GOP's Dino Rossi bitter, scornful, and out of touch with reality in revealing interview
A few days ago, a right wing website published a very interesting interview with Dino Rossi, the unsuccessful 2004 GOP gubernatorial candidate who has repeatedly said he won't make public a decision about running again until later this year.
It's already been partly deconstructed by Carl at EFFin' Unsound and Darryl at HorsesAss, but I'm going to add or emphasize a few things.
First, for someone who admirers describe as charismatic, and who ran a campaign based around a "Forward Washington" theme, Rossi sounds incredibly bitter and stuck in the past. Remember earlier in the decade when Republicans were all saying it was time to move on in the aftermath of the disputed 2000 presidential election? It seems they can't take their own advice.
Rossi also came off as scornfully partisan, criticizing the the Governor and the Democratic majorities in the Legislature with hollow attacks - at one point, sneering, "they [the Democrats] control everything, and they can't even agree with themselves! It looks like they can't even organize a beer bash in a brewery." (Hm, apparently Dino has never heard of Drinking Liberally).
Instead of using the interview as an opportunity to talk about his own vision for Washington, Rossi tried to toss rhetorical bombs at elected Democrats.
Evidently Dino has spent a lot of time sulking and not paying attention to current events, because he made numerous factual errors in the interview. The following are only a few selected examples of mistakes, with corrections.
What Rossi Said: "...We ran eight points ahead of the President, ten points ahead of Nethercutt. We won 34 out of 39 counties, all the non-Seattle, King County ones, Snohomish County..."
The Facts: While the counties statistic is officially meaningless, let's note that Rossi actually only won 31 out of 39 counties. Even if he had won 34, that would still have left four counties out of five which are not named "King" and do not include the City of Seattle. Christine Gregoire won Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific, San Juan, Thurston, and Whatcom counties in addition to King.
What Rossi Said: "...we were certified the governor-elect--first Republican governor-elect in 24 years, twice, actually...[laughs] Apparently, as a Republican, you have to win three times."
The Facts: Rossi never "won" the gubernatorial race. He was ahead after the first two counts, including a machine recount; Christine Gregoire was ahead after the third and final count - a hand recount. In the end, Gregoire had more votes than Rossi, so she was declared the winner and sworn in as Governor. For an ex-legislator, Dino Rossi doesn't seem to understand how state law or our elections process works. He ought to brush up on his RCW and WAC.
What Rossi Said: "...I mean, for instance, one person who was elected to the State Senate, Erick [sic] Oemig, out in the 45th district, which is a Republican district and he's a Democrat, first thing he did was go down to Olympia, Washington, the state's capital, and try to impeach George Bush with legislation and rallies and all sorts of things. I don't think the people of the 45th district actually sent him down there to do that."
The Facts: First, Senator Eric Oemig does not end his first name with a "k", though that error could have been the fault of the interviewer (Liz Mair). Second, the 45th is not a Republican district - and I personally ought to know, because I happen to live in it. A district is no longer Republican when it votes mostly for Democrats, as its residents inarguably did in the last election.
The 45th is now represented exclusively by Democrats in the state Legislature (Representatives Roger Goodman and Larry Springer, Senator Oemig) and in 2006 it also helped reelect Maria Cantwell and defeat two significant right wing initiatives. It is a Democratic district (sorry, Dino).
Third, the resolution introduced by Senator Oemig did not explicitly call for the impeachment of George W. Bush. Finally, as Carl pointed out at EFFin Unsound, the resolution wasn't the first bill introduced by Senator Oemig. It is dishonest to argue that removing George W. Bush is all Senator Oemig cares about. His priorities are our priorities - starting with education, transportation, and healthcare.
What Rossi Said: "...and basically, the matchup was, and the newspapers kind of acknowledged this during the campaign, that you had either center-right or center-left. And unfortunately, she [Gregoire] forgot the center part."
The Facts: There are different understandings for what the word "center" means when used in a political context. To NPI, the "center" simply means a large group of voters who are biconceptuals - people open to progressive and conservative worldviews. There is no real "center" of public opinion and there is also no such thing as a political moderate. They're myths. There is no ideology connecting the different issue positions from polls - products of number crunching. It's like trying to find an "average family" with 2.3 kids.
That aside, Governor Gregoire's agenda clearly is supported by most Washingtonians. For example, she ensured the passage of the 2005 Transportation package, which voters sanctioned at the polls by rejecting I-912.
She revived the state estate tax, which voters also sanctioned at the polls by rejecting I-920. And she has brokered a number of difficult compromises between sparring political factions. Voters also sent her expanded Democratic legislative majorities in the 2006 midterms in addition to repudiating the right wing agenda.
Even conservative newspaper editorial boards have praised her. The Columbian last year opined that "the ongoing parade of bill-signing ceremonies by Gov. Chris Gregoire is largely a tribute to bipartisan, responsible lawmaking" ("In Our View: The Good, the Ugly", March 22nd, 2006).
Rossi's pitiful attacks on Governor Gregoire were mostly concerned with her fiscal record, with Rossi and his interviewer pulling out the dishonest "tax and spend liberal" mantra. Rossi's remarks could also be construed as hypocrisy - as the Washington State Democrats have noted:
She's a genuine, caring, courageous progressive. Rossi's claim that it would "not be a long shot to beat her" is ludicrous. Washington is a Democratic state and Patty Murray is one of its most beloved Democrats.
Republicans insisted months before the 2006 midterms that Cantwell was vulnerable; she trounced McGavick in a landslide.
Likewise, Murray had no problem beating George Nethercutt in 2004, the same year Rossi unsuccessfully ran for Governor.
Rossi has kept a fairly low profile since his lawsuit to overturn the gubernatorial election failed, so his willingness to grant "GOPProgress" an interview is somewhat puzzling. His mind seems to be elsewhere - like focused on baseball. (A couple days after this interview was published, Rossi announced he was buying a percentage of the Seattle Mariners Single A affiliate Everett AquaSox. )
Associated Press reporter David Ammons wrote about Rossi this weekend, and quoted WSU political scientist Lance LeLoup, who offered some cogent analysis:
And he would have a very difficult time concealing his right wing ideology and agenda in a rematch with Christine Gregoire.
If this interview is what we can expect to hear in a 2008 campaign, Rossi ought to spare himself and his party the embarrassment and decide against running.
It's already been partly deconstructed by Carl at EFFin' Unsound and Darryl at HorsesAss, but I'm going to add or emphasize a few things.
First, for someone who admirers describe as charismatic, and who ran a campaign based around a "Forward Washington" theme, Rossi sounds incredibly bitter and stuck in the past. Remember earlier in the decade when Republicans were all saying it was time to move on in the aftermath of the disputed 2000 presidential election? It seems they can't take their own advice.
Rossi also came off as scornfully partisan, criticizing the the Governor and the Democratic majorities in the Legislature with hollow attacks - at one point, sneering, "they [the Democrats] control everything, and they can't even agree with themselves! It looks like they can't even organize a beer bash in a brewery." (Hm, apparently Dino has never heard of Drinking Liberally).
Instead of using the interview as an opportunity to talk about his own vision for Washington, Rossi tried to toss rhetorical bombs at elected Democrats.
Evidently Dino has spent a lot of time sulking and not paying attention to current events, because he made numerous factual errors in the interview. The following are only a few selected examples of mistakes, with corrections.
What Rossi Said: "...We ran eight points ahead of the President, ten points ahead of Nethercutt. We won 34 out of 39 counties, all the non-Seattle, King County ones, Snohomish County..."
The Facts: While the counties statistic is officially meaningless, let's note that Rossi actually only won 31 out of 39 counties. Even if he had won 34, that would still have left four counties out of five which are not named "King" and do not include the City of Seattle. Christine Gregoire won Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific, San Juan, Thurston, and Whatcom counties in addition to King.
What Rossi Said: "...we were certified the governor-elect--first Republican governor-elect in 24 years, twice, actually...[laughs] Apparently, as a Republican, you have to win three times."
The Facts: Rossi never "won" the gubernatorial race. He was ahead after the first two counts, including a machine recount; Christine Gregoire was ahead after the third and final count - a hand recount. In the end, Gregoire had more votes than Rossi, so she was declared the winner and sworn in as Governor. For an ex-legislator, Dino Rossi doesn't seem to understand how state law or our elections process works. He ought to brush up on his RCW and WAC.
What Rossi Said: "...I mean, for instance, one person who was elected to the State Senate, Erick [sic] Oemig, out in the 45th district, which is a Republican district and he's a Democrat, first thing he did was go down to Olympia, Washington, the state's capital, and try to impeach George Bush with legislation and rallies and all sorts of things. I don't think the people of the 45th district actually sent him down there to do that."
The Facts: First, Senator Eric Oemig does not end his first name with a "k", though that error could have been the fault of the interviewer (Liz Mair). Second, the 45th is not a Republican district - and I personally ought to know, because I happen to live in it. A district is no longer Republican when it votes mostly for Democrats, as its residents inarguably did in the last election.
The 45th is now represented exclusively by Democrats in the state Legislature (Representatives Roger Goodman and Larry Springer, Senator Oemig) and in 2006 it also helped reelect Maria Cantwell and defeat two significant right wing initiatives. It is a Democratic district (sorry, Dino).
Third, the resolution introduced by Senator Oemig did not explicitly call for the impeachment of George W. Bush. Finally, as Carl pointed out at EFFin Unsound, the resolution wasn't the first bill introduced by Senator Oemig. It is dishonest to argue that removing George W. Bush is all Senator Oemig cares about. His priorities are our priorities - starting with education, transportation, and healthcare.
What Rossi Said: "...and basically, the matchup was, and the newspapers kind of acknowledged this during the campaign, that you had either center-right or center-left. And unfortunately, she [Gregoire] forgot the center part."
The Facts: There are different understandings for what the word "center" means when used in a political context. To NPI, the "center" simply means a large group of voters who are biconceptuals - people open to progressive and conservative worldviews. There is no real "center" of public opinion and there is also no such thing as a political moderate. They're myths. There is no ideology connecting the different issue positions from polls - products of number crunching. It's like trying to find an "average family" with 2.3 kids.
That aside, Governor Gregoire's agenda clearly is supported by most Washingtonians. For example, she ensured the passage of the 2005 Transportation package, which voters sanctioned at the polls by rejecting I-912.
She revived the state estate tax, which voters also sanctioned at the polls by rejecting I-920. And she has brokered a number of difficult compromises between sparring political factions. Voters also sent her expanded Democratic legislative majorities in the 2006 midterms in addition to repudiating the right wing agenda.
Even conservative newspaper editorial boards have praised her. The Columbian last year opined that "the ongoing parade of bill-signing ceremonies by Gov. Chris Gregoire is largely a tribute to bipartisan, responsible lawmaking" ("In Our View: The Good, the Ugly", March 22nd, 2006).
Rossi's pitiful attacks on Governor Gregoire were mostly concerned with her fiscal record, with Rossi and his interviewer pulling out the dishonest "tax and spend liberal" mantra. Rossi's remarks could also be construed as hypocrisy - as the Washington State Democrats have noted:
In 2003 alone he voted for bills that raised sales tax on vehicles, created a $200 per-month bed tax on state nursing homes, raised tuition across the state and increased trucking and commercial fees.One last bit from Rossi:
Liz Mair: OK, final question. How do you rate our chances of getting rid of Patty Murray in 2010?This nonsense just reinforces how out of touch with reality Dino Rossi is. Patty Murray is one of the most popular elected officials in the Evergreen State. She works hard on behalf of her constituents.
Dino Rossi: You know, it would be such a long shot--a long shot to pick, not a long shot to beat her. It could be an '06, but negative for the Democrats, and if that were the case...It depends on the quality of the candidate, it depends on the climate. I think if a Democrat were elected President in '08, I think she could be in trouble.
She's a genuine, caring, courageous progressive. Rossi's claim that it would "not be a long shot to beat her" is ludicrous. Washington is a Democratic state and Patty Murray is one of its most beloved Democrats.
Republicans insisted months before the 2006 midterms that Cantwell was vulnerable; she trounced McGavick in a landslide.
Likewise, Murray had no problem beating George Nethercutt in 2004, the same year Rossi unsuccessfully ran for Governor.
Rossi has kept a fairly low profile since his lawsuit to overturn the gubernatorial election failed, so his willingness to grant "GOPProgress" an interview is somewhat puzzling. His mind seems to be elsewhere - like focused on baseball. (A couple days after this interview was published, Rossi announced he was buying a percentage of the Seattle Mariners Single A affiliate Everett AquaSox. )
Associated Press reporter David Ammons wrote about Rossi this weekend, and quoted WSU political scientist Lance LeLoup, who offered some cogent analysis:
"I think the good feeling of '04 has a half-life and that every year that goes by, he loses another half. He will have to start from scratch practically if he runs again, except for his most staunch Republican folks. Four years is an eternity in politics."Rossi can be assured of having the Republican nomination, but he would have to campaign against a strong Democratic Governor with a solid record.
And he would have a very difficult time concealing his right wing ideology and agenda in a rematch with Christine Gregoire.
If this interview is what we can expect to hear in a 2008 campaign, Rossi ought to spare himself and his party the embarrassment and decide against running.
