Find Your Valentine
Slog
News & ArtsFriday, June 26, 2009
Politics Can Phillips Win Without Calling a Republican a Republican?
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 2:21 PM
The Republican brand is poisonous. But Democratic County Council Member Larry Phillips doesn’t seem willing to shoot those poison darts at Republican Susan Hutchison, whom he’s challenging in the race for King County Executive. When asked if will he call out Hutchison—who has donated to Republican candidates, including Rossi and Bush, and served on the board of the goddamn Discovery Institute—as a “Republican,” he says, “I have no problem saying that she is a conservative’s conservative.” That’s not the same as calling her out as a Republican (a party affiliation that her campaign denies). Phillips is apparently trying to avoid using Hutchison's party identity as a weapon against her.
Instead, Phillips wants to distinguish himself on an issue-by-issue basis, or allow her silence on those issues to speak for itself. “I’m going to be talking about the issues and inviting her to debate them to draw her into this discussion, and the more she doesn’t talk about [the issues] and the local economy, the more people will know her to be unprepared for the office,” he says.
But his attempt to let Hutchison hang herself may not work.
It’s a striking contrast from Dow Constantine, another county council member running for executive, who has held repeated press conferences and has riddled the press with comments about Hutchison’s crazy Republican affiliations. Hutchison so far holds a mind-boggling lead—a 29-point margin, according to the most recent poll—that seems rooted in her wide name recognition from years as a KIRO anchor. Logic dictates that, in this "nonpartisan" race, King County's overwhelmingly Democratic electorate doesn't realize that Hutchison is a Republican.
But Phillips believes that her record—past contributions, affiliations, etc.—will speak for itself, so he doesn't need to focus on that. "It's not a name-calling or gimmick exercise," he says.
To advance his campaign, Phillips released a four-pronged environmental platform, called a “Greenprint for King County,” yesterday. It would: (1) protect waterways from pollutants and clean up dirty rivers and streams; (2) use $50 million in property taxes already reserved for protecting pristine areas to purchase land in the White River and Green River basin; (3) support development around transit and make sure light rail runs in places where development can grow, like near Highway 99 rather than I-5; and (4) seek federal cap-and-trade funding for energy-conservation projects in King County.
But it’s unclear that Phillips's “Greenprint” will get voters to give a shit about Hutchison’s views on the environment, or get at her Achilles heel to help them see her for what she is: a Republican's Republican.
1
Beware - Susan is playing it EXACTLY like she needs to for the win - elections have their own formula and she is par excellante in her game for the moment.
The more we talk about her, her message, the more her polling goes up.
Interesting, isn't it.
3
We'll make fun of them more when they wail that the democrats working under Susan won't follow her lead or when she wails that the Caliphate of Seattle is not listening to her.
4
From the Wiki article you posted:
"Cascadia Center
Discovery Institute's Cascadia Center for Regional Development (former Cascadia project)[41] focuses on regional transportation. The Cascadia Project started in 1992 with Bruce Agnew, former Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative John Miller, serving as the director. In 2003, Thomas Till was brought in as Managing Director, after leaving his post as Executive Director of the Amtrak Reform Council.[42]
Cascadia attempts to forge alliances between local governments to ease traffic congestion in the Pacific Northwest, utilizing focus groups[43] as well as forming citizen panels and public forums.[44] In conjunction with Microsoft, Cascadia sponsored a session involving elected officials, entrepreneurs and public policy experts including Washington State Representative Dave Reichert and former CIA director James Woolsey to discuss varying proposals for securing U.S. ports and diversifying America's energy portfolio.[45]
The Cascadia project is funded in part by a large grant from the Gates Foundation.[46] It recently created its own Web site to ensure an individual identity and distance itself from the institute's controversial role in promoting intelligent design.[21]"
Hasn't that train left the station?
9
Go Dow Go!
11
Larry needs to call an America-hating Talibangelist out, loud and clear.
... off year election ... older voters ....
Yes, Dow better get it going ...
13
You mean like Rob McKenna 53%/John Ladenburg 46%, Dan Satterberg 54%/Bill Sherman 45% and Sam Reed 52%/Jason Osgood 48% all in King County?
16
I swear I run into my fair share of them.
17
In a primary yes. But once it gets down to two candidates, we should see liberal support congeal.
McKenna, on the other hand, is a problem.
19
Dom, Dom, Dom...
give the voters a little credit;
they are not all as stupid as Slog's readers...
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
SL Letter of the Day: Pill The Homos! by Dan Savage
-
Dear Huffington Post... by Dan Savage
-
The Rick Santorum Rally in Tacoma Probably Could Have Gone Better by Paul Constant
-
Because Guns Make Us More Safer by Goldy
-
Slog Bible Study: Deuteronomy 21:10-14 by Goldy
-
Because Guns Make Us Safer by Goldy
-
Gay Kids Are Still Killing Themselves by Dan Savage
-
Gregoire: "This is signed!" by Eli Sanders
-
Prospecting Science by Charles Mudede
-
Google Briefly Acknowledges the Existence of Gay Couples—and Princess/Frog Couples—on Valentine's Day by Dan Savage
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (22) RSS