Cindi Laws, campaign manager for James Donaldson, responded to yesterday's post about Donaldson's endorsements mostly coming from professional athletes and Republicans with a long and rambling screed on the phone lumping me in with racists, anti-Semites, homophobes, and commie-baiters.

“Is James a Republican? Absolutely not,” Laws said, adding that Donaldson is firmly pro-choice, in support of gay marriage, an avid environmentalist, and a vegetarian.

Laws also claimed that Donaldson has been a dues-paying member of the 36th Legislative District Democrats “for years,” but a phone call just now to the 36th LD Dems revealed that in fact he has only been a paying member for five months.

Before Laws actually answered the question I had originally asked—Is Donaldson a Republican?—she talked at length about how offended she was that I marginalized Donaldson by lumping him in with a "minority group."

That minority group she spoke of? The Republican Party.

“So what if people happen to be members of a minority group?” Laws said of Donaldson's GOP endorsers.

Laws then tried to link the notion that guilt by association with Republicans was no different than dismissing a candidate for being Jewish, black, or even gay (not taking into account that being Republican is something one chooses) before playing the non-partisan mayoral race card and insulting both parties: “Guilt by association is ridiculous. Twenty percent of the city is Republican. When you are running for a non-partisan race like mayor you will represent people whether they are in the Idiot Party or the Republican Party. Sometimes there is not a lot of difference there,” Laws said, then added, “same as the Democratic Party sometimes.”

Then Laws said that raising the specter of the GOP was akin to McCarthyism. “I do find it very offensive that in Seattle if you know a Republican, you are considered guilty by association,” Laws said. “In the '50s this was called the red scare. Now it is the Republican scare.”

Laws then changed tack entirely and suggested that Donaldson's support had everything to do with his reputation as a Seattle SuperSonic (he played for the team for three seasons, from 1980 to 1983), and his commitment to bringing a pro team back to Seattle.

“People with money who can buy Sonics tickets are often Republicans,” she said.

Laws, who is not a Sonics fan, also said that she had not read the post, nor does she ever read Slog.