If last Tuesday’s election was a key moment in American history, a surge of political evolution, Washington State – frequently credited as a citadel of innovation – now has the distinction of being a throwback. Of the groups responsible for empowering Washington voters to continue clinging to their buggy whips, the Washington State Republican Party and chairman Luke Esser must accept a large share of the blame for missing a 100-year opportunity.
On the federal level, with only a handful of races yet to be called, Republican gains stand at six seats in the Senate and 60 in the House, with an additional three races leaning red. In contrast, Washington’s congressional delegation of 11 (two senators and nine representatives) is now poised to grow by… one.
The GOP’s weak performance in Washington looks even less impressive when the results of state legislative races are considered. Although voters across the state enthusiastically rejected a state income tax, and reinstated the two-thirds majority requirement for tax increases (a voter-approved condition that was pushed aside by Democrats in Olympia), Republicans could only achieve small gains in either legislative body. Although ballots are still being counted, the Democrats will likely continue to have an advantage of three seats in the State Senate and a 16 seats in the House.
It is no surprise that since the ballot counting began to reveal disappointing results as early as the day after election night, damage control seems to have been the order of the day for Washington’s Republican establishment. Although polling before the election clearly predicted close finishes in key races – Dino Rossi’s campaign to remove Sen. Patty Murray and John Koster’s campaign to unseat Rep. Rick Larsen in the Second Congressional District – the call to GOP volunteers to help with ballot rehabilitation was laced with desperation, causing some to wonder if the urgency stemmed from a failure to have the rehab effort operating from sunrise on November 3rd.
Exacerbating the reality that dreams of a Red Washington were of the pie-in-the-sky variety, with Democratic margins in all contested races continuing to widen through Friday, the response from the Republican leadership was… silence.
On Friday morning, Esser broke the calm and spoke with radio talk show host Bryan Suits on KVI 570 AM. His explanation to Suits for why Washington had not followed the national trends for Republican gains: Washington State’s economy was just not quite as bad as the rest of the country. According to Esser, a serious but comparatively mild recession in the Northwest was to blame for dashed Republican hopes. Esser’s rationalization was as hopeless, demoralizing and misplaced as if Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had blamed the team’s monumental loss this past Sunday on better-than-average weather.
The same day, Esser repeated the analysis to David Boze on KTTH 770 AM, confirming amazingly low expectations for the Republican message and implying that GOP wins in Washington can only come against Democrats who have been handicapped by desperately poor economic conditions.
In Washington, for a variety of reasons, the Republican Party seems to have abandoned its role in this regard to friendly media in the form of talk radio and right-wing blogs, but it must make greater efforts to reach out to the public through these channels.
Despite Esser’s belief in the values of the free market, individualism, and smaller government, a malaise of sorts has persisted within the party during his tenure, one that lives by a self-sustaining doctrine of non-confrontation. Having predicted failure – as Esser implies by defining such narrow conditions for GOP victories – it is not only permissible but rational to avoid risks, play defense, and celebrate holding ground as if one were gaining it.
The new message of weakness brought out by Esser in the wake of the election brings into clearer perspective why the WSRP committed attention and resources to races that polling showed would probably not be nail biters – Rep. Dave Reichert’s Eight District re-election bid and Jaime Herrera’s run for Rep. Brian Baird’s vacated seat in the Third – while neglecting contest that needed TLC in the First, Second and Ninth.
Republican strategists had known since the August primary that John Koster was mounting a serious challenge to knock an incumbent Democrat off his perch. Instead, energy flowed into the efforts to protect Rep. Dave Reichert in the Eighth and boost Jaime Herrera in her Third District run, despite the polling in both races that showed the Republicans as likely first-place finishers. In the First District challenge to überliberal Rep. Jay Inslee, James Watkins worked hard to overcome a virtual media blackout and starvation for resources and won more of the vote than Larry Ishmael did in the previous two elections.
This should not be read as a snub of Reichert or Herrera. As Washington’s second congresswoman (both female House representatives are Republicans), Herrera will make a stellar addition to the state delegation, and Reichert’s return to Congress cements a foothold for Republicans in the heart of blue territory. Nevertheless, losing races in which more should have been done is a difficult pill to swallow.
Even more important in elections than dollars and communications support, however, is the ability of the political parties to inspire and motivate its base and persuade converters into the fold. The process of persuasion transcends pragmatic decisions about candidate viability and media buys, it is the subtle conversation about ideology. It leverages intersections of events and political philosophy to describe the advantage of a particular point of view, and it has the power to change minds.
Esser is an admirable speaker who capably communicates Republican ideals, but what the lackluster results in this last election may force party insiders to admit is that he may lack the critical element for achieving substantial gains in 2012 and beyond. If Esser lacks the vision to conceive of Washington as a red state, that failure could affect more than the political fortunes of Republican office-seekers.
Washington cannot ignore the consequences of years of runaway spending. Furthermore, an increasingly business-averse economic and regulatory climate, creeping efforts to institute oppressive environmental policies, and an incestuous and costly relationship between public employee unions and their government paymasters are on-the-horizon issues that only Republicans can be expected to oppose. On these issues, there must be a leader to prime the conversation, and Washington is fortunate to have a deep bench of passionate and experienced political operatives who might be able to fill that role. Luke Esser should give serious consideration to stepping aside and making room for a fresh voice.
Comments
Long Overdue
A commentary that is long overdue in my book. There is no excuse for WA not benefiting from the clear anti-tax mood that Washington voters were in.
The WA state GOP has been doing things the same way for too long and waiting for a wave to come and rescue them. Well, the wave came and went and we are pretty much just sitting here in exactly the same situation while the rest of the country enjoys their new results. Mike Miller said, about living in California, " I feel like everybody else got a G.I. Joe for Christmas. I woke up, and they gave me a beige sweater with a chocolate brown dickey!"
We could say the same in WA state.
Esser is just a start
As an independent, from my perspective the GOP might try coming up with independent thought. Clinging to the national mantra works in places here where folks just pull R, those safe seats you know about, but to win you need to win. And retreaded candidates, mouthpieces for the national GOP messaging, will only get you your base. You'll note that your base isn't enough to win. Your base has a set of somewhat unpleasant characters....Jim West, Richard Curtis, Larry Craig...whose passion doesn't inspire confidence, and whose actions don't lend much support to reasoning to give you the ball.
Name calling and labeling are just distasteful for a statewide position of honor. Pick up your game, get someone who has appeal beyond the GOP insiders, and you just might win. Continue to nominate social conservatives and angry folks, (and continue the horribly negative messaging unfounded by either statistics or most people's experience), continue to run candidates on the federal payroll who run against it, and you'll continue to watch the state move away from you.
How about running for something?
We can win in Western Washington
I was on the front lines of this poor performance of the Washington Republican Party. Millions of dollars were spent on expensive ad buys and other exciting activities, yet not a dime was spent in growing the grass roots efforts.
We had many good candidates at all levels of state, county and city government, but our party was worthless in its support or organization. We should clean out every party leader here and start over with people who understand grass roots, not just meetings.
Republican Woes
This article has some validity to it, but the overwhelming sense I got in this article is that the writer wants to blame Esser for the parties own miscalculations. I believe the biggest fault was putting Rossi back in the seat to lose again and again. Seriously, is there only one person in the party with enough money to back themselves as a GOP nomination?
Rossi is the problem -- nothing more and nothing less. Now a three time loser, he will come up again for re-defeat against Gregoire again in the next election because the party can't seem to tell this guy that enough is enough. You need to attract people from outside the GOP norms and Rossi can't do it-- he just doesnt resonate with anyone. I am starting to think he is a Dem!
Ya Think!
Ya think Esser is non-confrontational? Welcome to Western Washington. Seattle, King County, and to a greater extent Western Washington is a women's region. Women here are the tigers and the men are, overall, complete wimps.
Change in leadership is needed
A lackluster WSRP Chair and a lazy Vice-Chair do not a good combination make when you're trying to turn western WA at least a little bit red! Their priorities were all out of order in this election, and their time and resources were poorly spent as a result. Esser and Miller both need to go. They really missed a golden opportunity and I am one active Republican who will not be motivated toward further activism if these two remain at the helm.
Rossi's successful bid to avoid political confrontation
From day 1 Rossi did everything possible to avoid political confrontation; he was remarkably successful.
However, Rossi's non-confrontational moderate campaign is a bi-product of the broader perpetual malaise that has infected the Washington State Republican Party for many year. When 4500+ tea party members rallied at the Capital Steps of Olympia last April, Rossi was nowhere to be seen. Rossi intentionally waited until the last possible minute to enter the race in late May 2010, when numerous other Republican Candidates had been campaigning for 18 months.
On numerous occasions Rossi publicly announced that he traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Mitch McConnell and other leaders and expressed skepticism about his candidacy due to uncertainly over whether Republican leaders were truly "serious" about implementing a conservative agenda. In my view, such statements were prima facie evidence of Rossi's arrogance, grandiosity and self-delusional thinking that doomed his campaign from the very beginning.
And then after he finally filed he did everything possible to keep a low profile, which he has successfully maintained to this very day!
Rossi successfully avoided attending a single republican primary debate, insisting on numerous occasions that he was strategically waiting to "debate" his true adversary, Patty Murray. However, in the end there never was any "debate" between Rossi and Murray, most likely because both candidates did not want to endure the unpleasantries associated with a public town-hall debate before a live audience that was not 100% controlled and scripted. Instead both candidates participated in two 100% scripted infomercials sponsored by TV stations with no public audience, which infomercials were falsely marketed to the public as "debates".
For two decades the Washington State GOP has (albeit begrudgingly) allowed democrats to pick the Republican Presidential nominee in the Presidential Primary, while Democrats have steadfastly refused to do the same.
As long as the WSRP continues their perpetual non-confrontational moderate strategy, they will continue to have the same results regardless of who they pick for chairman.
I just wanted to thank Angie
I just wanted to thank Angie Vogt for her delightful comment! I haven't laughed so hard in ages! This is not a dig from a Dem, just an appreciative reader! Thanks Angie for the post that expresses the frustration so many of us are feeling!
I just wanted to thank Angie
I just wanted to thank Angie Vogt for her delightful comment! I haven't laughed so hard in ages! This is not a dig from a Dem, just an appreciative reader! Thanks Angie for the post that expresses the frustration so many of us are feeling!
Same here in Oregon
At least you guys got one Federal-level gain! We got shut out in Oregon. We face similar problems, and require similar solutions down here. Collaboration would probably help both our causes.
Like others that have
Like others that have commented here, I too am not sure that Luke Esser or his predecessors are the problem (Chris Vance et al); but rather problem being the WA state "republican party" as a whole.
During this past senate race, I found it interesting to watch local TV network news programs broadcast issue stories, to then be followed by Murray political ads that mirror'd the news stories. Examples: Talking about Boeing and their government projects, break to commercial, and low and behold there you have Murray talking about the Boeing/Airbus USAF Tanker "problem"; or news program talks about veteran's health issues at Fort Lewis, break to commercial and there you Senator Murray talking about her fight for VA funding. Etc, etc etc. Well organized I must say.
We do not see anything similar from the WA Republican organization. It always seems as though the WA state political landscape is new terrain, and the GOP leadership is "surprised" by what comes around "the next bend in the trail" so to speak. Or as mentioned above, rationalizations that the conditions "just weren't right."
REALLY?
To be very blunt, my take on this: the WA GOP does not want to win with conservatives, or any philosophical stance that is too "American." Too many believe in the progressive way of thought. Too many of the GOP movers and shakers are in agreement with what goes on politically on the west side of the Cascades and between Centralia and Snohomish. Too many like the idea of light rail and less cars, and government programs for the unwashed. Too many are just Democrat "lite."
MacGavick was a perfect example, he spent more time trying to out "Maria Cantwell" Maria Cantwell, having "civility" as a way to win. You were left asking, why vote for the phony Democrat when you can have the real one? That answer was clear...
Linda Smith for Senate, remember how that campaign went invisible...?. Dino Rossi's campaign was just another example of bogus civility. Where were the follow on ads referring to Patty Murray being proud of voting for, and writing part of the Healthcare reform debacle? That should have been hit out of several parks, but no, we saw only one, or two, paltry ads making a passing reference to healthcare.
A couple more questions: 1) Why is Bellevue being preserved as the "last real" bastion of Republicanism on the west when I live in the 2nd District that is represented by Adam Smith? The 2nd district, per capita, is the most "red" district on the west side of the Cascades. We just booted Tom Campbell and replaced him with a real Republican (60 to 40 aprox) and prevented Marilyn Rasmussen from re-entering state politics as member of the assembly (by a similar 60 to 40 ratio). 2) Why is it there is a LARGE amount of money being thrown into the campaigns of Democrat candidates for county auditor; you know, the people who steward the local election process? When Pat McCarthy ran and now Julie Anderson, you couldn't swing a dead cat and not hit one of their campaign signs. Republican equivalents, not many of those were found.
Quite frankly the WSRP is not showing me or others anything.
Too many Democrats
I would simply like to point out that Republicans turned out in record numbers this year. There were counties in Eastern Washington that turned out upwards of 80%. There are a just A LOT OF DEMOCRATS in Washington.
LOTS Of DEMOCRATS
There are then a lot of Democrats that don't like the tax system in the WA, as initiatives to create further taxes go down in flames. And they go down BIG!!
Yet these same "Democrats" continue to elect Democrat candidates and a party that sponsors continued attempts at creating more taxes. I may lack a clear sense of nuance, but the results of this dichotomy is glaringly counterintuitive.
Republican failures
It may seem strange for a Dem to post on this blog but I think my experience during this last election season is telling.
After we mailed our ballots, we received nightly calls from the Rossi campaign and/or the state Republican Party. That we got called at all says something about the quality of the data used for the Republican GOTV effort. Since I've been a Democratic PC for 32 of the last 35 years my name should never appear on a Republican call list. My spouse is a former union official who has never voted for a Republican since he cast his first vote in 1967.
It is absolutely essential to be able to identify your supporters and then contact them. Washington Democrats do this effectively. Washington Republicans do not.
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