Comments on Burner vs. Tom

Whereas Rodney Tom has not said boo yet about a race for Congress, there are *not* two Democratic contenders for this seat.

Until such time as Rodney deigns to annouce, there is one Democratic contender, and her name is Darcy Burner. Got it?

There are those of us who live in the 8th CD who would rather see just about anyone but Burner running again. She has done nothing to boost her resume since her last run. We are not impressed.

truthteller - IMO, you make up a minority. A vocal one perhaps, but a minority nonetheless. If you believe Rodney Tom is the answer, then I think you're going to be sorely disappointed.

Personally I think Burner's resume is top notch. A National Merit Scholar. A Harvard degree in Economics and Computer Science. Jobs at Lotus, Asymetrix and Microsoft. Program manager for .NET. Fundraising abilities that are eye popping.

Her drive and determination, her hard work, coupled with the progressive values I want in my congressman or congresswoman, make this 8th district constituent supportive of her running for this position and unseating Mr. Reichert who stands for nothing and votes whichever way the wind blows.

I absolutely do not support Reichert nor do I necessarily support Rodney Tom -- I've actually been less than impressed by him in the legislature. I don't care about Burner's work resume or that in high school she was a national merit scholar. I didn't have a sense of her values in the last election (except that she didn't like George W. Bush). What community involvement has she had since she lost?

She did everything but say "stay the course", her blog and the rest of her campaign told us over and over about "hard work" and her "support for the troops" - she lost with plenty of money in a year that Dems won in Repubo districts - but hey she's spent the last year raising money...

The reason the wimpy dems aren't doing anything is because we elected a bunch of fund raisers hand picked by Rahm Emanuel

I see the anonymous anti-Burner machine has come out of the woodwork again.

If you paid any attention to the last election you would know that Emanuel did not hand pick Burner. The party did not pick her. She stepped up and stepped forward and earned her support from both.

As for the Iraq occupation, simply put where Reichert has voted in support of continued occupation and Bush's "surge", Burner would have been another voted against them.

As much as I care about the war and bringing the troops home, I'd like to know where Burner is on domestic issues. Health care? Workers' rights?

truthteller - It isn't hard to find out her positions on these issues. She has a page that quickly outlines her positions that I suggest you read at http://darcyburner.com/issues.php

As a candidate, we should ask that our representatives tell us what they stand for, what their guiding principles are. Issue position papers are good to a certain extent, but there will be issues that come up no one has prepared a position for, thus the need to gauge a candidate by their values.

Reichert is trying to portray himself as a "moderate" by voting on both sides of the aisle, and often both sides on the same issue. If we accept that he is not a moderate, because positions are usually not determine by a degree of support one way or another (that would be called "indecision" - you can't be "moderately" for the death penalty or abortion, for example), then we are still left wondering what he stands for. Reichert is a one issue candidate: homeland security. That's all he knows and understands. While that's useful, as a district it does little for the other issues of concern to his constituents, issues like education, transportation, job security, healthcare, our economy and national debt, and so on. In the 8th the high tech industry and business concerns are very important, but Reichert is dead as a doornail on them. When Mt. Rainier National Park was walloped by the December storms, Reichert was MIA. Reichert would be better off working in Homeland Security, not in Congress.

We need a principled representative, and when you flip flop on votes, swaying in the wind wherever public opinion takes you, as Reichert does time and again, you stand for nothing but your own self interest and the interests of your close allies.

Burner brings a fresh energy and authentic progressive voice to this seat. She's in this race for all the right reasons, to help make this country a better place for her son, her family and her community, the 8th district. She wasn't drafted by inside activists, or party brass. She's worked for everything she's achieved and she will be a tireless worker for her constituents.

Burner is not qualified ... she needs to give it up

I was pleased to see her do a strong campaign, but never for an instant thought she would win ... grew up in Bellevue, know it well

new blood, new energy, better targeted campaign, well know political animal

she will loose in the primary, and the good Democrat ruckus will help beat Silver Dog Dave

Daniel K, it's great that you believe so strongly in Darcy Burner. I do not. I am an eastside voter whose imagination she has failed to capture. I was not impressed by her last campaign and I'm still not impressed. So, I'm happy there are alternatives being presented. If it turns out that Burner better defines herself, not just through position papers but through action, terrific. She just doesn't get my vote because she knows how to ask people for money and has folks to write papers and post them for her.

truthteller wrote, "She just doesn't get my vote because she knows how to ask people for money and has folks to write papers and post them for her."

I suspected you weren't really interested in her position on healthcare and worker's rights. Assuming you write your own comments.

Anyone who thinks Darcy has "folks to write papers and post them for her" hasn't met her. She's better in a stand-up, unvetted q&a session than any candidate I've ever met. She's scary-bright, articulate, and very well versed on the issues. Which is one HELL of a contrast from Reichert. Look, I think Reichert's an okay guy and was an okay sheriff. But I think he's horribly over his head as a Congressman. What qualifications did HE have for Congress? What qualifications are people looking for, anyway? What I look for, myself, is understanding of the issues, the ability to learn quickly, to adapt, and to work well with others. All of which Darcy demonstrably possesses.

All you have to do to find out her position on the issues is, um, ASK her. She's very approachable and held about a bazillion coffees and town hall meetings and get-to-know-the-candidate sessions last time. It's not like she was in some ivory tower isolated from the voters. People who bash her on that truly have not troubled to get off the couch and go talk to her.

I am not in any way affiliated with the Burner campaign. I'm just a voter in the 8th CD who had the opportunity to meet her on many occasions over the last couple of years, and I was quite favorably impressed by her.

Burner was anointed by the Dem party elite and others that had been in the race early were asked to leave. Look it up.

"02/19/2006 - 9:58pm. Activism
At an event on February 18, six Democratic Congressmen helped Darcy Burner raise funds for her campaign against Dave Reichert in Washington's 8th Congressional District.

Larsen, Inslee and McDermott took turns speaking about Burner's campaign, and Darcy herself spoke about why she is running and how she plans to beat Reichert."

Opposing a fake progressive and looking for a better Dem is no way supporting Reichert.

Burner ran with the strongest Democratic tailwind in 30 years and could not get the job done. I voted for her, but I was not impressed by her campaign. Allowing Reichert to run again on his sheriff record was an enormous blunder. I thought Reichert's "job interview" ad was the most effective ad of the entire cycle. It painted her as a lightweight partisan and it resonated.

The 8th congressional district is still Republican leaning. It does vote Democratic in presidential elections, but the critical voters in the District are the old Evans Republicans who aren't ready to call themselves Democrats. As a prominent former Evans Republican, maybe the last one under age 60, Tom is well positioned to win those votes.