you are funny and right, but who the hell am I?