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News & ArtsThursday, May 17, 2012
2012 Jim McDermott, Facing Challenger on Bicycle, Asks: Andrew Who?
Posted by Eli Sanders on Thu, May 17, 2012 at 6:00 AM
- Office of Congressman Jim McDermott
- Congressional candidate Andrew Hughes isn't the first guy to try biking around Washington State as a route to higher office. McDermott, seeking the governor's mansion, did that in 1972. He logged 754 miles and, he points out, didn't win. "The result," McDermott says, "was that I got 11 percent in the primary."
This morning I'll be jumping on my road bike and heading out to meet up with Congressional candidate Andrew Hughes, who today launches his campaign to unseat 23-year Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott with an athletic, three-day-long trek across Washington's 7th Congressional District.
It starts this morning with a bike ride across Vashon Island and then, this afternoon, a kayak trip across Puget Sound. Tomorrow morning: a swim across Lake Burien, plus the first leg of a two-day, 30-mile walk that will deliver Hughes to the new north tip of the district, in Edmonds, on Saturday.
But, before all that begins, a word from the man who Hughes, 30, wants to retire.
Speaking by phone yesterday from Washington, D.C., McDermott, 75, said of Hughes:
“I don’t know much about him. I don’t know who he is, really. The campaign, I guess, is where that will all be flushed out. I always encourage people to get involved in politics, so, you know, whatever.”
I asked McDermott: So you're not rattled by this young guy demonstrating his vigor by biking—and kayaking, and swimming, and walking—across the district you've held for over two decades?
"No," McDermott replied. "This is not a sport decided by how strong your back is or how high you can jump or whatever. The people are giving you their trust to make decisions for them, to make reasonable decisions. And if they don’t think your decisions are going to be reasonable, then they’re not going to give you the trust. These kinds of stunts may attract some media attention, but it’s not going to last very long."
Tell me about the biking you did in your failed 1972 run for governor.
“I watched Lawton Chiles walk the length of Florida and I thought—'Well, biking would fit better for Washington State.' I biked from Blaine to Vancouver. And I biked around in Spokane some... The result of that was that I got 11 percent in the primary.”
What are you going to be talking about as you run for re-election this year?
“The most important thing for me is to be here to implement the healthcare bill. I think the Supreme Court is going to ratify what we did and give us the go-ahead to finish implementation. It’s going to be a monstrous task to get a national plan up and running in 50 states.”
McDermott also spoke of pushing green energy and conservation, and then noted that the ranks of experienced, long-serving representatives from Washington State are thinning with Jay Inslee's departure to run for governor and Norm Dicks's retirement. He continued:
“Between Norm and Jay Inslee we’re losing a lot of impact on two of the three major committees. We’ve lost people with seniority, and we need people here who know people, and know how this place works.”
McDermott, who's a senior member on the House Ways and Means Committee, was heading off to vote for re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, so I asked him if he had any quick advice for Hughes (or me) about life on the bike trail.
“Have a good time," McDermott said. "I’ll be surprised if that’s the basis on which people make their decision—whether someone can swim across Lake Burien or whatever."
2
@1: Hear you, but I'm pretty sure that what he actually said was "flushed out." Which also works in this context.
3
as in, andrew hughes is a bird that must be flushed from cover to be identified or shot? i'm sticking with fleshed. but you're quoting jim, "so, you know, whatever"!
4
Aw, Walkin' Lawton.
I went to see his casket at the capitol building after he passed. It was incredible to see so many people come out to pay respects to the beloved Governor.
I went to see his casket at the capitol building after he passed. It was incredible to see so many people come out to pay respects to the beloved Governor.
5
"Flush" is an appropriate metaphor for any part of the political process. Are there any ravenous beasts or glowing biological hazards in Lake Burien? Eclipse-rabid otters? Stranger staff swimming alongside?
6
Lake Burien is public land without public access. This stunt must be an attempt to publicize this egregious violation of federal law. [/snark]
7
"It’s going to be a monstrous task to get a national plan up and running in 50 states.”
I suppose, as a jobs program, the implementation of the existing legislation will be a good thing. It just frosts me that this is the best our Congress could do when improving and expanding Medicare to cover everyone would be so much easier and cheaper.
I suppose, as a jobs program, the implementation of the existing legislation will be a good thing. It just frosts me that this is the best our Congress could do when improving and expanding Medicare to cover everyone would be so much easier and cheaper.
8
I'd be delighted to see someone good topple McDermott, who's become more or less our own Dennis "Be Right And Legislate Nothing" Kucinich. Interesting to see Hughes launch against him so soon after dropping out of the 1st CD race. That janitorial conglomerate his great-grandpa founded is no joke - the L.A. branch of his family has done some nice philanthropy.
If we have to have yet another lawyer in Congress, I hope he's a goodie. His website shows he's on the right side of the standard issues, but time will tell. Look forward to your triathlon with him.
If we have to have yet another lawyer in Congress, I hope he's a goodie. His website shows he's on the right side of the standard issues, but time will tell. Look forward to your triathlon with him.
9
Hopefully Andrew Hughes will meet a copy editor in his travels across the 7th District. His website needs some help.
As for McDermott: The man had a ton of balls to go to Iraq (post-9/11) and call George W. Bush on his bullshit rhetoric that Saddam Hussein somehow posed a massive threat to the US, while good progressives (ahem, Dan Savage) fell in line behind the president's radical foreign policies.
I will always vote for Jim McDermott as my Congressman.
As for McDermott: The man had a ton of balls to go to Iraq (post-9/11) and call George W. Bush on his bullshit rhetoric that Saddam Hussein somehow posed a massive threat to the US, while good progressives (ahem, Dan Savage) fell in line behind the president's radical foreign policies.
I will always vote for Jim McDermott as my Congressman.
10
I hope he was heading off to vote AGAINST the ridiculous House version of the VAWA act.
And while I see the point about lack of legislative accomplishment per se, McDermott has serious brass balls about saying (and doing) unpopular (but right) things, and I continue to admire him.
And while I see the point about lack of legislative accomplishment per se, McDermott has serious brass balls about saying (and doing) unpopular (but right) things, and I continue to admire him.
11
@10, I'd admire him more if after this many decades his M.O. didn't seem a carefully crafted way to leave all the legislative dirty work to his colleagues. He'll vote on others' bills, sure, but if you're senior shouldn't you have amassed enough political capital to pass some bills that forward the principles you like to talk about? Instead, he's put himself on a pedestal, which is a weird place to want to be. Good guy, for sure, I just don't find him useful.
12
@11 is unfortunately right. Compare senior legislator McDermott, who talks, to senior legislator Patty Murray, who does. McDermott's been floating on people loving him for what he says for years; he has no influence whatsoever in Congress. And now we have another no-influence legislator, Inslee, running for Governor. If he had more of McDermott's mouthiness and folksiness, he might have a chance against McKenna, but he doesn't .
13
The people in this thread who claim McDermott fatigue apparently have never met Andrew Hughes or seen him in person. I have. If you had called Central Casting and asked them to send you a snotty little rich, entitled punk, Andrew Hughes is who you would have gotten.
Jim can mail this one in. Sucks if some of you don't like that.
Jim can mail this one in. Sucks if some of you don't like that.
15
@ 12 If Inslee was more like McDerrmot, Mckenna would be running away with this.
@ 13 I have met Andrew and he is nothing like you described. I think he doesn't expect to win this time but wants to put his name out there for when Jim does step down.
@ 13 I have met Andrew and he is nothing like you described. I think he doesn't expect to win this time but wants to put his name out there for when Jim does step down.
16
Always the same tired old arguments from the centrist Democrats. If you don't want the left in your party, let us know, but also quit your rants about 3rd parties. You can't have it both ways. Anyway, it's only a matter of time before it happens since you keep drifting right (well, there is always election season for populist rhetoric).
17
Look, everyone knows there's only one reason Hughes is "running" against McDermott. He seeks name-recognition, so that when Jim finally decides that enough is enough, his name will be known to somebody other than his wife, family, and law school classmates.
If he had even the slightest interest in trying to win the seat, he would have taken a couple of minutes to bike over to the endorsement meeting of the 43rd District Dems on Tuesday. Literally, a couple of minutes -- he lives "within minutes of [UW's] campus", and the 43rd meets at 50th & Brooklyn.
He could have circumvented the sole endorsement of McDermott if even one member of the organization had spoken up to ask for the removal of Jim from the "slate" of automatic endorsements, along with the likes of Obama, Cantwell, and Inslee. One voice raised, and he could have made his case to the most Democratic LD in the state. One voice raised, and he could have pointed out that Jim takes us so much for granted that he didn't have anyone from his campaign present to speak on his behalf.
But no, he couldn't be bothered to do something so easy, so obvious. Sure, Jim would still have received the sole endorsement of the 43rd, but the name Andrew Hughes just might have gotten a bit more recognizable within the Congressional District he purports to wish to represent.
BTW, from my observation, the only lasting recognition Hughes will buy with this run is as the fool who actually thought running against Jim would help, rather than hurt, his future campaigns.
If he had even the slightest interest in trying to win the seat, he would have taken a couple of minutes to bike over to the endorsement meeting of the 43rd District Dems on Tuesday. Literally, a couple of minutes -- he lives "within minutes of [UW's] campus", and the 43rd meets at 50th & Brooklyn.
He could have circumvented the sole endorsement of McDermott if even one member of the organization had spoken up to ask for the removal of Jim from the "slate" of automatic endorsements, along with the likes of Obama, Cantwell, and Inslee. One voice raised, and he could have made his case to the most Democratic LD in the state. One voice raised, and he could have pointed out that Jim takes us so much for granted that he didn't have anyone from his campaign present to speak on his behalf.
But no, he couldn't be bothered to do something so easy, so obvious. Sure, Jim would still have received the sole endorsement of the 43rd, but the name Andrew Hughes just might have gotten a bit more recognizable within the Congressional District he purports to wish to represent.
BTW, from my observation, the only lasting recognition Hughes will buy with this run is as the fool who actually thought running against Jim would help, rather than hurt, his future campaigns.
18
@ 16 Drifting right, the Democratic party is where it always been center, and who says we don't want the left, they are a valuable part of the party, they just got to recognize they aren't the mainstream of the party. Also we have a 2 party system and that doesn't look to be changing anytime soon so it really is throwing your vote away.
19
@18: The left wing of the Democratic party is the mainstream in Washington's 7th Congressional District.
And @17 makes a great argument why Andrew Hughes is a joke of a candidate.
And @17 makes a great argument why Andrew Hughes is a joke of a candidate.
20
Must be nice to " play" in the sun all day when the majority of us have to work. You may not like Jim McDermott but at least he didn't try to buy his seat!
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