The Politics of Fear

If you are like me, you have become tired of the politics of fear being employed by the other side. You know, the speeches where they say, "Vote for our candidate or something evil will surely happen to all of us." - Playing sound-bytes from the "evil doers" and saying that they will surely prevail if we waiver in any way in our support of the anointed one.

At my LD caucus on Saturday, I was once again treated to this tactic, sitting through sound-bytes of Dr. Evil (aka Dick Cheney) saying how it would give him great pleasure to swear in Slade McGavick as the new senator from Washington State. This was followed by an acknowledgment that many Democrats have expressed disappointment in many of the votes Senator Cantwell has cast. This acknowledgment was followed by an admonition that the McGavick scenario could play out if we don't vote for Maria Cantwell anyway. Hmmmm, "the lesser of two evils"? In fact, friends, there is a campaign of hope. There is a candidate of hope and that candidate is Mark Wilson. The Cantwell camp and indeed our own State Party Chair do not want you to know this.

ATTENTION DEMOCRATS!!!!

ON SEMPTEMBER 19, 2006, THERE WILL BE A PRIMARY ELECTION TO DECIDE WHICH DEMOCRAT WILL REPRESENT US IN THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION!!!!

I find it amusing and frustrating at the same time that, while glossing over Cantwell's role in the invasion and occupation of Iraq and her two votes to suspend our civil liberties via the USA Patriot Act and her continuing reliance on the Bush "neo-con" vision of foreign policy (See her co-sponsorhip of S-333 with Rick Santorum), her supporters dwell on her support for environmental issues and her valiant fight against "big oil" and Enron in particular. The thing is, with the exception of Mary Landreau in Louisiana and the two Hawaiian senators, there is not a Democrat that takes an opposing position on these issues. In fact, many "real Republicans" join her in these fights. In other words, these issues pose no risk to Senator Cantwell.

This is where the politics of fear comes into play. Knowing that Mark Wilson would also be a strong voice on these important issues, while continuing his strong opposition to the fiasco which is the neo-con (DLC?) foreign policy mess we find ourselves in, they use the bait and switch tactic of denying our choice in the primary and going straight to the November General election. On September 19th, Slade McGavick will not appear on your Democratic ballot! Those that do acknowledge the primary race will tell you that Mark Wilson cannot defeat McGavick in November but...and this is the good part...they tell you it is because Mark is "too far left in a divided state". Yes, it is the "we have to appeal to the middle" tactic that has worked so well for us in the past. Make no mistake, in a race that was decided by less that 2500 votes in 2000, the Cantwell campaign had originally determined that they could cede the Progressive (Liberal) element of the party and play for the DLC middle. The fly in the ointment? The 2004 governor's race has proved that the state is much more divided than they originally thought and there is not that much DLC middle that won't be giving their sympathy votes to Slade Jr. (Just check out Maria's falling polls numbers in each of the past three months since the right decided on their candidate)

Plan B - stop the bleeding from the left.

Mark Wilson has a better plan! Stop the concessions to the right! However, in order for this plan to work Progressives must raise their voices and their votes. We are looking at an opportunity for Democratic majorities in Congress BUT, who do you want to be the deciding vote on national security? Cantwell seems to believe that "shoot first, ask questions later" is a good national defense policy. Mark Wilson believes that a strong homeland defense demands good international alliances and an ethical foreign policy based upon the recognition of universal human rights. Who do you want to represent you when it comes time to vote on issues that affect worker's rights? Cantwell supports so-called Free (for all) Trade ( NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO) while Mark Wilson, former Teamster, believes in Fair Trade where worker's rights and environmental protections are negotiated before any trade agreement can be signed. With a Democratic majority, there will be a move to repeal the USA Patriot Act. Who would you want to count on the restore our civil liberties? Senator Cantwell has twice voted for this act (the only Washington Democrat to do so). Mark Wilson has been speaking out about this since it's initial passage.

The next step in the Cantwell-Pelz plan will be in securing the state party's sole endorsement for Maria Cantwell at the State Convention in June. By doing this, they hope to further shut Mark out of the primary race by keeping his literature out of view at party functions and events. Progressives must stand up to this tactic. Identify and reach out to your LD and County delegates to the State Convention and tell them that you demand our party stand up for the open and transparent primary process. Tell them they must respect Mark's right to participate (and your right to be choose) and they should vote for no endorsement and allow the primary to be "the decider".

Who you vote for should not be based on your fears but, rather, on your hopes. If you would like to help Mark get his message across to more Washington voters, you can contribute on my Act Blue with The Left Shue page.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue