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1

I suggest that Seattle liberals do something to help Joel Connelly get his inevitable final heart attack started.

Posted by Mr. Poe | December 19, 2007 9:23 AM
2

At leat McDermott was right about the war from the very start. I will always admire his courage for calling Bush a liar in a live TV broadcast from Iraq befor the war began.

Posted by Heather | December 19, 2007 9:40 AM
3

Amen to that and let's get rid of all the other dinosaurs around here, too.

Now review the bidding:

Sims: oversaw ST which is years late, cost engineers fooled us, won lawsuit saying it has no accountability to voters, then failed to win expansion or to protest being tied to roads. Kept quiet about his concerns, only spoke up when wife blasted him. Rail-enviro coalition in shatters. Keepiong silent again as to what to do now with ST2.

Murray: messed with ST enough to make sure it could not win the next election to expand. Also failed to make it keep its promise for a station on First Hill. Part of Oly crowd that (a) refused to make State build transit, or road megaprojects, then (b) created regional agencies like ST and RTID then messed with them enough so they failed to build projects (RTID 0 for 0, ST 1 for 2 but late and overbudget). Also let ST eliminate First Hill Station.

Jeanne Kohl-Welles: well known for????
Medical marijuana??
Jenny Durkan: never held elective office before. Good lawyer, like about 300 others around here.
Martha Choe: known for ?

Diversity of above group: Diversity is the main qualification. The Connelly recruiting team did a typical Seattle job.

PS: Straight white males: go away, your kind has ruled long enough.

Cynical comment:
Big accomplishments of local politicans in last 10 years, making anyone worthy of promotion: 0.

Posted by Shallow Cynic | December 19, 2007 9:46 AM
4

Connelly...what a schmuck. Seriously, when kids make these kinds of pathetic cries for attention, you ignore them and they stop. For the love of God, stop giving that douchenozzle attention on the Slog. He's not worth it.

P.S. I heart Baghdad Jim.

Posted by Hernandez | December 19, 2007 9:54 AM
5

Why not let the beltway pay for this one? And in return, we'll just give Jim 90 percent of our vote?

Posted by Will in Seattle | December 19, 2007 10:04 AM
6

Sometimes I whine about how ineffective Jim is in the overall scheme of congress, and then he does something righteously ballsy like vote "no" on that bullshit House resolution recognizing the importance of Christians founding our country, or whatever the fuck, and then I think to myself, "congressman for life" suits me fine.

Posted by Joe M | December 19, 2007 10:06 AM
7

Really, only a congressman for life with a consistent 90% vote can get away with such things as calling Bush a liar before the war, and voting against the Christian Resolution and stuff like that. Anyone seriously worried about their reelection wouldn't take chances like that.

Posted by SDA in SEA | December 19, 2007 10:13 AM
8

I disagree. I think much of the reason he gets such a consistently high vote is because of those risks he takes. That's what his constituents want him to do.

Posted by Greg | December 19, 2007 10:34 AM
9

I'd be cool with Jeanne Kohl-Welles in that seat. She actually gets things done in Olympia - from environmental regs, to school funding, to being a friend of teh gays.

I like her, and I've got to admit, I'd jump onto her campaign in a heartbeat if she ran.

I like Jim, too, but I think getting convicted of something like the taping incident is a clear sign that it's time to go.

Posted by el ganador | December 19, 2007 10:34 AM
10

Kohl-Welles would be a fine choice. McDermott's a twat, and he's never taken a risk in his life. He could take his pants off and take a crap on the House floor and get reelected.

Posted by Fnarf | December 19, 2007 10:42 AM
11

Amen!

Posted by taiu | December 19, 2007 10:43 AM
12

Murray would love the gig, but probably isn't popular enough to win the inevitable ten-way primary. Who remembers Martha Choe? This seat is too much of a Democratic prize to fall to a soft D like Jenny Durkan (her support of Satterberg is not forgotten). Jeanne Kohl-Welles could be one of the ten contenders, I guess, but she won't scare anyone. Ron Sims could have it if he wants it, but who knows if he'll want it.

More likely contenders: Peter Steinbrueck (or any sitting City Councilmember), Dow Constantine (ditto for the County Council).

Posted by J.R. | December 19, 2007 10:48 AM
13

He's only gutsy on principles; he doesn't take risks to bring concrete, tangible results to the district. I'm all for high-mindedness, but maybe it's time for someone who can roll up her sleeves and get actual problems solved for this district.

Posted by Slogur | December 19, 2007 11:34 AM
14

we need more pork. or SOME pork. with a 20-year tenured congressman, we should be getting it.

we're not. because he's too polite to be a politician.

i'm ready for new blood, too.

mcdermott is the gerard schwartz of congressmen.

Posted by max solomon | December 19, 2007 11:45 AM
15

There is absolutely no chance in hell that the person who replaces McDermott will be as reliable a lefty vote in Congress, though every single person who campaigns for the seat will claim to be carrying on his legacy. Seattle's left has been routed, at least in electoral politics, and McDermott is a dinosaur from the pre-DLC days. The only thing good about his leaving would be if it inspired a bunch of vain, incumbent-for-life politicians to resign their positions to run for Congress, clearing the way for some fresh blood in the state leg and county council etc.

Posted by Trevor | December 19, 2007 1:17 PM
16

I always love the speculation on when (and if) McD will leave--and who will run for it (everyone).

Shallow Cynic @3: You dis Ed Murray, but he has certainly amassed the resume for the job: Clean Cars, Record Transportaiton and Transit investment, Affordable Housing, and of course GLBT Rights. It's as diverse and "congressional" (transferrable issues to DC) a record as one could muster.

Posted by Oly Watcher | December 19, 2007 2:01 PM
17

Martha Choe would be my first
choice. She is exceptionally
bright, and I thought a very
good city councilmember.

Jeanne Kohl-Welles? She was
an ex-officio board member
of the Seattle Monorail
Project, and I am still
disappointed that she
apparently didn't voice
concerns about the project's management. Perhaps she never
had any concerns, however I'd
like to hear more from her
before suggesting she's a
potential candidate.

--- Jensen

Posted by Jensen Interceptor | December 19, 2007 2:22 PM
18

ganador -- FYI, Jim has never been convicted of anything.

Connelly fails to note that McDermott now holds one of the big gavels on Ways & Means (something that would take his successor 20 years or so, just as it took Norm "Washington's Third Senator" Dicks 30 years to ascend to his current powerful position in the Appropriations hierarchy).

Posted by RonK, Seattle | December 19, 2007 2:36 PM
19

What's really sad about the money situation is this: because Jim has always had a "safe" seat, he's never had to go out and ask for alot of money, in fact I think he's often given away most of the money he gets to help other candidates. Now he's in a position of having to ask for money - after all his years of service I really hope people step up and help. Lest we forget - the situation that got him into all of this trouble in the first place was also the situation that led to the end of Newt's reign!

Posted by scharrera | December 19, 2007 2:40 PM

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