Liberals hope Gregoire will repay support
[KLP Note: Note how far the progressive looney left is in King County....these foliks would have done well in the old USSR]
Sunday, January 02, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
seattletimes.nwsource.com
By David Postman
Seattle Times chief political reporter
Gregoire didn't have strong liberal backing.
OLYMPIA — If Christine Gregoire can hold off a potential Republican legal challenge and take her oath as governor Jan. 12, liberal Democrats will be awaiting her thanks and expecting even more.
The unprecedented statewide hand recount of the governor's race was paid for in part by donations from the left wing of the Democratic Party, attracted to Gregoire only in near-defeat. They saw her drawn-out struggle with Republican Dino Rossi as a surrogate for the battles they had hoped to wage on behalf of first Al Gore, then John Kerry, in their close races with George W. Bush.
Now the left is hoping Gregoire repays the favor by striking a more progressive tone. At the very least, they hope a Gregoire administration will be more open to supporting their issues than her campaign was.
"Gregoire should not expect a honeymoon. And if she's smart she'll be consulting with, not alienating, those who defended her right to be governor," said Bill Moyer, founder of the Backbone Campaign, a liberal group based here that has been pushing the state and national Democratic Party to the left.
Party officials acknowledge the debt.
"We couldn't have done it without liberals from throughout the country," said state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt.
Democrats raised $730,000 to pay as a deposit for the hand recount. Although the state will return that check because the recount showed Gregoire the winner, the count would not have taken place without the party's down payment.
Where things stand
Last week: Democrat Christine Gregoire was certified as governor-elect Thursday, one day after rejecting Republican Dino Rossi's plea to agree to a revote. A hand recount gave Gregoire a 129-vote margin over Rossi.
Jan. 12: Gregoire is scheduled to be sworn in.
Meanwhile: Rossi and the Republican Party say they are reviewing the recount, looking for irregularities, and might sue to have the results of the election set aside and a new election ordered.
The MoveOn Political Action Committee, connected to the liberal activist group MoveOn.org, donated $250,000. Liberal talk-radio host Ed Schultz asked his listeners to telephone the Democrats and donate, raising about $30,000.
The Democratic National Committee and Kerry each donated $250,000.
Former presidential candidate Howard Dean sent an e-mail asking his supporters to donate through the state party's Web site. At least $200,000 was raised, though party officials say they can't say how much of that was due to Dean's solicitation.
"She stood and fought, and has been rewarded by progressives who were willing to help raise money," said Ray Minchew, executive director of Democracy for Washington. The group is a local offshoot of Dean's Democracy for America.
Dean's group had given Gregoire $1,250 during the campaign.
Appealing to the middle
But there's little argument that many liberals in Washington state were lukewarm on Gregoire.
Minchew says the 500 write-in votes that King County Executive Ron Sims got in the general election were a sign of that discontent. He says liberal voters might have been able to give Gregoire a victory margin on Election Day if they had been more excited by her candidacy.
Sims ran against Gregoire in the Democratic primary. He came out in favor of an income tax and gay marriage. Former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge also ran to the left in the primary before dropping out for health reasons.
Minchew said Gregoire "ducked the questions" about tax reform and gay marriage; liberal voters weren't "inclined to reward someone who makes careful political calculations," he said.
Berendt said Gregoire was following the political strategy of her mentor, former Democratic Gov. Booth Gardner, "which was to run more to the middle from the beginning."
"In the short period of time between the September primary and the November election she was vigorously trying to nail down the votes in the center that were needed to take her over the top," Berendt said. "There was no time at that point to build stronger bridges with progressives throughout the state."
That came only on the brink of defeat.
Primed for a battle
Many Democrats were unhappy that Kerry conceded so quickly in his race against Bush. Many more were still smarting from Gore's concession four years ago.
Some argue that a candidate shouldn't concede until the voters are ready to call it quits.
"It's not Christine Gregoire's election or Dino Rossi's election or George Bush's election or John Kerry's election. It's our election," said Moyer.
"So when John Kerry concedes before we are confident that every vote is counted and the election has been carried out fairly, he's not recognizing that the election belongs to the citizens, not the candidates."
He said national Democratic leaders had "created a crisis of confidence" among the grass roots.
That's the environment Gregoire stepped into when she finished just 42 votes behind Rossi after an automatic machine recount. The margin was so small that a hand recount could be ordered — if Democrats could raise the money.
Gregoire helped solicit money on behalf of the party, but frequently said it was the party, and not her, that was raising the money and going to court to try to get counties to reconsider previously rejected ballots.
The three-term attorney general said she wasn't consulted about the litigation and her name did not appear as a plaintiff. She said she was only a "very interested third party." The fighting words came not from Gregoire, but from Berendt and his sharp-tongued spokeswoman, Kirstin Brost.
But it was Gregoire's name on the ballot, and as Berendt rallied the troops, liberals — still somewhat reluctantly — came to Gregoire's aid.
"Well it sure is refreshing at least to have a Democrat fight," said a comment posted by "SwimmertoFreedom04" on DailyKos, a widely read liberal Web log. "It is inspiring despite my misgivings about her. If she goes on to win, which is certainly looking better, I hope that the rest of the party takes note."
The decidedly liberal MoveOn PAC sent an urgent e-mail to its supporters 24 hours before Democrats faced a deadline to raise the recount money:
"The Republican spin machine is in high gear, trying to paint Gregoire as selfish or a sore loser for exercising her right to a recount. But until all the ballots have been fairly tallied, this election is not over, no matter how much the Republicans wish it were so. We simply must count every vote. And Christine Gregoire is determined to make sure that happens."
The group raised more than $400,000 in 24 hours with donations from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to Adam Ruben, field director for MoveOn PAC. He said after the $250,000 Washington Democrats got, the rest of the money went to support recount efforts in Ohio's presidential vote.
An unlikely icon
Today Gregoire's name is enshrined as that of the Great Vote Counter. By almost losing, after largely ignoring liberals, she has become a liberal's dream candidate.
One columnist even pitched her for president of the United States.
John Nichols, on the Web site of The Nation, the pre-eminent liberal magazine, wrote last week:
"She is hardly a perfect politician — like too many Democrats, she is more of a manager than a visionary; and she is as ideologically drab as Gore or Kerry. But Gregoire had one thing going for her, and that was her determination to win."
So what is to become of this late-blooming friendship between Gregoire and left-leaning Democrats?
In an interview, Gregoire acknowledged the important role liberals played in the recount and said, "I think they're more connected with me." There was no indication Gregoire or her policies would slide leftward in return.
But those who helped her are hoping for lasting returns.
"I think she needs to remember that progressives came through for her in her hour of need, and they will want to be acknowledged in her administration and policy guidance," Minchew said.
He said he's not a fan of politicians being beholden to a constituency because of money they raised. But, he said, "Undeniably, without progressive money, we would swear in Governor Rossi on Jan. 12."
Minchew doesn't think this means Gregoire will become a liberal lion. He recognizes that she has to balance a lot of issues and interest groups and represent the entire state.
Moyer said Gregoire should continue to talk about election reform. His group is promoting a Voters Bill of Rights it wants in the national Democratic Party Platform.
He'd like to see Gregoire back their calls for a verified paper trail of electronic votes, for making Election Day a national holiday and for instant run-off voting.
"If Washington state could lead in that regard that would be a wonderful way for Christine Gregoire to pay back a debt to the progressive movement," Moyer said.
David Postman: 360-943-9882 or dpostman@seattletimes.com
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