Well, today is Ridgefield Barbie's kickoff.

Actually, it's just another name for a great deal of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Herrera's campaign began about 60 seconds after Baird properly read the tea leaves and bailed out on running for reelection.

Herrera jumped in immediately, even before her keepers wanted her to, coming up with lies such as the NRCC had been courting her for months and the like. She's been campaigning now, non-stop (particularly during session when she was SUPPOSED to be representing us in the 18th District instead of blowing us off to campaign) since mid December, about 5.5 months.

In that time, she has done nothing to address her multitude of weaknesses, nothing to address her support of SEIU legislation and her lies surrounding her efforts on their behalf; nothing to explain the financial support of the unions for her election bid in 2008, nothing to explain her joining with the democrats to empty out the state reserve fund of our last $229 million; nothing to explain her lies and exaggerations about her background, nothing to explain, well, much of anything.

There can be no doubt that Herrera wouldn't exist in our sphere of knowledge if it weren't for Cathy McMorris Rogers.

CMR doesn't live here. In fact, her district is clear on the other side of the state. CMR OWNS Herrera, almost as if the 13th Amendment wasn't ratified. Herrera was a minor staffer for McMorris, did a number of short term (few weeks duration) internships and has done absolutely nothing to qualify her for any role in Congress outside of receptionist.

But McMorris saw an opportunity and decided to install a puppet here in the leg. Now, she's interfering with our election here, even though she won't have to live with the outcome as much as she might be able to completely control that outcome if, horrors of horrors thus empty suited Barbie doll manages to scam enough people to win.

Were it not for the McMorris-Boldt-Cowlitz Commissioners deal, we'd have never heard of Herrera. McMorris's interference in the 3rd District is inexcusable but it certainly does cement Herrera as THE GOP establishment candidate... a candidate with a proven record of wasting money, a proven record of fronting for and working to further the SEIU legislative agenda... a candidate with a $5000 bill from her union buddies that they certainly collected on this past session.

So, yeah. Welcome to CMR. Welcome indeed, as this thing gets ready to become your political disaster.