Posted on 09/15/2004 3:33:17 PM PDT by Lexinom
Washington State held its primary yesterday, and Larry Klepinger barely edged out Suzanne Sinclair for the nomination to challenge Democrat Rick Larsen for the 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House in November. In a 10-minute conversation with Larry Klepinger at a state fair in August, the discussion ended abruptly when he said "You and I may not agree on this, but I believe a woman should have the final say on abortion." I responded, "Then I think Hitler should have had the final say on the Jews" and wandered off. Now that he is the Republican nominee, I want to ensure his swift and sound defeat in November. The reasons for this stem not from any special affinity for Larsen, but from the need to send a resounding message to Washington State Republican candidates: Don't get the idea that we are ever going to give up and accept little babies being ripped out of their womb limb-by-limb. Don't think for a second that decent, God-fearing conservatives will opt for "the lesser of two evils." We will not abate in our struggle for the helpless until our laws reflect the spirit of the Pledge of Allegience embodied in the simple concluding phrase, "with liberty and justice for all." It is perhaps better to let the libs pick off a few RINOs, assume a firm grip of control in the state (at the state and federal levels), and let matters degenerate into muck than to win on a platform of compromise when it comes to key issues. Such could set the stage for a future political revolution. Compromise and moderation are fine and even good on most issues; never, though, on policy affecting the life or death of innocent, helpless human beings. We have lied to women and slaughtered their children for too long with passive acquiescense. Therefore I must support Klepinger's opponent, reprehensible though his views may be. A Klepinger victory would be a victory for Repblicans but not for true conservatism.
PING
Rick Larsen is Pro-life?
No, he's batting about 1 for 11 (9% pro-life). He doesn't have anything to say on abortion on his website, so at least he doesn't flaunt his pro-choice credentials.
Sinclair wasn't pro-life either.
The real reason to not vote for Klepinger (SP?) is the fact that he wants a 6% national sales tax to pay for socialized medicine.
I am not kidding.
Oh, and if it's any consolation, Rick Larsen will beat him by 20 pts. None of the candidates in this race were viable.
Neither are very good, and on more than just life-and-death issues.
Larsen is going to kick butt in the general, but it doesn't make me particularly glad.
True, he didn't get any strong challengers for any of the House races, but eh, I don't really think it's Chris' fault.
He got screwed in the 1st CD, he actually recruited a really strong candidate (King County Councilwoman Jane Hague) that dropped out really late, and this after he had asked Dr. Stark to step aside for her. That one really wasn't his fault, and I should have the right to bitch about it more then anybody, I live in that district. Truth of the matter is that we probably wouldn't have picked up any of them anyway, so I'm more interested in other races, where things are going well.
We have excellent candidates in the open congressional seats, good candidates in all the key legislative races, and great statewide candidates in Nethercutt, Rossi and McKenna. So overall, I'm happy.
Coggshell is also a nut. Heck of a nice guy, but a nut. He's the kind of guy who if elected would come to Congress in shorts and a t-shirt and listen to old Lynard Skynard tapes on a walkman.
We have excellent candidates in the open congressional seats
Reickert (sp?) looks very promising. After years of listening to overtly biased opinion from Dave Ross on KIRO, I'm salivating at the prospect of him facing a resounding defeat.
Reichert is very promising. He's going to be a superstar. He cruised to an easy win in a 4 way primary against strong opponents, and a poll just released shows him with a 16% lead over Dave Ross, 52%-36% with the rest undecided. I think he's got 90% chance at keeping the seat for us.
From there, who knows? He's got wide bi-partisan appeal and celebrity from his strenght during the WTO riots and capture of the Green River Killer, and he's good looking, got a razor sharp personality. He could easily make a run for Senate or Governor and would be in excellent shape to win.
Anyhow, I'm also extremely hopeful about Nethercutt and Rossi. Rossi has about the best personality and resume for a Republican politician as this state has ever seen, and Gregoir is already bruised from the primary fight. Nethercutt is a terriffic campaigner, and Murray is below 50%. Last Independant poll had it at 48%-41%. That's very winable. Even Murray's spokespeople admit their poll has Nethercutt gaining 10pts during the same time Murray has spent $2.7 million (although they say she's above 50%).
And then there is the AG race. McKenna has one big advantage: His opponents. It's still too close to call for sure (It's Senn for now, but late returning Absentees could very realistically swing it for Sidran), and the thing is, both of them have distinct vulnerabilities. Senn is seen by people on both sides as a grandstanding radical, i.e. why Gary Locke endorsed Sidran, and business hates her guts, and will undoubtedly dump money to defeat her.
Sidran on the other hand, faces other problems. He's not well known outside of King County, and he's very polarizing inside his own party. The green faction and the hard left faction didn't like him telling homeless people not to accost people, i.e. why he lost the Seattle Mayor's race, so a good portion of them might sit on their hands.
Either way, McKenna has a really good shot at winning.
Larsen is nothing to get happy about but Mr. Klepinger is all for amending the Constitution to can the Electoral college!
Now that you mention it I remember reading something about that or hearing it from the man himself. We've got to defeat this man party labels notwithstanding.
I agree. I never thought I would say this, but if I were in the 2nd Congressional, I would vote for Larsen.
Voting for Rick Larsen is a bigger mistake than supporting his opponent. Larsen supports partian-birth abortions, if I'm not mistaken. If the abortion issues is that central to your vote, you should support a third-party pro-lifer or abstain in the Congressionial race.
Not that it makes much difference in this race. Larsen has it locked up now.
It's too bad that Suzanne Sinclair lost her primary. Not only is she pro-life, but she's an accountant, and we need more accountants (and fewer lawyers) in Congress.
WHOOPS! Suzanne Sinclair isn't pro-life? My mistake. But I stand by the rest of the posting.
"We have excellent candidates in the open congressional seats, good candidates in all the key legislative races, and great statewide candidates in Nethercutt, Rossi and McKenna."
Don't forget state Rep. Cathy McMorris, who's running to succeed Nethercutt in the House.
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