Will Press Challenge Gregoire's Claims?
Posted by: Angie Vogt | 09/26/2008 11:35 AM
Seattle Media Needs to Rise to the Challenge of a Free Press
The campaign for Governor between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire, is an exercise in frustration, due at least, in part, to the Seattle media's apparent inability or lack of will to challenge the Governor's intentional distortions and her willingness to deceive those whom she has been elected to serve.
The latest example of Governor Gregoire's lack of character came this past week when the state Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against Sam Reed regarding Rossi's use of the term "GOP" on the ballots, claiming the moniker is deceptive. Setting aside that Rossi used "GOP" in 2004, and in the recent August primary without a peep of rebuttal from the democrats, the real crime in this lawsuit is that if it is successful, thousands of deployed military citizens, some who have mailed in their ballots already, will be deemed invalid by the stroke of judicial ruling.
There is simply not time to reprint, mail and receive these ballots in time for the November 4th election. Governor Gregoire is the leader of the state party, but more importantly, she is Commander-in-Chief of our National Guard troops. To sit by idly while her own troops have their voting rights nullified is a dereliction of her duty as Commander-in-Chief at the very worst; self serving at best.
At first I assumed that local media preference for her was the reason her claims were not more forcefully challenged. Upon closer examination, I've come to believe that even local print and TV media have been dismayed in a "cat-got-your-tongue" reaction by the Governor's hubris. In either case, it seems they are not up to their solemn duty of providing the necessary correction to political power that is the duty of a free press.
The Governor, a seasoned lawyer and Olympic level bureaucrat, knows that she only has to win the moment by stating her claims forcefully, like a trial lawyer in closing arguments. By the time media pundits (the jury) convene to discuss her arguments and research the false claims, the audience has moved on as happy consumers of snake oil.
This week The Tacoma News Tribune ran a front page article scrutinizing Gregoire's claims and an Op-ed, "Advice to Governor: Drop the Stem Cell Spiel," acknowledging her ads as a ploy and an insult to voters, counting on their "short memory" from her 2004 campaign. In 2004, she promised to create an institute of stem cell research that would create 40,000-70,000 jobs. Only weeks after taking office in 2005, the project was dropped without a word. A Gregoire spokesman acknowledged that the campaign had polled on the issue and found that it played well among suburban women voters.
Gregoire is the worst kind of politician. All politicians use strategy to win elections. Hopefully, they use a strategy that highlights their strengths, while at the same time raising awareness of their opponent's weaknesses. Gregoire manipulates information to her advantage and shows contempt to the voters by intentionally deceiving them.
Her doublespeak on taxes and budget are the most glaring example where her claims are easily refuted, but where the comfortably liberal Seattle media are simply not up to the task of holding her feet to the fire.
Gregoire is on record as supporting a state income tax. The state democratic party has the goal of a state income tax on their platform. Yet, Gregoire has refused to be clear about her intentions regarding tax increases. She claims that she inherited a "Dino Rossi's budget deficit." The obvious response to this is "wasn't the budget in play when you took office more properly thought of as 'Gary Locke's budget?' "
The way that she comes to the "2 billion deficit" that she supposedly inherited is deceptive and complicated. I invite readers to go to dinorossi.com and read how Gregoire comes to these numbers in the article "Dino unveils plan to solve the deficit." Once again, these facts are a matter of public record and verifiable.
Free and fair elections depend on a free press that is committed to reporting the truth objectively, which requires a commitment to researching the claims of the candidates. I hope the Seattle media will rise to the challenge that Gregoire has posed to them.
The campaign for Governor between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire, is an exercise in frustration, due at least, in part, to the Seattle media's apparent inability or lack of will to challenge the Governor's intentional distortions and her willingness to deceive those whom she has been elected to serve.
The latest example of Governor Gregoire's lack of character came this past week when the state Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against Sam Reed regarding Rossi's use of the term "GOP" on the ballots, claiming the moniker is deceptive. Setting aside that Rossi used "GOP" in 2004, and in the recent August primary without a peep of rebuttal from the democrats, the real crime in this lawsuit is that if it is successful, thousands of deployed military citizens, some who have mailed in their ballots already, will be deemed invalid by the stroke of judicial ruling.
There is simply not time to reprint, mail and receive these ballots in time for the November 4th election. Governor Gregoire is the leader of the state party, but more importantly, she is Commander-in-Chief of our National Guard troops. To sit by idly while her own troops have their voting rights nullified is a dereliction of her duty as Commander-in-Chief at the very worst; self serving at best.
At first I assumed that local media preference for her was the reason her claims were not more forcefully challenged. Upon closer examination, I've come to believe that even local print and TV media have been dismayed in a "cat-got-your-tongue" reaction by the Governor's hubris. In either case, it seems they are not up to their solemn duty of providing the necessary correction to political power that is the duty of a free press.
The Governor, a seasoned lawyer and Olympic level bureaucrat, knows that she only has to win the moment by stating her claims forcefully, like a trial lawyer in closing arguments. By the time media pundits (the jury) convene to discuss her arguments and research the false claims, the audience has moved on as happy consumers of snake oil.
This week The Tacoma News Tribune ran a front page article scrutinizing Gregoire's claims and an Op-ed, "Advice to Governor: Drop the Stem Cell Spiel," acknowledging her ads as a ploy and an insult to voters, counting on their "short memory" from her 2004 campaign. In 2004, she promised to create an institute of stem cell research that would create 40,000-70,000 jobs. Only weeks after taking office in 2005, the project was dropped without a word. A Gregoire spokesman acknowledged that the campaign had polled on the issue and found that it played well among suburban women voters.
Gregoire is the worst kind of politician. All politicians use strategy to win elections. Hopefully, they use a strategy that highlights their strengths, while at the same time raising awareness of their opponent's weaknesses. Gregoire manipulates information to her advantage and shows contempt to the voters by intentionally deceiving them.
Her doublespeak on taxes and budget are the most glaring example where her claims are easily refuted, but where the comfortably liberal Seattle media are simply not up to the task of holding her feet to the fire.
Gregoire is on record as supporting a state income tax. The state democratic party has the goal of a state income tax on their platform. Yet, Gregoire has refused to be clear about her intentions regarding tax increases. She claims that she inherited a "Dino Rossi's budget deficit." The obvious response to this is "wasn't the budget in play when you took office more properly thought of as 'Gary Locke's budget?' "
The way that she comes to the "2 billion deficit" that she supposedly inherited is deceptive and complicated. I invite readers to go to dinorossi.com and read how Gregoire comes to these numbers in the article "Dino unveils plan to solve the deficit." Once again, these facts are a matter of public record and verifiable.
Free and fair elections depend on a free press that is committed to reporting the truth objectively, which requires a commitment to researching the claims of the candidates. I hope the Seattle media will rise to the challenge that Gregoire has posed to them.
It may be ill advised, but it is apparently not "fraudulent" and certainly not election fraud. Forbes has...
GOP - Grand Old Porkers
Rossi wouldn't know the truth if it bit him in bacon
Truth (in your own mind), it looks like you need a bit of a history lesson here.
In the 2004 election of Rossi v Gregoire, Gregoire eventually one after Rossi had one the original vote count and the automatic recount. It was not until the tribes paid for the 2nd recount that Greogoire prevailed (which she then renegotiated the gambling compact to remove profit sharing with the state costing the state aprox 1.4 million a year in revenue). Gregoire one by 129 votes; yet there were roughly 1600 ballots from the 81st BDE (WA State National Guard) that were not counted due to them not arriving in time (not to mention the hundreds of lost overseas ballots that King County never found though show that were delivered to them). The estimate of those 1600 ballots not counted were almost 80% for Rossi. The state legislature worked to move the primary up so that this would never happen again.
With that being said, Gregoire and the State Democratic Party realized that she would not have one her first election if the military ballots had been counted. That is why this looks like it was an attempt to disenfrachise the military oversead ballot once again.
I say this as Gregoire and the Democrats brought the issue of Rossi using GOP back in June but said they did not choose to file a suit back in June prior to the ballots being printed and mailed (and soem ballots have already been receied by the SoS office already).
The timing of this lawsuit coupled with the events in 2004 are highly suspect and lead one to believe that this was an attempt to try to ensure the military vote (which is very Conservatve) did not count.
On another note, the claim that people would be confused by the GOP label is bogus. Rossi and Gregoire ran against eachother in 2004 in a highly contested and publicised election and election challenge court case. Since 2004 there has been numerous stories regarding the 2004 election. Plus there has been quite the advertising flurry for the past 6 months on behalf of both candidates. This election has been cited in numerous MSM stories as a rematch of the 2004 election. With all the publicity of this election in WA if a voter does not know who Rossi is and what party he belongs too they are probably not voting to begin with.