what war?

'Bout time, it's eight nothin'!
-Lou Brown, Major League

SOMEONE'S got to have a picture of her in a bikini . . .

I had planned on voting for Mark Wilson in the primary and supporting Bruce Guthrie, the anti-war Libertarian, if Mark lost (which I expected). At this point, I think all those who truly want peace and freedom should just start backing the Guthrie campaign.

I know Libertarians can be a bit off-putting, but Guthrie's different. He's strong against the war, he's strong on civil liberties, he strong on marriage equality, he's strong on medical freedom (which nobody else is talking about), and he's even strong on the eliminating the deficit and funding Social Security. I say, let's throw our support behind his campaign to keep the pressure on! Check out www.BruceGuthrie.com.

But he's probably completely insane when it comes to taxes.

did he say WHY?

has he come to the realization that only by supporting a pro-war democrat can we create a Democratic majority that will be anti-war? maybe he decided that only by supporting candidates who don't filibuster conservative judges can we take back the judiciary? maybe he realized that there's a big difference between cantwell and mcgavick, just not on foreign policy, the drug war, the patriot act, etc.? did he decide that we couldn't have anyone more liberal in the state, even though patty murray has been much better on key issues? maybe he decided that primaries aren't actually the proper place for factions within the democratic party to substantively work out their differences by appealing to voters? or maybe he just saw the entire dem establishment get behind cantwell like sheep, they put some muscle on him, and he didn't feel like being a martyr for a lost cause?

have a relaxed summer, mark!

RE: TMW:
"I had planned on voting for Mark Wilson in the primary and supporting Bruce Guthrie, the anti-war Libertarian, if Mark lost (which I expected). At this point, I think all those who truly want peace and freedom should just start backing the Guthrie campaign."

Really, you just sort of planned on supporting Guthrie. Hmmmm. A first I thought 'how could someone be so dumb. I mean really, but hey he’s no Aaron Dixon'. But then I got to thinking, I mean your sig line links to the Guthrie site. Curious I thought, and since I am up at 5 fucking 30, thanks to a car accident in front of my house, time for some fun on the net.

If you go to http://www.bruceguthrie.com/contact/
You will notice that Guthrie’s Campaign manager is named Travis Wright and our friendly 'TMW' has both a T and a W. That’s not enough you say, I mean maybe it’s just a co-winky-dink. But wait there more. Notice the M in the middle. A google search for "Travis M. Wright" shows out friendly Guthrie manager's middle initial is in fact 'M'.

Thanks for playing, dipshit.

how can anyone be simply "anti-war" at this point? i mean, i protested before we ever lit up baghdad--i thought war would only bring chaos to iraq--but now that the neo-conservative regime has fucked everything up, it's a complex, ambiguous situation, and the answer can't be as simple as "cut and run." at least let me hear a thoroughly reasoned argument as to why leaving now is the best solution.

besides, if we cut out rummy will have the ground troops he needs for iran, and that's scary.

Thanks, TMW. It's nice to know that the Libertarians can be just as weasely as other politicians. You go a long way to restoring faith in the system.

So, let's see. I can vote for a Republican lobbyist corporate whore who would be yet another shill for Bush. Or a fringe Libertarian candidate with a lying campaign manager. Or Cantwell, who while casting a few votes I disagree with has at least kept ANWR from being turned into a giant oil field.

Thanks for making my choice easier, TMW.

I, like every other reasonably progressive Democrat, have issues with Cantwell. But at the end of the day, if you don't vote for her (and that includes sitting out the race or voting for a minor party candidate) - you will help elect a Republican to the FUCKING SENATE - simple as that.

So hold your noses if you must and vote Democrat, dammit!

Giffy -- I guess that's one more reason "Libertarians can be a bit off-putting".

It's too bad Cantwell does not have a strong primary challenger. The good news is that Democrats in Conn. are going to show Lieberman the door. I am still going to vote for Arron Dixon of the Green Party. If the pro-war Cantwell looses it will not be a pig loss for progressives. Nor will Lieberman be missed.

Giffy looks at roger, snickers about unpaid parking tickets and never having voted, shakes head, and walks away.

It's very simple - any progressive who votes in the general election for a candidate other than Cantwell, or who does not vote in the Senate race at all, will help elect Mike McGavick to the Senate and provide Bush/Cheney and likely Bill Frist successor Mitch McConnell with another reliable vote in the US Senate. It's your vote, and your choice how you use it, but if you get duped by the blogosphere into throwing it away on a third-party candidate or staying at home on election day, don't pretend for a moment that you're not doing your country a grave disservice in a moment of crisis for our small-d democratic system.

If I were going to lie about something or be intentionally misleading, I would have made up a name and not linked to the Guthrie campaign website from my initials. I mean, that's Trolling 101 stuff. I simply posted under my initials out of habit. I figured my support for the campaign was obvious. Sorry to have contributed to anyone's cynicism.

Dissing Travis W. as a "liar" speaks to the profound ignorance, and lack of imagination, of its author.

All Libertarians will be free to vote in the Primary of the 2 major parties, since L candidates are nominated directly to the General ballot - no L's appear on the Primary ballot, per State law.

I know Travis personally, and what he says is truth - he would have voted for Wilson in the Primary. I have heard other L's cite the same strategy.

Fortunately, there is one more Dem in the Senate Primary, and many L's will vote for her.

It's not so much lying as being sneaky. Your post read as though it was coming from someone not connected with the campaign. Like you just happened to be a supporter of his, not on his staff. Had you just said you were his campaign manager no one would have looked askance.

As for why many don't support Guthrie see
http://www.lpwa.org/voter/officeholders/
When you can count your members elected to semi-major local office on one hand, why would anyone even think of voting one of you into the senate. Especially when the extent of his political experience is losing a race for congress, twice.

Libertarian: A Republican, only without a conscience.

The Iraq War is Bush's war, not Senator Cantwell's. As long as the Democrats remain in the minority in the Senate, Senate Democrats have almost no power to affect the continued actions of Bush and the Republican leadership. Witness the two most recent votes to try and set a deadline for leaving Iraq.

People deciding to vote for candidates which have no chance of winning, are aiding and abetting the enemy. Republicans are running the country. Not voting or casting protest votes means you are helping elect another Republican to Congress. A couple of more Republicans in the Senate and the filibuster is gone. There will no stopping any Bush nominee to the Supreme Court or any other legislation.

Any net loss of Democrats in the Senate or House will be taken as a re-affirmation of Bush's policies.

Politics requires hard choices and any efforts which aid McGavick in getting elected at this point are basically votes for supporting Bush's continued war.

Like it or not, any vote other than for Senator Cantwell's re-election , with Wilson out of the race, is like what a vote for Ralph Nader for President was in 2000. It's great that you voted your heart then but Machavelli won.

This has nothing to do with Wilson "coming around" to Cantwell or vice-versa. It's about this: threats and bribery. He got bought off, plain and simple. He not only withdrew, he is now working on her campaign, and he (and they) refuse to disclose how much he's getting paid for it. Follow the money, folks. Wilson is nothing but an opportunist who ran against Inslee as well, as a libertarian. But anybody who knows anything about the Cantwell campaign knows it is being staffed by dirty-tricksters. Why doesn't someone at the Stranger check out THAT part of the story?

One of Mark's campaign promises was to Drive corruption out of the halls of government. Reveal the complete truth about 911. But I guess that's not important anymore.

I think I'm going to call him.

"It's not so much lying as being sneaky. Your post read as though it was coming from someone not connected with the campaign."

I hear you Giffy and I really understand your point. I can only assert that I had no intention of being sneaky. Whether or not you accept that is beyond my control.

I can also say that I will be more careful when posting to identify myself when pushing the campaign.

Disclaimer: This is Bruce Guthrie, candidate for US Senate.

It's interesting to see what people will do for power.

Let's think about your one vote. It can't change who will win this election. The odds that the election will be decided by just one vote are infinitesimal.

What your vote CAN do is make you feel good. It can make you feel that you have defended your values; that you have done the right thing. Sure, you can hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. The reason we have such lousy candidates is that that is just what too many people do. When too many people vote for the lesser of two evils you wind up with something evil.
So, say what you want in public, but when you get into that voting booth, vote your values. Vote for a candidate you feel good about. Then keep your vote to yourself. I think you'll feel better as a result.
I stopped voting for the lesser of two evils a few years ago. Now I only vote for candidates I genuinely feel good about voting for. This leaves some blank spots in my ballotts, but that gives information to "the system" that you didn't approve of the choices. If you vote for the lesser of two evils, then he or she can assume you supported all of her or his positions.
The two big parties are depending on the idea that small interest groups like LGBT's have no alternative. Then the D's don't actually have to DO anything for them in order to get their votes. Well, if you vote for me or Aaron Dixon, then the big party candidate will have to do something in order to win back your vote. That kind of threat is the only thing power hungry politicians understand.
Look, the American people want a viable alternative to the two big parties. The D's and R's are looking more and more alike with each passing year. Aaron and I are trying to build those alternatives. We are both principled people who will not sell out for money or just to get elected. The idea that WE are just in it for the power is laughable! Cut us some slack, OK? :)
And if your big issues in this race are the Iraq war, the PATRIOT Act and domestic spying, your best choices are Aaron and myself. A vote for Cantwell or Mcgavick is a vote for the Iraq war and against the Bill of Rights.
Bruce Guthrie

Socially tolerant and fiscally responsible.