Apparently, my recent article on the malaise that strangles the local Dems was enough to raise the political dead.Local blogmeister, Sam Taylor chose to link to it, and that brought out the anonymosity of perennial partisans, and bellowing from the usual political hacks.
Noteworthy amongst the critics of my criticism were Dan McShane, and his sweet wife, who seems intent on forcing the poor man into political battle until all life is sucked from him for failure.
Lenny Bruce had it right. "Liberals can understand anyone, except someone who doesn't understand them."
Let's try and understand them.
Ever prudish, most were satisfied to merely express sanctimonious outrage at a satirical graphic portraying the county's two highest Democrats in a bed of money; confusing sex with cash. But hey, it worked. Never have so many looked at this site.
For his part, Dan (also fondly known as "Mr. Science") otherwise limited his complaining to what he characterized a vicious text, "filled with errors and innuendo as well as a nasty attack on the spouse of an elected official - an individual who has given a great deal of his time to the community."
Dan's sensitivity on the subject of spousal favor seeking is understandable. The second placing candidate in the '07 mayoral race, and runner up in the contest for county council last year, apparently still is waiting for the call from Olympia and his own appointment from the governor's office in return for Susie Q's campaign work for Gregoire.
Notwithstanding the lack of specificity regards actual errors, McShane (and other Democrat hangers on) contented themselves to lament an alleged attack on Linvilles's husband. The article criticized the representative for using her position for personal gain; not her spouse as McShane and others erroneously claimed.
The push back by local Dems, who felt obligated to kiss up to the chair of Ways and Means, really underscores the theme of that horrible article: Democrats at all levels are unable to be self critical, don't expect their elected fellows be democrats, and no matter how they betray the published agenda of the gang, must not be outed, and must be re-elected.
Democrats are satisfied to have the appearance of a program, which is maintained by having Democrats in office regardless how un-democratic their actual program.
Where to begin? Has Obama, the constitutional legal scholar, repealed the Bush policies on domestic surveillance? No. As a matter of fact, the Obama regime has gone one more and granted themselves even more egregious powers, including murdering US citizens fingered to die without due process or appeal. These are real "death panels." Where is the right wing outrage?
Had "W" created such a system the Democrats would rightly be on their chairs screaming. How much have we heard about it? Nada.
The ruling class uses Obama like a great Valium cloud to calm the opposition and steadily increase their control in the class war that is America.
Locally, ask yourself why, after almost three years, the City of Bellingham still can not stand up and do something to stop the degradation of Lake Whatcom. We've got a Democrat in Olympia, who's constituency all drink from the lake, serving as the powerful Ways and Means chair.
We've got some sort of Democrat as county executive. But with his pals on the right running a most undemocratic slate in last falls county elections, Pete Kremen (D?) wouldn't endorse any of his fellow party members. But did endorse the opponent of the only Dem with the guts to criticize him.
Did the Democrats say booo? Hell no.
It has been more than two years since Bellingham's mayor boldly told the executive and the Department of Ecology, Bellingham would formally demand DOE enforce the law, protect its water right, and close the Lake Whatcom watershed to further appropriation of water; thereby bringing a halt to the building and subdividing that is ruining the water supply. Why nothing?
The simple answer is Linville is more concerned about the interests of the Building Industry in the state, and Kremen's campaigns have been generously funded by local developers and advocates of growth at any cost to the taxpayers.
This leaves the mayor waiting for political permission while the Democrats wait to elect his replacement.
With DOE literally inviting someone, anyone, to petition or sue them for failing to follow the law, who is protecting the builders and developers and standing in the way?
Could it be the two most powerful Democrats in Whatcom county?
Why does Susie Q, who would have you believe she's the Joan de Arc of lake protection, spew bile and support expansion of the Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District?
Because without expansion of the water district there can not be more development in the watershed. If the basin were closed to new water withdrawals, the water district would have no water to provide to developers.
Why did the McShanes throw in with the developers years ago? Because that's where the money is in county politics, and that makes them the power brokers. Susie Q and Mr. Science had a plan for themselves, and they needed to tap into the same power that Kremen and Linville so wisely and artfully developed.
But something went terribly wrong on the way to the winner's circle. Some interloper, named Pike, appeared out of nowhere and stole the show. Even after all the "tri-angulation" with the BIAW, Bill Geyer and others, the Realtors, and most of the building industry, couldn't forget McShane's old rhetoric, even though Susie Q promised he had changed.
The Realtors put their money on Pike, who won by default.
Most of the local Dem clique were aghast. Almost immediately they started the search for their 2011 candidate. The best they could do was Barry Buchanan. Meanwhile the opposition watched.
What they saw was not what they wanted to see. The new mayor was an impediment to expansion of the land supply, UGAs. Then he attempted to thwart LWW&SD expanding water and sewer services to them and theirs on the north shore of Lake Whatcom.
The Realtors weren't getting their money's worth. While Buchanan quietly offers them his help, they seem to have another strategy: they're testing their own boy out in a race this fall, Tony Larson.
Should he make it, he'll be in position to move into the office on Lottie Street. Will Pete endorse the Realtor/BIAW boy's opponent this fall? Hell no! Will he endorse Pike's opponent? Hell yes! Kremen's already on board for Buchanan and Larson.
So where, you might ask, are the democrats amongst the Democrats? Depressed and disillusioned, they are at home trying to figure out what happened, what went wrong.
Unfortunately, as the two parties shrink from relevance, they retain undue influence because the independent, by definition, don't market candidates or have a machine like the Republicans and Democrats have built over the years.
Paradoxically, it's just that machine, and the compromising for control of it or favors from it, that makes the parties increasingly distrusted by voters. The Democrats react bitterly when it is suggested their electeds are excessively concerned with providing for themselves. The sting of the reproach is the truth of it.
Will things change? How will they change? When will they change? I don't know.
With unemployment growing, it seems curious that so many lusting after our best paid elected offices are un or under employed. I wonder when some Microsoft millionaire will decide to buy the mayor or executive spot. 2011 is gonna be one hell of an interesting political season.
In the meantime it's the political zombies, who can't be kept in their graves, standing between us and democracy in the republic, and here at home.
