Susan Hutchison: Washington State's Sarah Palin

Last night, I caught the King County Executive debate on KOMO TV between candidates Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison. Prior to the debate, I was very opposed to Hutchison, and there was nothing that occurred during last night's debate that would change my mind.

Previously, I wrote a bit about some of my objections to Susan Hutchison, and things haven't gotten any better.

In spite of her claims to be non-partisan, Susan Hutchison is a staunch Republican:

• She not only donated to George W. Bush and Dino Rossi, she donated to ultra-right wing presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Last night, she tried brushing aside questions about her donation by claiming it was early in the campaign when "no one had really heard much about him." But her donation doesn't seem to be a spontaneous decision at the urging of a friend, as she claimed. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer linked to this video today showing her singing Huckabee's praises and talking about how insightful he was at the previous dinner:

• The campaign consultant firm she has hired bills itself as "the go–to political consulting firm for Republican candidates, ballot initiatives, and major trade organizations."
• She served on the board of the conservative anti-science Discovery Institute that advocates Intelligent Design being taught in schools.
• Since 2003, she has donated $13,525 to Republican causes. $0 to Democratic candidates.

Conveniently, Hutchison herself played a key role in passing Initiative 26, which made the office of the King County Executive a non-partisan office. By donating heavily to the Citizens for Accountable Elections in 2007 and being one of the most vocal proponents of the switch, she paved the way for hiding her Republican affiliation in a clearly Democratic county. She's capitalizing off the lack of a party label, as she herself proudly boasts that "Our polls showed that 10 percent of the people responding thought I was extremely liberal." If she wins the election, it's going to be because she's done an excellent job of keeping the public uninformed about her stances.

Even The Huffington Post has chimed in on the absurdity of Susan Hutchison calling herself a non-partisan, and dubs her "Washington State's Sarah Palin."

For those interested, last night's entire hour long debate can be viewed here:

Specter (D - PA)?

Great article over at WhoRunsGov.com today about Arlen Specter, the Employee Free Choice Act, and his chances at getting re-elected next year.

Back in 2004, Specter was barely able to hold onto the GOP nomination for the Senate seat he's held since 1981, even with the help of W., who was then still popular at least among Republicans.  With him being one of three Republicans to break the party line and vote for cloture for the stimulus bill, he hasn't won any additional supporters on that side of the aisle.  The same conservative opponent Specter was barely able to beat in the 2004 primary is challenging him once again in 2010.  Although Specter would be a strong favorite in the general election, surviving the Republican primary seems exceptionally unlikely.

But there may be hope for Senator Specter...According to Greg Sargent, both AFL-CIO and SEIU union leaders have strongly suggested that if Specter votes for the Employee Free Choice Act, he will receive their union's official endorsement.  EFCA makes it easier for employees to unionize and is vehemently opposed by the GOP, and any support Specter provides would certainly be the final nail in the coffin of his Republican career.  The possibility of support from labor in 2010 make re-election look likely, but not within the Republican Party.  Even less so as Michael Steele has been flipping back and forth as to whether or not the RNC will withhold financial support from him for his support of the stimulus package.

If Specter is hoping to stay in the Senate beyond next year, he had better decide quickly. If he decides to try to get the GOP nomination and fails, Pennsylvania law forbids him from running in the general election as an Independent or a Democrat.

While it seems exceptionally unlikely and he may simply retire, it seems his best option is to switch to the Democratic Party!  The Republican talking heads love to bash him now, but if he comes over to the Democratic side, perhaps they will fall in love with him just as they have with Lieberman.  

Well, It HAS Been Over a Week...

...since Michael Steele was finally able to (barely) win an election and bested a South Carolina segregationist to become the new chair of the RNC.  Took a bit longer than I expected for a scandal to break out:

Michael S. Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, arranged for his 2006 Senate campaign to pay a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed, his finance chairman from that campaign has told federal prosecutors...

Fabian's claims emerge as Steele begins his new role at the RNC, where he oversees the raising and spending of hundreds of millions of dollars in party money. The former Maryland lieutenant governor has faced questions about his handling of campaign money in prior elections and was twice fined for missing filing deadlines...

Norm Coleman cuts a new ad?!

Hoping that the campaign ads were over for a couple years? Well, not in Minnesota.  In spite of the fact that the election is over and no one will be able to cast any more votes, the Minnesota Republican Party has cut another anti-Franken ad.  Even more exciting is the fact that it attacks Franken's ethics, comparing his tax problems to several of Obama's cabinet nominations:

Why is that exciting?!  Perhaps the funniest reason is that if Coleman were to be declared the victor in this Senate race, he would certainly face a Senate Ethics investigation for not paying the utility bill of his apartment, for getting sweetheart rent deals, for not reporting $75,000 in gifts, and of course, the infamous suits:

Most importantly, Al Franken's tax problems have been remedied.  He's filed appropriately in the other states where he earned money, and because he originally only paid taxes in states that he resided in, he overpaid those two states significantly.  Odd that the GOP is attacking a mistake that has been remedied while their candidate refuses to even answer questions about his problems, let alone resolve them.