Comments on Martinez to Run Against Prentice

Not to mention, there's a river in Georgetown that needs some love...

wouldn't it be awesome if this was about EDGAR Martinez running for senate?

Juan is one of the few social justice progressives who a) has a track record of doing more than just complaining and b) is freakin' hilarious. He actually seems like he's having fun while fighin' the Man.

Go Juan!

It will be very interesting, Josh, to see what lengths you will go to, to flog this NON-STORY.

Juan needs to think better of this before he embarrasses himself totally. Whoever has encouraged him to do this is not his friend and not the District's friend, and has sold Juan a total bill of goods.

He has as much chance of launching any serious challenge to Margarita Prentice as he does of flapping his arms and flying to the moon.

@4, so just because Margarita is powerful, no one should challenge her? I'm not sure I completely understand your nay-saying to Juan's declaration. While there are those in the district who believe that Margarita represents the interests of the district, there are others who believe she's become so intransigent and such a bully, that she has painted herself into a corner.

Who knows if Juan has a chance of beating Margarita, but why is it a bad idea to present a challenge to her?

Beats me, I like to see some good competition in the primaries - forces the candidates to actually define themselves.

Sir Juan is playing a fool's game. I live in the District, and it is her turf.

But challenger ego is always fun to watch explode into pieces.

By the way, I cash my pay check at the Payday Loan place, better and faster than the bank. Ten years of good service. All the snooty white people who want to manage my fiscal life need to get a life.

I agree interest cost are sky high, but the bigger problem is credit cards, all of them. Including Washington Mutual, which is the hometown mega shark. 24 percent on a small card I have but rarely use.

"By the way, I cash my pay check at the Payday Loan place, better and faster than the bank."

Better AND faster! Wow, that's great. Another service that they offer that your bank doesn't is that they charge you a percentage of the face value of your check when they provide that better (?!) and faster service. Fucking swell.

Above - Bison

You are leaking hot air again from you ass. Maybe needs a bigger hole.

Bank of America charges more to cash a pay check if you have no account there than the place I go. So much for your white middle class frat boy experience.

Eat shit, stupid. Fucking stupid.

Karla,

Shame on you! Racism, ugh. I don't like it from anyone brown, black, or any other color. How wonderful that the loan sharks make a bundle off of you. Most hard-working people use a bank!

And Ivan? Hoooooooow pathetic. Are you mad about your deflated campaign in the 34th? So much hot air, only to fizzle out when a smarter, classier, and more strategic candidate entered AND WON the race to fill the state rep seat.

My goodness. It is sooo sad. Your whole life is simply commenting in these blogs. It just burns your Santa Claus britches that someone had the courage to challenge the status quo and not back down from blow-hards like you.

Get off the blogs, into the streets and make some real change people. Homelessness, affordable health care, access to quality day-care, affordable housing IN THE CITY OF SEATTLE. Take your pick.

Juan has the spirit to take on the challenge while you all wag your wrinkled fingers on the side lines.

Puhhhlease!

Since the 11th District is safely Democratic and bright blue, it seems to me that having a challenger to a long-serving incumbent does nothing to hurt our chances to win the MOST important races in 2008 - a Democratic President, a Democratic Governor, and Democratic majorities in the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the State Legislature.

So the question is: if a long-time State Senate incumbent has been "hit and miss" on progressive principles during her term(s) of office, why SHOULDN'T a smart, progressive, young candidate make an attempt to challenge her?

Let's consider some options:

Scenario A: Senator Prentice faces her challenger, justifices her voting record, proves herself to the electorate, and wins another term because she's earned it.

Scenario B: Senator Prentice loses to Mr. Martinez, because he does a better job at articulating progressive values to progressive voters in a progressive district.

Scenario C: High-dollar donors, political insiders, special-interest lobbyists, PAC's, Democratic-party committee-members, and bloggers like Ivan & others hound Mr. Martinez out of the race so that Senator Prentice gets a pass on her bad votes, never gets to brag about her good votes, and we get yet another Seattle state legislative race where no incumbent is forced to explain his or her voting record.

Personally, I hope for scenario A or B. It's a shame that progressives are sometimes reluctant to hold themselves up to scrutiny from their peers.

Let the race be on.

@11:

I do not know of any time, whether opposed or unnopposed, when Senator Prentice has ever failed to explain her voting record to anyone who wants to know about it. No one has ever had to force her. So she blows off a couple of pissants like Josh and Erica once in a while. Big deal.

@10:

I got into the race to help Sharon and I got out of it to help her. If you feel the need to make yourself look stupid by commenting on things you know nothing about, hey, knock yourself out.

Ivan -- stop being such a party hack for a moment and realize that debate within the party is a healthy thing. So what if Prentice wins? Let the debate happen, and let it come out that Prentice is in the pocket of Dennis Bassford.

I'm so tired of party people telling others what to think. You're all running around scared as you have come to the point of being in power for power's sake, and not representing Democratic values. And I challenge you to name the Democratic value that aligns with Dennis Bassford, MoneyTree, and the entire predatory loan industry.

Aneurin, you poor naif,
the Democratic value in 21st century America
IS power and money.

@13:

I don't tell people what to think. Quit projecting, and don't presume that you know what I stand for.

The debate over payday lending is already happening, it has been ongoing, it *should* be happening, and it will continue whether anyone runs in a primary against Margarita Prentice or not.

I don't agree with her on this issue, she knows I don't, and she knows that although I will support her despite it, I want her to change her position. If we can't move her, we'll move enough others so that her opposition won't matter.

That's how *I* practice politics. I don't ask for or need your approval. I'm just another schmuck on the street like you are, and I don't pretend to be any big shot "insider."

So Juan knows the district better than Margarita because he has lived in the district for how long? Juan lived in the Eastlake neighborhood up until a few months ago.