"Liberals Hope Gregoire will Repay Support" ( A Great Must Read!)

[KoKo]

(This is the most comprehensive article I've ever seen about what the Grassroots Liberal Wing of our Dem Party can do...and did in WA. An incredible, detailed "feel good" article that doesn't require registration!)


Liberals hope Gregoire will repay support

By David Postman
Seattle Times chief political reporter

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.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2002138165&zsection_id=2002111777&slug=gregoire02m&date=20050102

[GetTheRightVote]

1. I do not think they realize the power of Moveon, Dean & Schultz yet

but they will, one day soon they will.......

:kick:

[baby_bear]

2. Gregoire was my third choice

Damn it, both Sims and Talmadge were for a state income tax, but Gregoire insisted on taking up all the center lanes on the road so as to impress and insult no one at all.

I am one of those who came out to help her.

And this guy (the reporter) has it right: she knows who her base is now. We weren't for her, but we didn't desert her. Now she had better not forget about us, because we are the true core of the Democratic party in Washington State.

Assuming she truly will be our next governor, she is in a unique position, what with both legislative houses being controlled by the Dems, to eradicate the ridiculous and sorry regressive tax system in this state, and to institute a flat state income tax instead of our ridiculous sales and property taxes, and I'll even go so far as to say get rid of the business & occupation tax. I'll pay more, but that's fine. At least it would be fair.

I bet she won't though. She's like a true Democratic Leadership Council wish-wash, a la Lieberman and Bayh (and a bunch of others, sorry to say).

Better than Dino, though. He was prepared to effectively dismantle Ecology and WSHA. Good grief.

You listening, Christine? You're better than bad, but you don't have a mandate even from your own party. So pay attention to us!

b_b

[pa28]

3. Once Gregoire takes the oath of office . . .

the Republicans will no doubt issue the usual "warnings" and "demands" about having a seat at the table because the election happened to be close.

Trying to appease them won't help. No matter what she does the Republicans will try to sabotage her at every turn and will be gunning at that seat 110% in four years (if not a recall attempt sooner).

This is a blue state. As long as the blue people are happy she'll be fine.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. Blue State?

I would say barely blue. Look how close it was. I hope she steps up and does good.

[pa28]

5. Close?

Kerry won handily. Washington is about as blue as they come.

[murielm99]

6. If I didn't live in blue Illinois, I would choose Wa.

You guys are true-blue!

:thumbsup:

[placton]

7. Hey, Washingtonians:

would Gregoire have done better as a liberal than running as GOP-lite? Enquiring minds want to know - or at least hear your speculations?

[baby_bear]

8. I think a lot of liberals went libertarian

I have no proof of this, but many of us found Gregoire to be unpalatable and she ran and uninspired campaign. The Libertarian candidate got around 67,000 votes. Ron Sims, the liberal who lost in the primary, got 500 write-ins in King County alone.

By all accounts, Gregoire by name, party and resume, should have walked away with the election. I think it's clear that her insipidness (is that a word?) turned off a lot of liberals.

She could have at least spoken out more for the environment and for health and worker safety regs, which Dino wants to dismantle.

b_b

[Moderator]

9. KoKo01

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