In Brief - October 2nd, 2007

Here is today's quick news digest:

• Tomorrow's P-I has two good articles worth reading: Correspondent Chris McGann files a nice story about Peter Goldmark's 2008 campaign for lands commissioner, while columnist Joel Connelly writes about the end of an illegal "free parking" perk for Port employees. It's nice to see that new CEO Tay Yoshitani is going to insist on running a responsible port that serves our region rather than taking simply taking advantage of taxpayer money.
• State Treasurer Michael Murphy today followed Governor Christine Gregoire in endorsing the Roads & Transit ballot measure (Proposition 1) declaring the package's financing to be sound.
• King County District Court judge pro tem Richard Llewelyn Jones, who presided over a pretrial motion in Jane Hague's DUI case yesterday, has been suspended from the bench following the submission of a complaint by Hague's opponent, Richard Pope, the Democratic nominee for County Council (District 6). Pope saw Jones' name in the newspaper and recalled his history of criminal convictions, prompting him to voice his concerns. King County District Court chief presiding judge Barbara Linde acknowledged receipt of Pope's message today and put the matter in the hands of the court's personnel committee. Until an investigation has been completed, Jones will not hear cases, Linde confirmed.
• 28 states, including Washington and New York, are suing the Bush administration for blocking expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). Governor Christine Gregoire provided details of the legal action in a news release yesterday, and today, Governor Eliot Spitzer explained the reasons for the suit in a diary on Daily Kos today.
• VoteVets has just launched a hard-hitting ad that directly takes on Rush Limbaugh for his contention that those who served in Iraq (but oppose the Bush administration's failed policies) are "phony soldiers." Featured is Brian McGough, who was wounded in action when he took shrapnel to his head as a result of an enemy explosive. The ad can be viewed at YouTube.

Finally, a reminder of why Drinking Liberally is a can't miss social event: Those who were lucky to be at the Seattle chapter's weekly gathering at the Montlake Ale House tonight were treated to an unscheduled appearance by former presidential candidate General Wesley Clark, thanks to NPI's events coordinator, who attended a Clark book signing in Lake Forest Park and convinced the General to stop by for a quick chat with the local netroots.

Clark spoke passionately and forcefully about D.C. Democrats' inability to stand up to the right wing on national security issues, predicting Congress would not interfere to prevent the Bush administration from beginning a conflict in Iran.

And he has a point: way too many Democrats rolled over and voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq several years ago.

The Democratic Congress has made real strides in several areas, but it has not shown the resolve the American people expected when they empowered the party in last year's elections. Part of the problem is the narrow majority Democrats hold in the Senate, and another part of the problem is the group of Democrats in the House (the Bush Dogs, as Matt Stoller and others have described them) who are sadly unwilling to challenge the administration and its loyal Republican allies.

Democrats who roll over need to be held accountable, and Democrats who make it clear they won't roll over - like Darcy Burner - need to be sent to our nation's capitol next year. The more Republicans we replace, the more we will have a Congress that is responsive to our nation's needs and to the American people.

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