duffell
August 5th, 2005, 01:46 PM
I was reading through Seattle Weekly's Best of Seattle picks...blah, blah, fluff, fluff, meh. Nothing to write home about, right? I thought so, until I read through one of the sections where Weekly writers provide their "best of" picks.
George Howland Jr. had this to say:
BEST POLITICAL ROOKIE
On the campaign trail in 2004, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, was simply awful. He was uninformed, overly sensitive to criticism, and seemed uncomfortable with politics. It appeared that the well-known sheriff who tracked down the Green River killer was going to have a terrible time becoming a congressman for the Eastside's 8th District. Instead, once elected, Reichert got off to a stellar start. He bucked the GOP leadership when he voted against congressional involvement in the medical affairs of Terri Schiavo; he voted to preserve funding for the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio; and he used his seat on the Transportation Committee to secure federal funding for his traffic-choked district. Of course, Reichert remains a conservative Republican—supporting the war in Iraq and Social Security privatization and opposing stem-cell research—but he has shown enough independence and savvy to strengthen his political support in his swing district.
I couldn't help but laugh when I read this. First of all, these are the only instances I was able to find of Reichert straying from the White House's position. That doesn't transform Reichert into some sort of crowd-pleasing centrist. And it's not considered "independent" to secure funding for projects in one's home district. That's called "doing what's expected of you."
The Schiavo case was a genuinely independent move, but even politicians who live to kiss the ass of the president, deter from the party line sometimes. And the CPB vote? The amendment passed 284-140. More than 80 Republicans joined the Democrats in approving the restoration of CPB funding. Reichert's yes vote may have run contrary to the wishes of party leadership, but the vote hardly ran down party lines.
The Stranger wrote a piece on this last month, I think. I'm going to go look it up.
George Howland Jr. had this to say:
BEST POLITICAL ROOKIE
On the campaign trail in 2004, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, was simply awful. He was uninformed, overly sensitive to criticism, and seemed uncomfortable with politics. It appeared that the well-known sheriff who tracked down the Green River killer was going to have a terrible time becoming a congressman for the Eastside's 8th District. Instead, once elected, Reichert got off to a stellar start. He bucked the GOP leadership when he voted against congressional involvement in the medical affairs of Terri Schiavo; he voted to preserve funding for the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio; and he used his seat on the Transportation Committee to secure federal funding for his traffic-choked district. Of course, Reichert remains a conservative Republican—supporting the war in Iraq and Social Security privatization and opposing stem-cell research—but he has shown enough independence and savvy to strengthen his political support in his swing district.
I couldn't help but laugh when I read this. First of all, these are the only instances I was able to find of Reichert straying from the White House's position. That doesn't transform Reichert into some sort of crowd-pleasing centrist. And it's not considered "independent" to secure funding for projects in one's home district. That's called "doing what's expected of you."
The Schiavo case was a genuinely independent move, but even politicians who live to kiss the ass of the president, deter from the party line sometimes. And the CPB vote? The amendment passed 284-140. More than 80 Republicans joined the Democrats in approving the restoration of CPB funding. Reichert's yes vote may have run contrary to the wishes of party leadership, but the vote hardly ran down party lines.
The Stranger wrote a piece on this last month, I think. I'm going to go look it up.