Dino Rossi, who’s been showing some decent numbers against Patti Murray in Washington, has a Palin-endorsed teabagger opponent who’s getting some national press.
I’m sure this guy doesn’t have much of a chance in Washington’s jungle primary, but as an ex-Redskin who’s also gotten the Rand Paul imprimatur, Clint Didier will probably make Rossi waste a few bucks by creating attack ads using stories like this:
He vows to oppose the “Marxist utopia” he says Democrats want to create — “where everyone is taken care of from womb to tomb.”
But Didier himself has cashed in on one big government aid program. He has received nearly $273,000 in federal farm subsidies since 1995, according to a database of U.S. Department of Agriculture subsidies maintained by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Didier is also spreading rumors that the NRSC is considering endorsing him.
Murray’s looking surprisingly weak this year. If she wins in a squeaker, this is one race where teabagger intervention might just push the Democrat over the edge.
Hunter Gathers
There’s an awful lot of undecideds in those polls. Doesn’t Rossi run and lose just about every other year?
Spaghetti Lee
Or else, Washington republicans will do what their cohort in Nevada and Kentucky did and give Murray some clown to run against.
This is all very high-stakes. If Paul, Angle, Rick Scott, etc., end up losing, it could mean the implosion and collapse of the Republican Party. But if they win, we’ll have to deal with them in the senate for six years.
mistermix
@Hunter Gathers: I was surprised to see her poll consistently under 50% in a D+4 state.
eponymous coward
Murray’s looking surprisingly weak this year.
She’s not. Rossi’s not shown a lead on her yet, and I’m suspecting his unofficial motto is “Sure, you can’t make a soufflé rise twice, but what about THREE times?”
Washington is still the same state that Obama won by a couple touchdowns and a field goal in 2008, and Murray’s still the same woman who’s knocked off telegenic Republican talking heads year after year. Not worried, really- especially if by some chance Rossi loses and the WA state Rs go into full-on teabagger crazy. The last time they did that in a statewide election was with a candidate by the name of Ellen Craswell, who was a Jesus-loving proto-teabagger. She got creamed by Gary Locke, very similarly to how Obama blew McCain out of the water in 2008 in the state.
GambitRF
And, really, how can you not support an anti-utopia platform?
Hunter Gathers
@mistermix: I don’t know if I trust any polling at this point. It’s not out of the question for any polling outfit to tweak their numbers to get more attention and page hits. Half of the polls taken after the first of May are Rasmussen polls, FWIW.
T.R. Donoghue
There’s another one coming in Colorado. Establishment GOP candidate is former Lt. Governor Jane Norton. She’s a Bush-loving far-right Christian (this was actually hanging directly behind her desk in the Capitol) but she’s just not quite crazy enough for the base. Her opponent, Ken Buck, is a messicanhuntin conservative DA.
When we finally get our completely pointless Dem primary finished we can get on with drubbing Ken Buck.
Neutron Flux
Sorta OT, but
Some input would be helpful.
I live in Kansas. Congressional District KS-01. Jerry Moran’s old seat. He is running for Brownback’s Senate seat.
I helped the last Democratic candidate in 08. Contributions, website construction, and policy positions. Apparently he gave my name to the new candidate. He is looking for the support from me. His website is http://www.jilkaforcongress.com.
These are his positions:
• Protect life from the moment of conception until natural death.
• Work toward energy independence to end America’s reliance on imported oil.
• Secure America’s borders with increased security and immigration reform that preserves the Kansas economy.
• Fight runaway government spending and reduce the nation debt.
• Protect Kansas agriculture, farmers, ranchers and our rural way of life.
• Stand up for seniors by protecting Social Security and Medicare.
• Oppose tax increases on working families and small business.
• Ensure our 2nd Amendment rights.
I would like to have a Democrat in this district. I think he can win.
My problem is that I am sure he will just be another Blue Dog. Do we really need more of these assholes. My thought right now is Hell NO.
Talk me down, if you think I am missing the big picture here. I am an Obot, so there is that to consider.
Tonal Crow
So which is it, GOPers? Do Democrats want to make abortion mandatory, or care for everyone “from womb to tomb”?
MikeJ
Didier has also said he’s in it no matter what, and won’t consider dropping out. Good for him! Go independent! Please, please, please split the teabaggers away from the GOP!
bobbo
Hate to hijack this thread, but just saw ZACHARY LEVI OMG OMFG111!!1111! Checking out an open house and he was VERY INTERESTED. Chuck moving into my modest little hood. Holy crap.
We now return you to etc.
Sentient Puddle
@Neutron Flux: The PVI of that district is R+23. A Blue Dog is about as much as you can hope for. And a Blue Dog is still better than any Republican holding the seat.
MikeJ
That’s what the Republicans said about Cantwell in 2006 when she won with a mere 57% of the vote. It’s what they say every year about whatever Dem is running.
MikeBoyScout
As a Washingtonian, let me fill you in.
1) As fun as batshit insane Clint Didier is, he has very little chance of defeating the much better recognized Dino Dragged-Into-The-Race Rossi in Washington’s (Louisiana like) top 2 primary. Didier could beat Rossi if he had more than $5mil to throw at Rossi, but he’s not even in the ballpark.
2) Murray is neither weak nor surprising. While the poll numbers you see at this point may give this impression Murray’s campaign is a well oiled machine with plenty of Cash On Hand and Murray is one helluva campaigner.
3) Dino is a 2 time statewide loser in this state with a lot of baggage. He is currently employing the hide and don’t say anything strategy we’ve seen other BP ublicans employ since Randroid Paul got his comeuppance. That ain’t going to work in WA in November.
4) Patty Murray has one heck of a reputation even in the less liberal eastern part of the state. She has earned a great reputation by being i n WA every weekend, and delivering when needed.
CONCLUSION: Patty Murray may need to work hard in this off year election, but she’ll win with more than a 5% margin. Bank on it. Bank. On. It. :-)
General Egali Tarian Stuck
I am not paying much attention to polling in individual races like this one, at least not yet. But if you mine into the internals of these polls, even now, you will find some real bugaboos for the wingnuts, like a surprising, to me at least, persistent laying of larger blame for our current straights on the wingnuts. Where the blame belongs.
Sure many are polling well against incumbent dems, even in some blue states, but most are not really that focused on the actual race and it’s candidates in those states. They never do, until around labor day. So I think much of the negative polling toward dems is just a nay that things haven’t improved to the level most would like, and when faced with an election day choice of what lever to pull, will not pull the lever easily for the party, and it’s candidate they hold ultimately responsible for causing their problems.
Many will vote against dems, and there is no doubt the energy is highest on the winger side, but it has only been two years since the repubs and Bush were running things into the ground. When voters are reminded of this on their teevee sets, some reality will cause them to realize they only have two choices, and one choice they have been there done that for eight years instead of just two with Obama.
I am predicting that dems will lose 5 senate seats and 25 House seats.
Neutron Flux
@Sentient Puddle: Yeah, I know but JFC, his positions just make me sick.
stuckinred
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Rossi ran credibly against Christine Gregoire even in a blue state in an anti-Republican year. IMO that’s not so much because of what a tough opponent Rossi is as that Gregoire is unappealing. Murray herself is not the most compelling politician but I suspect that once she starts running ads pimping her record she’ll build a bit of a lead. One of the oddities about this election is that it wouldn’t surprise me if Rossi has greater name recognition at this point in time than Murray does.
It would be hilarious, of course, if Didier was the GOP nominee.
MikeJ
@Neutron Flux: His position on keeping Nancy Pelosi as speaker is the only one that really matters. While I doubt he’d publicly admit to it, having a Democrat in that seat, even a nominal Democrat, help keeps Pelosi in charge.
Napoleon
@Neutron Flux:
Do not support him. If you support with money put it into into some race where you have a realistic chance of advancing a better agenda. I your support is shoe leather, pick a race with an upcoming candidate that may run for that or a comparable position some day.
moe99
@MikeBoyScout:
I am also a Washington resident–here for the past 29 years–and I agree totally with what you are saying. Rossi’s got a couple of scandals brewing that should bring him further down in the general election.
Corner Stone
@Tonal Crow:
Both!
Those we can’t murder we take excellent care of til we can send them to fight in the utopia that is the ME!
Neutron Flux
@MikeJ: True.
demimondian
@MikeBoyScout: Also from WA state. This is correct.
Rossi is deeply damaged goods — his last gubernatorial campaign had some significant financial irregularities, and he’s been making his money running “distressed real estate seminars” recently. He is not going to beat Murray in November.
As to Didier, he’s not even going to be *on the ballot* in November; our general elections are always two-person head-to-head affairs due to the way our primaries work.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
@moe99:
@demimondian:
I’ll throw my hat into this ring and agree that MikeBoyScout is largely correct in his analysis.
Violet
@bobbo:
SERIOUSLY? Major Chuck geekiness alert! Maybe he’ll ask you to dogsit or pick up the mail when he’s gone. You know, just being a good neighbor and all.
QuaintIrene
Hmmm. So how does that go?
Some basic pre-natal care to cut down the infant mortality rate in this country.
Free public schools and public libraries, so every kid has access to basic education.
Trying to bring some level of basic health care for all Americans.
Keeping Social Security and Medicare running, despite Republican efforts to ‘privatize’ it.
Oh-my-God! It’s a dystopian wasteland!
Mike Kay (Team America)
@bobbo:
wake us up when Sarah Walker moves in.
MikeBoyScout
Let me add one other factor.
5) In the midst of kill-the-Muslim hysteria that over took the nation and the common sense of too many Democrats post 9-11, Patty Murray not only voted against the Iraq Invasion Blank Check resolution in 2002, Murray gave an impassioned statement on the floor of the senate and voted against. This was a principled postion with political risks at the time. Anti-war Liberals in Washington have not and will not forget that. In the unlikely event she needs death march support, she’ll get it.
Roger Moore
@Tonal Crow:
What he obviously means is that Democrats want to protect people from birth to death. That’s a sharp contrast with Republicans, who want to protect people from pre-conception to birth, after which they’re on their own.
Mike Kay (Team America)
Clint Didier is a paronid former back-up tight end.
see steroids and dexedrine cause brain damage.
Geoduck
Yet another WA stater adding.. Rossi’s heart isn’t in this. The GOP sweet-talked him into taking on Murray, but what he really wants is to be governor and stay in the state, because he feels (incorrectly) he was cheated out of the office the first time around. Once again, Murray’s gonna win, easily.
The real danger for WA state leftists is that this clears the way for our odious Attorney General, Rob McKenna, to run for governor. Although he had been carefully cultivating a “moderate” image, he has recently torpedoed himself with a couple of bizarre high-profile decisions: joining the “kill Obamacare” lawsuit, without the agreement of any other high-level state official, and now getting into a constitutional-crisis-level pissing match with the Public Lands Commissioner by refusing to provide legal council with an appeal.
max hats
Wash state resident and voter here –
WA always looks like a swing state until election time. Always. At that point independents (democrats too pussy to call themselves that) will break for the democrat. Every time. Before 96 we were a genuine swing state as far as Senators and Governor, but ever since the national republican party went full retard and the Washington State Republican party, against all electoral common sense, went along for the ride, WA is and will remain safely blue for statewide national elections.
And yes, I do have a hat nearby ready to eat. Just in case.
rnoble
@Geoduck: I completely agree. That said, I’m not as worried about McKenna as some. While I don’t think the PDC conflict is ever going to get much traction, the healthcare stuff sure will. By the time 2012 rolls around, I think healthcare reform will have become pretty popular, especially in the I-5 corridor. Jay Inslee is going to make the guy cry.
bobbo
@Violet:
God I hope so. I would so totally pick up his mail and sit his dog. Do you think there is a chance we will become like total besties? I could totally tell from the 5 minutes I talked to him that we are practically non-gay soul-mates. Maybe if our dogs became friends first . . .