In case you haven’t noticed, I have avoided any commentary on the Washington state governor’s race since the election has passed.
This is for a reason. I was so personally invested in Republican Dino Rossi’s bid for governor (on a completely volunteer basis) that it has been particularly difficult watching the press carry Gov. Christine Gregoire’s water and gloss over her complete incompetence and lack of character.
In spite of reckless spending (a 33 percent increase in the budget), the press has been singing her tune regarding the current deficit as being the result of the national economy. She continued to claim that we had a surplus well into the later stages of the campaign (which was a lie, easily exposed, but carefully avoided by the statewide press). The deficit that she created went from irresponsible to disastrous by the national economy, but it was created by her, make no mistake. Now we are left funding a myriad of projects she created, while having to cut things that should never be on the chopping block.
It’s one thing to disagree with a person’s politics. That’s what we do in a democracy, after all, is debate vigorously and advocate for what we believe in. Most of the time we can disagree with a person’s politics, but still have high regard for their character. In fact, this is the case with our Federal Way representatives Skip Priest, a Republican, and Mark Miloscia, a Democrat — both men who are easily re-elected because they have earned the respect and trust of our community.
This isn’t the case with Gov. Gregoire. So, I find myself struggling with how to argue against her politics without letting my disdain for her lack of character and obvious incompetence distract from my main points. It’s a difficult proposition.
The feelings surfaced again last week when I discovered Paul Berendt, the same person who advised Gregoire in the 2004 election of endless recounts, is handling the Al Franken-Norm Coleman Senate race in Minnesota. In another “we must keep counting until we win” election, Coleman (who was the original victor) is watching his lead decline as Franken’s team, led by Berendt, keeps contesting ballots and finding “new ones.”
To recap: Six days after the 2004 election, Rossi was ahead by almost 3,500 votes. Then, King County “miraculously” found 10,000 votes. Rossi still pulled out that recount by 42 votes, but Gregoire’s team, lead by Berendt, still demanded another count. “Gracious concession” is not in her vocabulary, for she who must win at all costs.
We know how the third count ended, but what has been glossed over are certain facts like the liberal activist group ACORN’s later conviction for submitting several thousand fraudulent voter registrations. U.S. News and World Report writer Michael Barone found on investigation that 2,000 more King County absentee ballots had been cast than were ever requested. After Gregoire was inaugurated, a survey found that nearly a third of Democrats actually believed that Rossi won the election. But that’s yesterday’s news, right?
The supposedly cleanest state in the union, Minnesota, is now experiencing the corrupting influence of Gregoire’s goons. The injustice of it all is upsetting, to say the least.
But isn’t this just what Republicans did in 2000 during the contentious Gore-Bush presidential contest? That’s what the press has allowed us to believe. In fact, the only reason the presidential race went to the Supreme Court, if you remember, is because after making a concession call to George W. Bush, Al Gore called again and recanted his concession. Gore’s team then led a series of recounts that eventually forced the issue to the Supreme Court.
Noteworthy in this situation is that Gore was never ahead in any of the ballot counts. Also noteworthy is that, like in Washington state and now in Minnesota, the counties “finding” and contesting all the ballots are Democrat-controlled counties.
As we slog our way into 2009, it would be nice if the party of self-proclaimed doves would stop waging war on our precious freedoms like voting. It would be nice if the Democrats with some personal integrity would call off the goons in a selfless attempt at protecting our election process.
Like Richard Nixon in 1960 (whom historians largely agree actually beat John F. Kennedy) or like Slade Gorton against Sen. Maria Cantwell in 2000, politicians in closely contested elections are capable of doing the honorable thing. It’s still possible in Minnesota, but not likely.
After all, Franken is following Gregoire’s fine example. Hold out until you get the result you want. No matter what it costs.
—
Federal Way resident Angie Vogt: vogt.e@comcast.net. For past columns and further commentary, visit www.redcounty.com/washington/.
