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Monday, February 25, 2013

Enviro / Olympia Hey WCV... How's That Steve Litzow Endorsement Working Out For You?

Posted by Goldy on Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 5:12 PM

Judging from this email from the 41st LD Dems, not so well:

Washington Conservation Voters is looking for volunteers for Tuesday, 2/26/13 (that's tomorrow), to doorbell and persuade voters on Mercer Island to contact Steve Litzow and ask him to support WCV's Clean Energy and Climate campaign.

http://wcvoters.org/issues-legislation/priority-issues/clean-energy-solutions

They will meet at the Mercer Island Library at 1 PM and the event will continue until 6 PM. Any amount of time you can provide would be most appreciated.

Huh. Perhaps WCV would have been better off endorsing Litzow's Democratic opponent, Maureen Judge (yeah, my ex-wife)? Had she won, not only wouldn't WCV have had to spend time and money pressuring her to do the right thing on climate and energy issues, it would have left control of the state Senate in the hands of environmentally friendly Democrats.

But, you know, it's sooooo important to elect pro-environment Republicans even if they're not nearly as pro-environment as their Democratic opponents. Because.

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Posted by Reader01 on February 25, 2013 at 5:34 PM

You think a WCV endorsement coulda evaporated Litzow's big margin of victory over Judge?

Because if not, a Judge endorsement would have left Litzow now even less likely to listen to WCV on environmental matters. How would that have been a smart move for people who care about those issues?

Posted by gloomy gus on February 25, 2013 at 5:38 PM

@2, Does the NRA ever support the "other guy" just because he's more likely to win?

Posted by SPG on February 25, 2013 at 5:41 PM

How can a woman who let Goldy stick his dick in her be trusted with making the right choices?

Posted by ExitOnly on February 25, 2013 at 6:14 PM

@3, my recollection is that on environmental issues Litzow was nowhere near as good as Judge, but he was miles ahead of others in the GOP. Add to that Judge's inability to demonstrate to potential endorsers that she was swaying voters in numbers great enough to overcome LItzow's incumbency and not-terribleness. It's good to endorse who's closest to your thinking, but it's also good to keep doors open to people like Litzow - he casts votes, and can sway others in his party.

I too wish they'd endorsed Judge anyway, but WCV members give a lot of credence to their staff and board's careful research on this stuff. Their long game is still pretty good, and it has to stay that way, or we all lose.

Posted by gloomy gus on February 25, 2013 at 6:25 PM

The other WCV screwup is that their former executive director has cashed in with the coal industry, and is now lobbying for a coal export project. (Thanks Seattle Times for free article)

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2…

WCV did a lot of work to elect Jay Inslee. Let's see how that goes. Gov. Inslee does not seem unambiguously anti-coal either.

Posted by spock on February 25, 2013 at 7:09 PM

@6, how is what Bruce is doing today a 'WCV screwup"? They let that guy go five years ago. And before that he was ED of Washington Ceasefire - is Bruce their fault too?

Look, WCV's not perfect and never will be, but some ducks who like to peck at them could use their energy elsewhere. Maybe building a coalition more to their liking?

Posted by gloomy gus on February 25, 2013 at 9:06 PM

I am not familiar with the history of who was let go or why. Maybe you can point me to some information? As an outside observer, I tend to conclude that where there is one person who will stab you in the back, there are likely to be others. Has WCV made any statement regretting or repudiating the actions of its ex-ED, or explaining why they should not be associated with him? As far as I can see, they treat this as just business.

I am also interested in WCV's strong advocacy of the Inslee campaign because the jury is still out here. If Gov. Inslee goes hard right, everyone who thought this campaign was really important will have been proved unreliable. We wouldn't even be able to say we were backstabbed, because the campaign message was pretty right wing all along. Veto any new taxes (except for beginning construction of freeways of course). Fix the economy by providing new tax breaks to beneficial corporations. Were we counting on him having had crossed fingers behind his back?

Posted by spock on February 25, 2013 at 10:22 PM

Sour Grapes Goldy?

Posted by GeneStoner on February 25, 2013 at 11:19 PM

@8, I don't know either - I'm an outsider too. I googled the news from when he left WCV and it said afterward he joined the PR company he's at now, and that before WCV he led the gun control org founded in the wake of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Wales's murder. That's the only information I could point you to, I guess. What I'd encourage you to think about is how much you feel right holding WCV to account for the current actions of one of its employees who left five years ago.

And I'm right there with you watching Inslee like a hawk. But again, remember the alternative was McKenna - you seem to want to hold WCV accountable if Inslee screws up, as if not endorsing him would have been better somehow.

Posted by gloomy gus on February 26, 2013 at 7:22 AM

@4

Please. I know you don't like most people here, but discussing that publicly makes us really comfortable. Please keep Goldy's dick to yourself from this point forward. Thanks.

Posted by seatackled on February 26, 2013 at 7:52 AM