This Washington
With Eye on 2010 Election, Fuse Hypes and Heckles Candidates
Local progressive activist group Fuse released its Sizzle and Fizzle awards today.
On the sizzle list: Democratic state House Reps. Hans Dunshee, Tami Green, and Ross Hunter; state Sen. Randy Gordon, and low-income advocate Nick Federici.
Green is a labor Democrat from Tacoma who fought to preserve state employee health care in this year's budget cutting frenzy. Snohomish Democrat Dunshee is a hardcore environmentalist, who—dialing in the Paul Krugman approach to jump starting recession economies—passed a jobs bond measure to fund environmental retrofits for schools. (The "Hans Bond" is going before voters this November.) Hunter, the House finance chair, oversaw the tough budget negotiations, with a focus on closing some corporate loopholes. (Although, not that pesky Microsoft dodge .) Fuse likes that Hunter took a "balanced approach" to staunching the budget hole—although, truth be told, new revenue—higher B&O taxes, for example—made up less than 10 percent of the budget solution which included $4 billion in cuts.
Sen. Gordon, a freshman from Mercer Island who was appointed to replace former moderate Democratic state Sen. Fred Jarrett, came on strong as a liberal in his first year, fighting off a reactionary proposal in response to the Lakewood shootings to outright deny bail, which Gordon said would have created an “American gulag”; passing a bill that makes insurance companies—who lose appeals on claims—pay out a higher rate; and sponsoring a bill supporting infant and toddler early intervention.
He also tried to pass a bill to penalize banks who charge excessive ATM fees.
Federici represents low income interests in Olympia, and fought for stricter regulations on bank foreclosures, health care assistance for the poorest of the poor, and identified billions in corporate tax loopholes that Hunter, well, should have considered.
The Fizzles? First, two obvious ones from the liberals at Fuse: AG Rob McKenna for challenging the federal health care reform bill and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA, 8 ) for his 'Nay' votes on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and financial reform. (They also criticized him for his two-faced votes on environmental issues.)
Fuse also handed out two more nuanced hits: They pillory state Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson, who was elected in 2004, largely with Building Industry of Washington money, for—Tah Dah—voting with the BIAW 16 out of the 17 times that the conservative builidng lobby group filed a brief with the court.
The other Fizzle—Democratic state Sen. Jean Berkey (D-38, Everett, Marysville, Tulalip). Fuse? Coming out against a Democrat? Yep. They call her "Big Business Berkey."
Fuse writes:
The anti-Berkey harangue isn't actually too surprising. As we've reported, Berkey—a conservative on fiscal issues—is facing an intramural challenge from progressive challenger Nick Harper, who's gotten the nod from the Washington State Labor Council.
Indeed, most of these awards (dubious awards in the Fizzle instance) seemed geared toward election season. Tami Green is facing a tough GOP challenge from Brian Wurts in her Tacoma-area distrcit; Hunter is facing a tough challenge from former state GOP chaire Diane Tebelius in the swing district Eastside Seattle suburbs; and Gordon is facing perhaps the toughest challenge of all, from moderate Republican Steven Litzow , also in Seattle's Eastside suburban turf.
Republican Reichert, of course, is up for reelection as well, against Democrat Suzan DelBene who is trying to get traction against the popular incumbent.
On the sizzle list: Democratic state House Reps. Hans Dunshee, Tami Green, and Ross Hunter; state Sen. Randy Gordon, and low-income advocate Nick Federici.
Green is a labor Democrat from Tacoma who fought to preserve state employee health care in this year's budget cutting frenzy. Snohomish Democrat Dunshee is a hardcore environmentalist, who—dialing in the Paul Krugman approach to jump starting recession economies—passed a jobs bond measure to fund environmental retrofits for schools. (The "Hans Bond" is going before voters this November.) Hunter, the House finance chair, oversaw the tough budget negotiations, with a focus on closing some corporate loopholes. (Although, not that pesky Microsoft dodge .) Fuse likes that Hunter took a "balanced approach" to staunching the budget hole—although, truth be told, new revenue—higher B&O taxes, for example—made up less than 10 percent of the budget solution which included $4 billion in cuts.
Sen. Gordon, a freshman from Mercer Island who was appointed to replace former moderate Democratic state Sen. Fred Jarrett, came on strong as a liberal in his first year, fighting off a reactionary proposal in response to the Lakewood shootings to outright deny bail, which Gordon said would have created an “American gulag”; passing a bill that makes insurance companies—who lose appeals on claims—pay out a higher rate; and sponsoring a bill supporting infant and toddler early intervention.
He also tried to pass a bill to penalize banks who charge excessive ATM fees.
Federici represents low income interests in Olympia, and fought for stricter regulations on bank foreclosures, health care assistance for the poorest of the poor, and identified billions in corporate tax loopholes that Hunter, well, should have considered.
The Fizzles? First, two obvious ones from the liberals at Fuse: AG Rob McKenna for challenging the federal health care reform bill and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA, 8 ) for his 'Nay' votes on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and financial reform. (They also criticized him for his two-faced votes on environmental issues.)
Fuse also handed out two more nuanced hits: They pillory state Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson, who was elected in 2004, largely with Building Industry of Washington money, for—Tah Dah—voting with the BIAW 16 out of the 17 times that the conservative builidng lobby group filed a brief with the court.
The other Fizzle—Democratic state Sen. Jean Berkey (D-38, Everett, Marysville, Tulalip). Fuse? Coming out against a Democrat? Yep. They call her "Big Business Berkey."
Fuse writes:
Ninety percent of her campaign contributions have come from corporate special interests. She took tens of thousands of dollars from BP and big polluters, Wall Street banks, and insurance companies – while working to block predatory lending reforms and protect tax breaks for big, out-of-state corporations. At the same time she voted to end unemployment benefits for struggling families and cut funding for public education and health care.
The anti-Berkey harangue isn't actually too surprising. As we've reported, Berkey—a conservative on fiscal issues—is facing an intramural challenge from progressive challenger Nick Harper, who's gotten the nod from the Washington State Labor Council.
Indeed, most of these awards (dubious awards in the Fizzle instance) seemed geared toward election season. Tami Green is facing a tough GOP challenge from Brian Wurts in her Tacoma-area distrcit; Hunter is facing a tough challenge from former state GOP chaire Diane Tebelius in the swing district Eastside Seattle suburbs; and Gordon is facing perhaps the toughest challenge of all, from moderate Republican Steven Litzow , also in Seattle's Eastside suburban turf.
Republican Reichert, of course, is up for reelection as well, against Democrat Suzan DelBene who is trying to get traction against the popular incumbent.
