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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KLP who wrote (168778)	6/6/2006 3:56:40 PM
From: Andrew N. Cothran	Respond to of 793779

www0.gsb.columbia.edu

To: KLP who wrote (168778)	6/6/2006 3:59:53 PM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793779

Hi KLP: In reading this story, I'm happy to say that the democratic party is finally beginning to laying down some principles on which to run. By chance I was seated next to Dwight Pelz at a 50th wedding celebration in China town last summer. At that time he was running for a Seattle City Council seat. The breeze was definitely not fresh. It was all I could do to keep my food down. ;) M Democrats see turning point By Ralph Thomas Seattle Times Olympia bureau YAKIMA — Democratic Party leaders on Saturday lashed out at President Bush and the Republicans and vowed to seize on what they described as a "golden opportunity" to win back one or both houses of the Congress and expand Democratic dominance in Olympia. State Democratic Chairman Dwight Pelz told about 1,000 delegates gathered for the party's convention that there is a "fresh breeze blowing" in America. "History will record that America's flirtation with the Republican right-wing agenda ended in 2006," Pelz said. The most noticeable friction at the Democrats' pep rally came during an appearance by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who has been catching flak from party activists — and two Democratic challengers — for her past support of the Iraq war. As Cantwell took the podium, scores of delegates chanted "No more war." But their chants were eventually drowned out by hundreds of Cantwell supporters shouting "Six more years." Pelz, in his first year as party chairman, got things rolling with a scathing attack on Republicans. "George Bush and his corrupt Congress have attacked the basic foundations of our middle class — our employer-based health-care system, our pension system, Social Security and Medicare," Pelz said. But the most boisterous cheers came when Pelz proclaimed that, if Democrats succeed in taking back the U.S. House or Senate, "We will have subpoena power and we will investigate ... Bush, Cheney, Donald [Rumsfeld] and [former House Majority Leader Tom] Delay and we will reveal to the American people what these people knew and when they knew it." Pelz also took shots at the state GOP, describing the party's new immigration plank as part of a "growing xenophobic movement" in the nation. During their convention the previous week, the Republicans added a provision to their platform opposing automatic citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizes citizenship for all persons born in the United States. The Democrats on Saturday took a far different tack on immigration. Their new platform says the party opposes building walls along U.S. borders and any policy that denies "civil and/or human rights or educational opportunities for immigrants and their children regardless of immigration status." Anti-war stand The state's Democrats also approved a pointed anti-war plank. It says there is "irrefutable evidence" that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was unjustified and "based on false and misleading statements and faulty thinking." The Democrats also call for "an orderly, complete and rapid exit strategy" and combating global terrorism by "working on the root causes of conflict" such as poverty and political disenfranchisement. Some anti-war Democrats are unhappy with Cantwell for not supporting a tight timeline for troop withdrawal and for not expressing regret for voting to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Pelz and other Democratic leaders rallied around Cantwell and tried to deflect attention from the Iraq-war controversy. "This is not our war," Pelz said in his speech. "This is a Republican war." Before Cantwell's appearance, the delegates were shown a videotaped message from former President Bill Clinton, who urged them to work hard to help Cantwell defeat Republican challenger Mike McGavick. Clinton didn't mention the war. Neither did one of the nation's most outspoken war critics, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, who introduced Cantwell to the crowd. Instead, McDermott praised Cantwell for standing up to what he called a Bush-led "oil junta" and opposing a powerful Republican senator's attempts to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil developers. Cantwell used most of her speech to decry oil-industry profits and Bush administration policies on matters such as prescription drugs and funding for agricultural research. She made only a vague reference to the war, saying, "2006 needs to be the year of transition, when the Iraqi people stand on their own and our troops come home." "She glossed over the Iraq issue," said Todd Boyle of Kirkland, one of several dozen delegates who held up "No War" signs throughout Cantwell's speech. "She gave it less than 30 seconds." Boyle, who supports immediate troop withdrawal, said if Cantwell doesn't take a stronger stand on ending the war, he will not support her. The most pointed shots at Cantwell came from her two Democratic opponents, Mark Wilson and Hong Tran. During brief floor speeches, both painted Cantwell as a privileged millionaire and assailed her reputation as an environmental leader. "You can't be a true environmentalist when you support the pillage and plunder of war or neo-con fast-tracking, free-trading policies," Wilson said. Cantwell said she wasn't bothered by the reaction from the anti-war delegates. "Listen, the Democratic Party has lots of different views, and we knew that coming in," she said. "This is a time to get people excited from around the state ... and that's what we were here to do." Seattle Times reporter David Postman contributed to this report. Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com seattletimes.nwsource.com