Comments on Linde Knighton Wants a Moment of Your Time

Anyone watch the Bill Moyers PBS documentary on Wednesday? Abramhoff, Reed, Delay... and Jamie Pederen's law firm Preston Gates all in bed together in the 90s.

Meanwhile Bill Sherman's boss, Bruce Babbit, was calling bullshit on the Abramhoff-fueled slave-labor garment industry on the Marianas Islands.

I do not trust Jamie Pedersen. Linde Knighton can't spell. Hugh Foskett is a Republican. I'm writing in Bill Sherman.

I saw Knighton at a candidate forum a few weeks ago, and she came across as a bit of a loon. Well intended, but a loon nevertheless. But that's not what I wanted to talk about.

To be honest, with all the publicity going into the 43rd Democratic primary, I paid no attention to the Republicans at all. This is the first I've heard of Hugh Foskett. I'm floored. Stunned. I mean, yah, the 43rd is a solidly Democratic seat. But then Tom Foley's seat was considered a safe Republican seat until last Friday. There is always the possibility that the Democratic candidate in the 43rd could self destruct, or have a stroke or something. I wouldn't expect the Republicans to spend a lot of effort on the 43rd, which would mostly be a lost cause, but you'd think they'd at least field a viable candidate on the off chance that Pedersen has a heart attack or gets caught with freezer full of ill-gotten cash, or something. But a UW sophomore is the best they can do? Seriously? That's their candidate? WTF?!? And that smirking photo makes me want to smack him, not vote for him.

Yeah, I wanna smack him too.

Aw, c'mon - Foskett is at least cuter than Jamie, and unlike Pedersen, he lets his hair out to play once in a while.

SDA... TOM Foley's seat or MARK Foley's seat? Either way, you can't really compare a Congressional District to a Legislative District. Even McDermott's 7th has it's red enclaves like Broadmoor. The 43rd has that one dude who lives by Dick's in Wallingford.

Doug,

Broadmoor is in the 43rd. It's also the reddest precinct in Seattle.

Hugh Foskett's got a lip ring, too. Check it out here.

Oops. I meant MARK Foley.

Typo aside, the point remains that slim though their chances are, there is always SOME chance, and I would think the Republicans would at least make some attempt to field a serious candidate. Foskett is a total joke. He'll be lucky to get 100 votes.

A lip ring? From the little black & white photo on the Slog post, I thought it was a herpes sore or something. (Maybe I need glasses.) A lip ring? Jesus...

Oops, my bad. Anyhow the point remains: Congressional Districts are much bigger and, therefore, more diverse than Legislative Districts. Change "Broadmoor" to "Tukwila".

Why do Republicans not run serious candidates in the 43rd? Because they're not morons, that's why. From 2004:

Pos No. 1 -
Ed Murray, 86.97%
Zac Green, 13.03%

Pos No. 2 -
Frank Chopp, 84.81%
Mark Griswold, 15.19%

These were historic lows for the district, too. Who knows when an R last won in 43rd? 1960? 1964?

Remember that freak show that the GOP ran against McDermott? The one who's campaign poster had hands clasped in prayer in front of the capital dome? The one who had the platform that basically amounted to hating people and wanting a return to the McDuffy reader?

I know Seattle is a lost cause for the GOP but you'd think they could do better than these morons.

Thanks for posting something--anything.
It's even mostly serious. Just two little problems:
Tax Shifting means just take away part of the sales tax, and replace it with the 1% income tax on those earning over $100,000 per anum.
AND, the Proressive Party web page is
http://www.waprogparty.org
For more of my, "Looney" (in other words, stuff the big parties don't want you to think about) check out the platform part of my web page.

Did I miss all the best political ideas of the last twenty years? Having lived in those filtered enclaves of the 43rd and the 37th?

As in --- prayer in school, no free speech, anti gay to the max, put the women back in the home, OK to do first strike war, torture-why not esp. if the pres likes it, dump all the silly envro laws, and those anti business agendas and first of all throw out the minimum wage.

College kid mocking the whole charade of any R agenda seems just perfect to me.

Oh yes, no reproductive freedom and tax breaks for the rich. Lets pretend we really, really want more debate on those topics.

Some of these posters do not know why they have it so good. Not because of the Republican party in this state.

Linda is over qualified compared to Ellen Crasswell, the statewide candidate for Gov. a few years back, funded and backed by all those - how we miss them- religi faxcist R's.

Remeber Teddy R. and third parties. Good ideas shine, often in the constipation of the two party system.

Linde Knighton introduced the idea of an income tax to the 43rd? In what alternative universe?

The 43rd District Democrats have had a state income tax in their platform for years and years, as have our compatriots in the other Seattle LDs. Hell, it's been in the state Democratic platform for quite a while as well.

Yeah, but aside from political insiders, who pays any attention to party platforms? Certainly not candidates. It only takes participation in one county convention where the platform is discussed to realize what a pointless waste of time it is. I'm not in the 43rd, so I have no idea if Knighton actually raised the visibility of the income tax issue in the campaign, but it does seem possible that the income tax could be in the platform but remain ignored in district campaigns until she brought it to the table.

Um, YES, Laurie, it IS about winning. You don't get to vote on what issues you want to make a priority or any peripherals. You vote on one thing and one thing only: which candidate you want to win the seat.

Why are people so disconnected from reality?

Laurie ---> Linde. But my point stands.

Gomez - your point is stupid. Party platforms are AS important as the candidate. Your politics are an inch deep and a mile wide.

Called issues. Called ideas. Called the unfinished work of the govt.

Called fixing the roads, improving the schools, defeating homophobia and racism.

You think generic Dems and generic R's are the same on a long list of issues?

Dino Rossi must have captivated you last cycle - he felt the same way - answered many questionss about issues by saying it was just not somithing he was running on ... always with a goofy lets go fuck grin.

Leadership and issues, issues, ideas, ideas - far more important than any pretty political face.

Cascadian:

I'm not in the 43rd, so I have no idea if Knighton actually raised the visibility of the income tax issue in the campaign, but it does seem possible that the income tax could be in the platform but remain ignored in district campaigns until she brought it to the table.

Possible, but not in this case.

I am in the 43rd, and I know it's been an important item for the Democrats here. The issue was raised at our Candidate Forum in July, as a matter of fact. And it's been raised in every campaign in every year for quite some time. No one can be elected to office from the 43rd unless they strongly back working toward tax fairness and progressivity through a state income tax.

Jake, simply put (AGAIN), what are you voting for when you go to the polls?

You are CHOOSING A CANDIDATE. Everything else is peripheral, metaphorical means to that end decision. If you're voting for a candidate because said candidate personifies some single issue, rather than because that candidate is the most capable of holding said office well, then you're no better than the morons who pick a candidate because they see that person's face on TV more than the others.

You sound like a closet Republican - all in the marketing of the persona, eh?

There are sweeping and important political theory and programs represented by party/personal politics.

Where have you been all these years?

You vote for capacity of leadership and the politics of the leader - in combination.

And there are few single issue political agendas. That is right wing verbage for minority concerns. "oh, those damn single issue queers or blacks or feminists."

When I vote for Sharon Tomiko Santos in the 37th, I know she is a very bright and capable political leader. I also know her party and her personal politics are progressive. If I thought she was just a sweet lady who has a lot of personality, that would not be ample.

Platforms of any party are important - of course, fighting witchcraft as in the past R state platform might be a big deal for some voters. Not this one.

There you go, Jake. Call the other guy a Republican when you don't agree with him. REAL sound remark on your part. Sets the table to render the rest of your regurgitated argument kinda irrelevant.

When I raised the issue of a state income tax, Pat Thibaudeau was opposed to the idea. I remember it well, I was there.
Linde Knighton

By the way, being bisexual doesn't automatically get a poor rating from SEAMEC. When I had my endorsement interview with them, I was asked the same question about a spouse's sex change, and pointed out that, since both my spouse and I are bisexual, it wouldn't necessarily change our relationship much. I got A's across the board from them.