A well nourished, hydrated, elected representative with mental clarity is her job and what she was elected to do to. She has the power of her office, and this seems counterproductive for the cause as well as a neglecting the other needs of her constituents.
I'm with Phoebe. A candidate who does shit like this is likely to still do shit like this after being elected. I have plenty of community activists, and what I want from a legislator isn't this.
I certainly hope she does shit like this after being elected. But I realize that conservatives like Phoebe think it's better to go out to dinner paid for by lobbyists, as most legislators do.
She's an immigration-activist turned candidate, but it might have spoiled the heroic narrative to point that out. She's been a one-note shrike on the subject for years, and I can't believe even Seattle's 37th would be silly enough to elect her.
@9: It's quite amazing to dismiss a principled stand on an issue of supreme importance to a great number of people as inappropriate. Or are you just trying to contend for John Bailo's title?
@11: Principled stands and hunger strikes are effective in only in cases where the oppressed have no power. In a legislative body, it's about coming together to form policy, debate it, and vote on it, as defined in our constitutions.