Slog - Comments on "I'm Not in Congress." —Dino Rossi on Children's Health Care http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre So, as I Slogged a bit earlier, when I asked Dino Rossi—who had just finished slamming Gov. Gregoire for not doing enough about health care costs—if he thought Congress should override President Bush's veto of expanded health care coverage for poor kids (SCHIP), he told me, "I'm not in Congress." I pushed for an answer (which I didn't get) by pointing out that the state legislature (at Gov. Christine Gregoire's insistence) passed a bipartisan bill in Olympia last year that expanded children's health coverage by $64 million over two years—adding 38,500 children to state Medicaid coverage. If the SCHIP bill... Copyright 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:00:47 -0800 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:30:47 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mr. Poe I'll get an answer outta him. You'll see. You'll see.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833440 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833440 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:03:21 -0800 Comment by Willis Rossi is personally responsible for many thousands of kids being dropped off health care in Washington state - due to the budget that he wrote back in 2002 or 2003 - he has no leg to stand on on the issue of children's health care.

]]> Willis http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833441 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833441 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:04:03 -0800 Comment by Westside forever He will be beat like a gong.

Too bad Gregoire didn't turn out to be a total incompetent--that would be Rossi's only chance.

]]> Westside forever http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833455 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833455 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:13:00 -0800 Comment by catalina vel-duray I still get, at my City of Seattle workplace phone, after I have repeatedly asked them to stop, Dino Rossi solicitations. Stupid, untruthful, prerecorded inanities about how awful Christine Gregoire has been, all delivered by the bitchiest sounding woman in the entire universe. They started well before Dino announced his candidacy. Can't I sue or something?

]]> catalina vel-duray http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833465 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833465 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:18:40 -0800 Comment by ahava @2: Rossi built his budget from then-Gov. Gary Locke. Rossi didn't do anything by himself, Locke did most of of the work for him.

]]> ahava http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833469 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833469 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:21:50 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle It's above his paygrade.

And his capability.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833510 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833510 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:46:23 -0800 Comment by jcricket This is all Rossi has - pretending he has no opinions that would offend anyone (i.e. his actual Republican right-wing opinions) in the hopes that some disgruntled people will vote for him.

He was largely successful in the past election cycle at pretending he wasn't a Republican. Let's see if he can be as lucky this time around.

I doubt it.

]]> jcricket http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833525 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833525 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:51:26 -0800 Comment by Aexia A lot of Dems didn't vote for Gregoire because they thought she'd be the second coming of Gary Locke and that Rossi was harmless and/or wouldn't win.

No Democrat is going to think either of those things this time around. Gregoire wins 53-45.

]]> Aexia http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833562 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833562 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:11:41 -0800 Comment by Just asking, short guy! Josh,
Nobody cares about your preening stories about how you stand up to people. We've read your tales many times.

How about a question for Democrats who got control of Congress: just what happened to the plan to stop the war?

You could ask Hillary, but she's not taking questions from you or anybody in the media.

]]> Just asking, short guy! http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833595 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833595 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:35:53 -0800 Comment by laterite Didn't Mike! adopt this same hypothetical-question-avoidance strategy last year? Look where that got him. When are republicans going to learn that it makes you look like less a leader and more an asshole when you do this?

]]> laterite http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833604 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833604 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:40:24 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle @9 - last time I checked it seemed the deadender GOP Senators and House reps were voting against it. So if we're looking to cast blame ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833608 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833608 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:41:35 -0800 Comment by Gitai If I were a reporter, I'd carry a baseball bat. If a politician refused to answer a question, saying it was "hypothetical," I would then take out their right knee with the bat, before asking, "Hypothetically, would you object to me breaking your left knee?"

]]> Gitai http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833626 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833626 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:57:47 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Gitai, you are so hired!

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833631 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833631 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:00:38 -0800 Comment by mike in oly It's Dept. of Social & Health Services, not Human Services.

Rossi comes off as all meringue and no pie. Not only is he going to have to convince people she's doing a bad job, but that he - a republican under the shadow of the era of Bush Incompetence - can do better. He'll go down in flames. And good riddance.

]]> mike in oly http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833707 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833707 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:38:25 -0800 Comment by BillyBob I still think Gregoire looks like Skeletor.

]]> BillyBob http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833715 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833715 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:49:44 -0800 Comment by David Wright This article is written as if the $90M would come from somewhere outside the state. It wouldn't. Washington is a net contributor to federal budget, so increases in federal spending are, from a cash flow perspective, a bad deal for Washington.

]]> David Wright http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833772 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833772 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:45:07 -0800 Comment by SDA in SEA Rossi has very little chance. He drew nearly a tie last time around, running for an open seat in the governor's mansion, in a year when Republicans were still winning everything. This time around, he'll be running against an incumbent who has been slowly growing in popularity throughout her entire first 4 years. In a year when George "24%" Bush and an unpopular war will be dragging down all Republicans, good or bad. He has a long uphill battle if he thinks he can unseat Gregoire this time.

]]> SDA in SEA http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833776 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833776 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:10:04 -0800 Comment by Ebenezer Rossi is running way to the right, while trying to hide it. I appreciate your persistence here, Josh. I'm guessing he doesn't want to upset his base, and most of the families affected by SCHIP wouldn't vote for him, anyway.

The other thing that will be interesting is to see what parts of the business community supports whom. The Wal-Marts of the state will support Rossi, as he's for low-taxes and a low-quality of life. High-value sectors such as Life Sciences (whom Rossi wrote off in 2004 with his opposition of stem-cell research) want more skilled graduates and are willing to pay higher taxes for it. These industries, in large part, will support Gregoire.

Unless Gregoire runs a "prevent defense" campaign again, which I seriously doubt, she will crush Rossi in 2008.

]]> Ebenezer http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833779 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833779 2008 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:29:03 -0800 Comment by old timer Just wait until he's given a DUI.

He sure looks like a drunk.
He talks like a drunk.

DUI is in the cards for Rossi.

]]> old timer http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833840 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c833840 2008 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:16:45 -0800 Comment by reality check old timer - Rossi doesn't drink (he's like all the other buttoned-up Sammamish folks who are into CRAZY things like spending their time watching their kids' sporting events, getting up early for religious services on the weekends, and sipping pop instead of alcoholic drinks).

Keep trying, though. If you make up enough stuff about Dino Rossi, something somewhere is bound to get past people like me who will set the record straight with the truth.

About the question that he chose not to answer to the reporter's liking...Frustrating, isn't it, when libs are unable to get an independent thinking guy like Rossi all tied in with all the myths being nursed about the Bush Administration? Judge Dino Rossi for his own record and beliefs. He isn't in Congress - he is running for Governor of Washington State. His opinions on things which are outside of his decision-making arena are irrelevant.

]]> reality check http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c834252 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c834252 2008 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:25:21 -0800 Comment by reality check Another reality check (sorry, guys): Rossi and Gregoire are currently at a statistical tie. It is supposed to be pretty difficult to unseat an incumbent, and Rossi is just getting started.

If I were Christine Gregoire's campaign people, I would be pretty worried.

]]> reality check http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c834259 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/im_not_in_congress_dino_rossi_on_childre#c834259 2008 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:30:47 -0800