Well, the Columbian gets it half right: they endorse Castillo...

... and then leave out Heck.

The also endorse Ridgefield Barbie... which is a decision totally without merit, given her utter vacuous positions, lack of knowledge, experience and vision.

For the primary, the top two candidates, by far, are Castillo and Heck. Babs has nothing to offer except to be a mouthpiece for McMorris... and do we need east side representation here on the west side?

The Columbian accurately wrote:

Castillo entered the race early, months before Baird retired, and wasted no time
attacking both the incumbent and the Obama administration. His cut-spending, promote-the-private-sector platform is imbued with bedrock GOP principles, but
he also proffers innovative ideas. For example, as reported in a recent Columbian story, he wants to replace the federal income tax with a flat tax and ultimately a national sales tax. His residence in Olympia will not diminish his eagerness to represent Clark County, he insists.

In writing about about Castillo's positions, the paper left out his experience: a Veteran, a sub cabinet official with the Bush Administration, a former chief of staff to state House Republican Leader (and Castillo endorser) Richard DeBolt who worked with both Castillo and Herrera, a businessman and a financial advisor who holds a Master's Degree.

And in writing about McMorris's positions (ooops, I mean Herrera's positions) They left out her INexperience: not a Veteran, poured coffee as a low-level staffer for McMorris, spent a few weeks as an intern for a couple of people; lied about her few-week job raising money for Bush as if she had anything of substance to do with it, and no mention of her sell out to the democrats with her vote to strip out the last $229 million from the state emergency fund.

Wow. Leaving that out is kind of bizarre in an endorsement where they write:

We’re concerned with whether Heck would be able to rein in spending, especially on the salaries, pensions and benefits of governmental workers.

So. The Columbian is "concerned" about Heck's ability (or, presumably, desire) to "rein in spending."

Then they ignore Bab's record of wasteful spending, combined with her comment that she couldn't find any reason to criticize Brian Baird, who voted for hundreds of billions in wasteful spending?

How.... bizarre. She has already shown herself capable of wasting hundreds of millions; and can't find fault with the guy she wants to replace, who voted to waste hundreds of BILLIONS, and they believe Herrera CAN or WILL "rein in spending?"

Utterly bizarre.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

The truth about the so-called "On The Radar" list.

So, Jaime Herrera made a really BIG deal out of getting her name on the "On The Radar" list at the NRCC.

I thought it was odd that such a weak candidate, given her inside pull and baby-sitting by McMorris Rogers and Slade and all that, someone with no experience, someone with less credibility, someone who hadn't even lived in the district for 11 out of the past 13 years... someone who had never worked in the private sector, someone lacking in education or what I would like to think was "congressional-level intelligence" and someone with such a weak fund raising quarter and so on, rose to the level of any particular of listing by anyone... let alone the NRCC.

But of course, the reason for such an asterix after her name is McMorris-Rogers, who Jaime poured coffee for (relatively speaking) as a low level staffer in McMorris's office for a couple of years.

Or so I thought.

But as it turns out, the real deal is this:

Republican operatives are quick to point out that their third-tier "On the Radar" candidates need to meet only very basic goals -- for example, build a website, have a Federal Election Commission reporting system in place, have available a very basic media package, etc. -- and that candidates in this category don't necessarily have a path to victory yet.

I had no idea that the criteria was, politically speaking, that you could walk upright and chew gum and make that list.

Until now.

Combining this with her Obama-like campaign:

...the young legislator came across as super-serious, self-possessed and somewhat
scripted. She brought to mind memories of Tracy Flick, the student body
politician played by Reese Witherspoon in the movie "Election."

Herrera used the word "prioritize" several times, talked vaguely about "changing directions", and used such timeless Republican bromides as: "An effective jobs program is not going to come from Washington, D.C.

Where she tries to sell herself is on personality alone (of course, missing the big picture, since she has no personality) without specifics. And between her total lack of any appreciable qualifying background and her penchant for speaking only in glittering generalities, why, we have...

Obama lite.

Maybe not in her political view, which is entirely what McMorris Rogers wants it to be, but in the idea of electing an empty suit that has no clue what she's doing, save for what she's told to do.

As it turns out, under the criteria set to make this "list," David Castillo should also have been included. Here, the influence of McMorris-Rogers can be clearly seen as there's no mention of Castillo anywhere in NRCC land; not because he doesn't merit said mention, but because, like her appointment to the 18th District seat, an appointment fixed almost from the very beginning; the fix was in to put Herrera on the list and to keep Castillo off it.

You truly do learn something new every day. Like it isn't nearly as big of a deal as Herrera and her cult-followers have made it out to be.

One of many problems facing Herrera is that she will be crushed in every debate she goes to by David Castillo. He is going to become like a shock collar to her, where every time she opens her mouth, some one's going to press the button and her face will screw up like she's just bit into a lemon. She will come to find out that charm and personality (of which she has neither) will take you only so far before you become a political footnote.

And with any luck at all, come August, that's what she will be.

So, what do the numbers in the 3rd Congressional mean?

Well, we've seen all the numbers in the 3rd in the fund raising race, and there were no real surprises.

Heck is vacuuming out most of the leftist money; after all, money attracts money, and writing yourself a quarter million dollar check to start, while really odd for a job that doesn't pay all that much net that such an expenditure would be worth it to anyone except those possessed of the biggest ego, is something of a money magnet.

But adding $300,000 to that figure is very impressive indeed.

As I've pointed out, Pridemore's candidacy is a joke, and he's spinning his wheels in ways that just astound. His many fringe left, hypocritical bouts (The voting for a budget he'd condemned as being balanced on the backs of the "poor and the powerless;" his corruption in cutting his buddy, Steve "I can be bought if the price is right" Stuart a sweet deal on campaign finance; his rabid support of the union welfare project known as the I-5 Bridge /loot rail project that most in the region hate, and his unbridled desire to stick a $1300 per year toll down our throats will make him the laughing stock) combined with an almost pathetic inability to raise money, even when he portrays himself as Obama light, will make him the answer to a political trivia question 10 years from now... but it won't make him a congressman.

On the right, the likely eventual winner had a respectable quarter and as time goes on and more people discover how slimy his main opponent in the GOP really is, we can expect her money to dry up even more, and his money to start rolling in.

David Castillo has run a solid campaign and will continue to do so. And while the special interests who own SEIU Representative Jaime Herrera have tossed a few bones her way, as more and more find out about how very little background, education, vision and independence that slimeball has, they'll desert her in droves.

She touts her $140,000, provided by Cathy McMorris Rogers, her keeper and boss through her contacts, as some big accomplishment. Considering how much time she spent off the floor fund raising instead of being on the floor representing US, and considering the horrifically stupid idea of ditching us during session so she could make a fund raiser with the special interests who already own her in Washington DC, this is a HORRIFIC number... less than half of the cash donated to the democrat who will be in the general, Denny Heck.

The others running on the right are fine, quality people. I've listened to Castillo and David Hedrick, who championed the cause of the people against Cowardman Brian Baird last August. Castillo's qualifications far exceed anyone else running in the 3rd, but Hedrick isn't far behind and I hope that this doesn't represent his only foray into politics.

Ultimately, I believe this will become a Heck-Castillo showdown, and it's the wrong year for the democrats.

Herrera's abysmal fund raising has to hurt: the anointed one's lack of performance is puzzling.

Given all the time that Herrera spent off the floor fund raising while others voted for her... and ditching us, her constituents, so she could make a fundraiser in DC set up by her keepers, Slade and McMorris, she has GOT to be upset about her massive under-performance in fund-raising.

Only $140 K? You kidding me?

3.5 months in, spoon-fed essentially unlimited pre-greased contacts (do you think anyone would have given her a dime if they hadn't been leaned on by McMorris and Gorton first?) hours off the floor during session while others voted in her place to make it look like she was actually there... and THIS was the best she could do?

The only effort more pathetic was Craig Pridemore. But the SEIU bling hanging around Herrera's neck, along with her moronic tax and spend vote to strip out $229 million from the the emergency fund have doomed her candidacy and made her a political dead man walking, thank God. This November, she'll be out of politics altogether, and she can go back to bringing McMorris her coffee or whatever it is she did back there.

Ridgefield Barbie couldn't even send out a press release without scamming a quote from her keeper in it. And that is pathetic for the "independent voice" that will represent McMorris instead of us in Congress.

Craig is, of course, a political dead man walking. No one wants or will vote for a fringe leftist in the 3rd, and only his delusional fellow fringers seem to think he has a chance. But so far, his almost retarded effort at fund raising shows that he's not even in the ball park.

Best known for voting for a budget he had condemned for being "balanced on the backs of the poor and the powerless, Pridemore has also gerrymandered a tax district to pay for his unwanted and unneeded loot rail; demands that the families of the 65,000 or so commuters suffer as a result of the tolls he wants to impose, while demanding that loot rail be jammed down our throats: and cut Steve "Easy money, Mr. Barnett" Stuart a sweet deal so Stuart could keep 10's of thousands in campaign donations.

Both Pridemore and Herrera voted to rip off the state emergency fund as well, showing once again that Herrera has more in common with Pridemore than she does us.

Shannon Barnett's startling attack against Jaime Herrera: this must be read to be believed!

Right from the Clark County GOP's Own Web Site!

I get that if he ever had an original thought, it long since died of loneliness; and I also get that this is a rip off of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's fine efforts.

But his attack against Herrera? Why, that's unbelievable!

"What better day to discuss out of control spending than on tax day. I’m looking forward to unveiling my support for the ten point plan and I appreciate Lars letting me do it on his show." Barnett added "The tax and spend liberals in our legislature are directly responsible for the fiscal mess we find ourselves in. They control the purse strings; they decide what gets funding and what does not. It’s time for new representation and people will agree that I’m the right one to help facilitate these changes once they learn how committed I am to reducing the size and scope of our government’s spending."

Obviously, when Barnett is demanding "new representation" it's because he didn't think all that much of the pro-SEIU, tax and spend representation which we suffer for now.

And who is providing that representation?

Why, Jaime Herrera.

So, on one hand, I can finally agree with Barnett. Herrera proved herself to be so far over her head that when it comes to representation, I'd MAYBE hire her for the only thing a review of her qualifications shows her to be capable of doing: answering the phones at the 4th floor reception desk of the O'Brien Building in Olympia.

But I disagree that Barnett, who has yet to come up with an original thought, plan or vision and who finds himself reduced to aping the efforts of others like the Evergreen Freedom Foundation; is the one to represent me in anything.

However, I applaud his belated efforts to acknowledge how ineffective and expensive Herrera's recent tenure has been; after all, voting with the democrats to strip out our last $229 million dollars out of our state emergency fund to help them waste these hundreds of millions of dollars certainly nails her as one of those tax and spend liberals Barnett claims to hate.

Combine that with her co-sponsorship and vote for the SEIU mandatory representation bill for day care workers, and, by golly, you've actually got Jim Moeller Light. And I can certainly see where that would make Barnett just the tiniest bit cranky.

But considering how he's carried her water like Gunga Din, attacking her incompetent tenure in the State House is something of a surprise, at least to me.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

The startling comparison between Castillo and Herrera

Lew Waters put up a great comparison piece between David Castillo and Jaime Herrera.

The piece shows the startling differences in education, public and private sector experience and very importantly, Herrera's complete and total lack of any experience or clue concerning Defense, Security or Military issues, the kind of experience that would otherwise matter to sane people.

I would love to see why, when comparing Castillo to Herrera, ANYONE could possibly support the empty suit that is Jaime Herrera.

Go on over and check it out, and thanks to Lew for doing this public service of providing this comparison.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

Lew Waters: Whisper Campaign Against David Castillo Continues

Lew nails it far better than I. The cult-like following, unjustified by talent, accomplishment, capability, vision or grasp of the issues surrounding Jaime Herrera remains the biggest political mystery of my professional life.

There's no there, there. And otherwise sane people have lost their collective minds over this girl for reasons that quite simply escape me.

Please read Lew's take on this if you haven't already. It's a sad commentary on a segment of political support that is shameful in every respect.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

The "intellectual dishonesty" and cowardice of a Herrera supporter: Keath Huff fails to address the issues.

.
Yesterday, Keath Huff posted this gobbledygook in defense of Ridgefield Barbie. Why he lied about the bill and who did what is any one's guess, but he did. and I will use this space to point out each and every falsehood Huff relies on in his slavish efforts to defend the indefensible:

Memo: Jaime Herrera and SEIU

KeathHuff

Below is the memo from Casey Bowman, the campaign manager for Jaime Herrera, explaining the “Pro Union Vote” Herrera was supposed to have taken.

I certainly understand her vote, trying to get fair reimbursement for small business owners who are getting short changed by the State of Washington. It is not unlike the poor reimbursement rates that doctors receive from Medicare and other “state run” health insurance. In the end the average consumer pays more to cover the real cost of care.

So, here we have a situation with a bill that does this:

"Collective bargaining" by it's very nature means higher costs. That means that both the taxpayer, who will have to pay the higher subsidies the bill mentions and the customers who are not subsidized will have to do what?

Pay.

More.

Money.

Any time SEIU gets involved in a bill, it's never in the taxpayer's best interests. It's only in THEIR best interests, no matter how much it costs US.

And Herrera didn't know this when she co-sponsored and voted for this monstrosity? And Huff doesn't know it now?

Of course he does. But at the end of the day, it just doesn't matter to a member of the Herrera Herd, who's slavish devotion to this empty suit is simply unfathomable.

More than a few Conservatives voted for this bill in the House and Senate, they tried to right a wrong, which is more than some have
done.

This is a flat out lie. First of all, there wasn't a vote on this bill in the Senate. There was a vote on the Senate version, a bill that, among others, was amended to kill by making it a study. THAT is the bill voted on in the Senate. (Of course, we've already been through Herrera's efforts to throw Benton under the bus for voting "for this bill," which he had not done.)

In the House, the vote on this bill was 62 to 35

"More than a few conservative in the House?" Let's see.

Conservatives like Jim Moeller voted for it. Another conservative, Mary Lou Dickerson voted for it. Is this part of the "few" Huff was talking about? No?

Except, those two; of the many democrats who voted for this bill, are hardly "conservative." They are, in fact, as far to the left as the political spectrum allows in the United States today.

In fact, I could only find TWO Republicans who voted for this garbage heap in the House: Herrera and Skip Priest. Herrera's seat mate, Ed Orcutt?

Why, he was a "no."

So.... where's this "more than a few" thing Huff was babbling about?

This was NOT a great bill, but that is often the case we you are trying to get something done while a bunch of liberals have the majority. We can fix that by electing more Conservatives like Jaime Herrera!

With "conservatives" like Herrera, why not just vote leftist democrat and be done with it?

Calling this "not a great bill" is like calling the Titanic a "small boating accident."

As always Jaime is a candidate with a voting record, you can see what she has done and will do for yourself. Her voting record can be found here: washingtonvotes.org

Huff babbles this one a great deal. The only trouble with this garbage is that what washingtonvotes.org records is what happened when the buttons are pushed. Unfortunately for those of us in the 18th, OUR "representative" was frequently gone, out fundraising for her congressional run and ditching us, her constituents.

So, yeah. There's a voting record. And it certainly keeps track of the votes from the button in question. Unfortunately, it's close to worthless here because Ridgefield Barbie has admitted that she's had others vote in her place while she is gone. Here's the whiny, sniveling little "Memo" in question:

From: Casey Bowman, Campaign Manager, Jaime Herrera for Congress

Memo: Jaime Herrera and SEIU

It won’t shock you to learn that there’s a false accusation being made in the race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional Seat, but you might be surprised at just how off base the claim is that Rep. Jaime Herrera is a big union supporter.

It might shock you to know that even Herrera refered to herself during the appointment process as a "friend to organized labor."

Just exactly what was that supposed to mean?

I KNOW! I KNOW! It means she'll co-sponsor and vote for SEIU-backed legislation!

In 2008 Jaime was endorsed by every major business group in Washington state, including the Association of Washington Business, NFIB, Independent Business Association of Washington, Washington Restaurant Association and others. She has never supported compulsory unionism and never will. She is a strong opponent of “card check” because she has seen the excesses of union leaders and is fully aware of the threats and intimidation that card check would inflict on workers.

HHHmmmmm..... I missed the part about any legislation in this state concerning card check, or any vote on that subject. Why mention it here, except to deflect from the issue at hand?

And had they known of Ridgefield Barbie's SEIU affiliation, as they'll know now, would they be so quick to endorse? I think not.

To prove the false claim that Jaime is a big union supporter, her detractors point to legislation, HB 1329, she supported involving child care centers. Their claim is that the legislation forced “compulsory” unionization of child care workers. That simply is not true.

So, was Herrera lying THEN when she called herself a "friend to organized labor?" Or is she lying NOW?

I dunno. That's a toughie, given her bizarre co sponsorship and support of SEIU legislation.

What to think.... what to think....

Here are the facts:

Let me help you with that. "Here are the 'facts'" SHOULD read: "Here are SOME of the 'facts.' We left out the ones we don't like."

Fact One. Jaime Herrera COSPONSORED THIS SEIU BILL.

Odd, isn't it?

Neither Huff NOR Bowman included THAT fact.

I wonder why?

· Washington state reimburses child care centers for care of kids under the state’s sponsorship. Many of these business owners believe that they should receive a better reimbursement rate from the state for caring for the most vulnerable children.

Many others exercise their right to refuse children who cannot pay whatever they charge. It's called "choice."

What "choice" did Herrera give us? You know, the ones paying the bills?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that collective bargaining WILL make child care MORE EXPENSIVE.

So, if Herrera's efforts had been successful (They weren't, thankfully) the costs of daycare, along with the subsidies for day care that WE pay, would have gone up with the wages.

That means taxpayers would have to pay more for subsidizing day care, and those using NON-subsidized day care would be out of pocket more.

If those running day care centers don't like the subsidized rate, they can always refuse the kids in question.... right?

· The bill allowed child care center owners and workers to choose to have SEIU represent the business in negotiating better reimbursement rates from the state.

Another flat out lie, since day care owners ALREADY HAD THAT ABILITY BY BECOMING UNION SHOPS.

Here's the language from the bill summary:

“Solely for purposes of collective bargaining, child care center directors and workers are ‘public employees’. The directors and workers are employees who work on-site at licensed centers that have at least ONE SLOT filled by a child for whom they receive child care subsidies. as well as owners who work on-site at these centers.”

Do you see anything about "choice" in there? I don't.

. The bill said nothing about unionizing the workforce. Child care enter workers wouldn’t pay union dues or fees and wouldn’t be forced to join a union, at any time. The bill was at the request of the small business owners of day care centers.

Which explained perfectly why so many of those day care centers were so opposed to this, right?

Those are the facts about this legislation. Again, Jaime has never supported compulsory unionism and never will. That is why she is such a fervent opponent of card check. If the facts don’t sound anything like the claims of those attacking Jaime and her voting record, then you should ask them why they are spreading these false claims.

OK... I'll bite. Why ARE you spreading these "false claims?"

Under the bill in question day care centers with ONE CHILD getting state subsidies HAD to be represented by the SEIU.

Look. I'm always willing to be corrected... so feel free.

Just provide me with the language allowing day care centers with subsidized kids in them to opt out of this bill, and we can take the mandatory unionization off the table.

For a much more technical and complete recitation of all the lies this "memo" contains, I invite the reader to head on over to Lew Waters' blog. He nails it.

In closing, what neither the "memo" OR Huff do is mention that Herrera COSPONSORED THE BILL. An oversight?

Hardly. Nor do they mention any of the carefully researched aspects covered by Lew on his blog.

There's a reason these people don't want you to know the WHOLE truth.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

In honor of the GOP expense in LA: What do Jaime Herrera and the money reimbursed by the GOP for the strip club reimbursement have in common?

How about a massive reimbursement for a total waste of money?

We already know about Herrera's SEIU hi-jinks. We know about her efforts to help the democrats blow $229 million to help them with their new spending. But do we remember her managing to burn her way through almost $500 in meals in 3 days?

No?

Well, here's s brief reminder.

Who here isn't familiar with the Sellers debacle?

Sellers, who, at the time was mayor of Washougal, felt compelled to go to Vegas on "official business." While she was there, she decided that the taxpayers of the city of Washougal should pay for her alcohol, and some high priced meals.

Stacy Sellers is having a tough week. Perhaps she deserves one, since, according to the local version of Pravda, Sellars charged, among other things, a "...$57 'surf and turf' dinner. An $88 bottle of wine. A $72 bill at the Eye Candy Lounge & Bar." while on some sort of "official trip" to Vegas.... although why a trip to Vegas for the mayor of Washougal would be official is, perhaps, a subject for another post. (Take some time and run a google search on the "Eye Candy Lounge & Bar" for pictures of others engaging in some distinctly "non-mayor" like activities. I guess what happens in Vegas is reported in the Columbian.)

Just yesterday, KOIN 6 reported on Brian Baird's abuse of the travel system where he decided he needed to spend a fortune to go on vacations masquerading as a "fact finding trip," a trip that a local travel agent booked for roughly one half the cost charged by Baird.

Erstwhile political opportunist Jamie Herrera seems to share the traits of both Baird and Sellers.

In August of 05, Herrera went on one of these "fact finding trips" to Spokane, where Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA05) maintains a district office.

Instead of sending one of her own staffers already in Spokane for this "fact finding," McMorris-Rogers instead seems to have sent Herrera. That sending Herrera was apparently a complete waste of money is a subject for another post. That issue aside, here is the rather disturbing travel voucher, filled out by Herrera and signed off on by her boss and mentor, Congresswoman McMorris-Rogers.



Now, the questionable aspect of this trip aside, where the main issue of concern for me comes to the fore is here:

Somehow, Herrera managed to spend $475.48 for meals on a 3 day trip to Spokane... and her boss, McMorris-Rogers, approved that cost!

Are you kidding me?

I used to LIVE in Spokane. That much money would feed a family of four for three weeks, and Herrera went through that BY HERSELF, in THREE DAYS?

Shades of Stacy Sellers.

And, just like Jon Russell, who approved Seller's charges since he was in overwatch of the credit cards for Washougal, McMorris Rogers approved this outrageous charge paid for by the taxpayers of the United States.

It seems to me that Sellers and Baird and Herrera are all the same... and Russell and McMorris-Rogers blow off this kind of stuff all the time.

As for me, I don't want any of them either in my government... or in elective office.

Because if any of them gave a damn about us... we wouldn't have heard about any of this.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

So, Pacific County did what?

Last evening I was one of two people (with 3 others being cc'd), who received an email from the Chair of the Pacific County GOP. In the email (which I felt to be kind of strange, upon reflection) I was notified that the Pacific County GOP (Relatively speaking, both members) had drank the Herrera Kool Aid and joined with the Cowlitz whack jobs in endorsing Herrera.

I'm not particularly sure why the 5 of us received such an email; that is, I'm not sure why the sender felt compelled to share this little vignette with the other 3 recipients, or even to send it to me. I know of the sender, but the sender has no impact on me or my county, and frankly, I am not at all concerned about what the Pacific County GOP (or their chair, for that matter) does or does not do or say.

I will, however, respect the sender's position as a GOP Chair, and because I have not received explicit permission to post the email in question, I am choosing not to do so.

The other recipient of the email was the other local conservative blogger, Lew Waters. His response, as usual, was much more measured and articulately presented then my own meager efforts here.

While I simply cannot understand why anyone would support a fake Republican cardboard cut out of a representative, I get that some fair amount of people have been hoodwinked into viewing this empty suit as the second coming.

She's not.

That said, this was my response, sent from my Droid. Unlike Lew's fine effort, it is not measured, considered or polished. But it is precisely how I see this situation.

I appreciate your position in all of this but please do not misunderstand me... I have beaten on Herrera like a drum and I will continue to do so as long as she remains in politics.

If we are unfortunate enough that she is in the top two, I will endorse her opponent as a former executive director of the WSRP and I will do everything I can to defeat her.

She is a political menace not deserving of consideration as a congressional candidate and that suddenly, magically, doesn't stop if she is in the general or even if she wins.

This isn't about "party". I will not support a corrupt candidate who sells out to the unions no matter if mcmorris[sic] is jerking her strings or not.

At the end of the day, your county may feel free to join with that kind of candidate if you like. But hopefully, she will be exposed for what she is, and your county's endorsement will be meaningless.

But as long as I live and she is in politics, I will be devoted to her political defeat.

My blog isn't posturing. I am not politically attacking her as part of any other campaign. It is because Baird at his worst is better than Herrera at her best. And I am not going to settle for mediocre corruption and a congressional annointment[sic] based on interference from outside influences EVER.

Thank you for contacting me, but in all honesty, that Herrera is even considered to be a serious GOP candidate makes me ashamed to be part of such an organization.

On a direct level, the hypocrisy shown by Herrera supporters has sickened me, and that includes the snivelling over freedom works Castillo endorsement. And your rt [sic - rt meaning "retweet"] of that in the face of gorton[sic] doing the exact same thing gives me pause.

I have been actively working to get Republicans elected since Herrera was in elementary school. But after this election (because I'm on campaigns now), I'm done.

If this is the new face of the GOP, I want no part of it.

That I am simply incapable of grasping why anyone would waste their vote on an vacuous pretty face with no experience, no integrity, no understanding, no vision and no independence in thought or deed has shown that my education, experience, and work to elect genuine Republicans has simply been passed by, and that I am so far out of touch that I can no longer stomach this kind of corrupt, suspend-disbelief crap the Herrera supporters are pushing.

That anyone could support someone with a track record of doing the democrat's bidding, of wasting hundreds of dollars on meal reimbursement as a staffer, of lying about her position on McMorris's staff, of cosponsoring and voting for ANY SEIU bill, of anyone who would throw someone else under a bus to save herself, of anyone who would ignore constituents, of anyone who hadn't even lived here for 11 of the past 13 years... of anyone who would liken there ten years of living away from home as a professional intern as the same thing as "being in the military..." is, and I do admit this...

Simply beyond me.

That has been my position. That will BE my position. And it will not stop until the people wise up and vote her into the well-deserved oblivion her record demands, and she and her handlers (McMorris, Gorton, et al) personally deserves.

A quick review shows that Pacific County is one of the deepest, darkest, bluest counties in the state, with no GOP representation at any level for any legislative or local office. Perhaps that's a reflection of the judgment of the local GOP organization. Because that is certainly the kind of judgment they have shown here.

Cross-posted at Clark County Politics.

The lie and the truth of the latest Herrera fund raiser invite.

This is a cut from the most recent swindle sheet Herrera has sent out to vacuum up the cash for her run for Congress.

Part of it is right on.... the part where it says she "will bring a rare combination of experience and energy to the U.S. Congress..."

And thank God for that.

Her complete lack of any appreciable experience either in Congress or as a legislator speaks for itself, as does her support of SEIU bills and emptying the state reserve to help democrats rip us off for their massive spending bills here in Washington State.

The lie part?

Once again, Herrera lies about her position as a low-level staffer effectively pouring coffee for McMorris.

As an "elected legislator," she has accomplished absolutely nothing except to help the fringe leftists spend our money.

And people support her.

And people will give her money.

And that makes no sense at all.

Cross posted on Clark County Politics.

Taft vs. Herrera: and the winner is?

(This link is to Victoria Taft's complete interview of Rep. Jaime Herrera on the 24th of March. This is a download of around 2.2 meg)

Listening to Ridgefield Barbie as someone actually holds her accountable for her votes in the Legislature reminds me of that color guy on ESPN: "Rumblin, stumblin, bumblin!"

Some of Herrera's votes have been absolutely mystifying in their breathtaking leftist inclination.

Sponsoring and voting for SEIU legislation; voting as she did a few days ago to clean out the better part of our emergency fund... to help the democrats spend more tens of millions on their pet programs... all of these are indications that her vote has been for sale here, and in the unfortunate event she's elected to Congress (God Forbid) it will be just as for sale their... also indicated by the her attendance at a fund raiser she ditched us to go to in DC during session.

Taft gets it in a way Herrera can never even dream of. She tries to get her to understand, but Herrera is a fake conservative of the old school.

That anyone could or would support a fake Republican with no depth, vision or experience for Congress is the kind of thing that resulted in a Barack Obama as president.

And Jamie, by the way? It wasn't the $200,000,000 you claimed, it was, in fact, $229,000,000. It's nice to see your finger so tightly on the pulse of $29,000,000.

HB 3197

Brief Description: Transferring funds from the budget stabilization account to the general fund.

Sponsors: Representatives Sullivan, Linville, Seaquist, Ericks and Haigh.

Brief Summary of Bill

Ÿ Directs the State Treasurer to transfer $229 million from the Budget Stabilization
Account to the state General Fund.

The more she talks, the worse it gets. The other candidates... almost ANY of the other candidates... look better all the time.

Cross posted on Clark County Politics.

Convention speech review highlights - Jamie Herrera

Well, I don't know if "highlights" is the right word.

She has, she tells us, for the "...last 3 years... represented" us.

Like the rest of her exaggerations, that is false as well. While this will be her third SESSION, she is several months short of "3 years." But then, Herrera has been factually challenged from the moment she came back here after her 10 year absence.

"It has been the most tremendous honor, it really is."

Much like the lie she blithely told the commissioners already scammed into appointing her long before the actual meeting, when Herrera lied to them by telling them that there was "not being a job she'd rather have" (since she's running for congress)" it hasn't been an honor. How she got this gig and her actions since have been something less than "honorable."

Did she talk about the issues confronting us?

No.

Did she talk about security? Jobs? The economy? Did she have any specific proposals?

No, no and.... no.

Did she talk about any qualifications she might have to be elected to Congress?

No.

There was a massive amount of verbiage where she attempted to explain to US "what America is about."

As if we already didn't know.

As our representative, she "fought against tax increases. and she's signed the taxpayer protection pledge."

Oddly, she didn't speak about her sponsorship and vote for an SEIU bill that would force daycare workers into collective bargaining, a horrific bill that will hurt those who needed her help the most. She remained silent in the face of her plans to empty out the state reserve fund to the tune of $229,000,000, which she did a few days ago.

No. Nothing about that.

She closed with the unfortunate news that Linda Smith had endorsed her, while again lying about her involvement in Smith's campaign in 94... "we remember the fight to get her there" Really? "WE" remember that fight?

YOU weren't there.

I was. But you weren't.

And then that nonsense about her non-existent "independent, hard-working spirit."

"Independent?" If Cathy McMorris stopped suddenly, your entire head would disappear up to your shoulders.

"Hard-working?" There, I have to agree. Few have worked harder in their fund-raising efforts, to include screwing us by ditching us to go to DC during session, or having your seat mate vote for you in your absence so you could make those fund raising calls.

"Hard work" indeed.

And, of course, she will "stand with the people of Southwest Washington."

All while taking her orders from the congresswoman representing Spokane.

"It's going to be our year, folks."

True enough. But it ain't going to be yours.

The speech was, essentially, worthless. It was one huge generality filled with platitudes, and it provided exactly zero justification to support Ridgefield Barbie.

Herrera has no experience in any element that makes up what most sane people would consider to be a solid foundation to serve in congress.

She hasn't lived here for 11 of the past 13 years, which is reason enough to oppose her. She has no private sector experience. She has never owned a home. She has no experience in the military or defense. She has never owned a business.

She has done nothing in any of the areas where she CLAIMS she wants to help US.

And while that makes sense to the fringe right Cowlitz Kool Aid drinkers, it's not going to make sense to the rest of us.

All and all a pathetic, worthless effort that provided no one with anything along the lines of a justification to support this empty suited, vacuous cheerleader to do anything but be a secretary in a congressional office.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

The Kool Aid drinkers supporting Herrera

The rank hypocrisy of the self-flagellating Herrera supporter is beyond belief.

As those paying attention know, FreedomWorks rightfully endorsed someone who wasn't Jaime Herrera, thank God.

Well, all the local Herrera Herd immediately ran off the cliff like the lemmings they are, whining that FreedomWorks allegedly hadn't bothered to talk to Herrera.

Exclusive of the fact that it wouldn't have made any difference if they had, given what a train wreck Herrera is as a candidate, I have to ask: where were these moronic hypocrites when Slade endorsed Herrera?

That answer?

Easy. They were nowhere.

Rank hypocrisy is easily overlooked when it's your candidate. Not ONE of these clowns complained when Slade did Vander Stoep and McMorris Rogers' bidding and endorsed Ridgefield Barbie who he otherwise wouldn't have known if she had bit him.

That's the curse of having a non-existent resume' like Herrera, who is no more qualified to be a member of Congress then she is to pilot an F-22.

So now, we get whining and sniveling not unlike the dog barf they spewed after Castillo's accurate robo-call went out reminding everyone what an SEIU sellout Herrera is, or that she was ditching us, her constituents, to do a special interest fund raiser in DC during session, HERE.

Otherwise sane people have lost their collective minds over this empty suit. Otherwise smart people who would demand depth, experience, vision and a mind of her own in a normal candidate can't seem to get beyond.... well.... something.... because it isn't her dismal legislative record (made worse today by her efforts to help the unions blow another $229 million of our money against her caucus... again...) and it isn't her record in the private sector: being a career intern shouldn't be that impressive.

And whining about how any organization chooses to endorse someone when others made THEIR endorsement decision the SAME WAY... well, that shows a series of thought processes that are frightening in their stupidity.

You can tell a lot about a candidate by the type of people they attract. And the typical Herrera supporter seems to view her as some kind of cult leader, someone they follow and fall on their swords for her not because she rates it or deserves it, but because, well, she is who she is, as if that's a reason to vote for anyone.

These cults of personality have resulted in other stellar political leaders. Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Obama come immediately to mind. And you'd think these alleged Republicans would know better, since we just got done electing the worst president this country has ever seen; a president much like the candidate they so slavishly support.

And it leads to crybaby whining like I have NEVER seen before. And otherwise honorable people engaging in rank hypocrisy like crybaby three year olds.

Double standards are what leftists engage in. One has to wonder: why are these people acting this way?

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.
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Herrera ditches her caucus AGAIN: votes to clean out reserve.

State Representative Jaime Herrera (Fake R -SEIU) has once again ditched the Republican caucus and joined with her leftist buddies to empty out our state reserve by voting "yes" on House Bill 3197 "Budget Stabilization Account."

The bill transfers $229,000,000 out of the reserve account, effectively emptying it so her buddies can spend it. The bill passed with a 69 -28 vote, with Herrera AGAIN joining her fellow leftists.

Well done...

..if you're a democrat.

Herrera, best known for screwing us with her cosponsorship and voting for the SEIU bill requiring collective bargaining for child care workers, can now add this to her impressive list of leftist votes.

So, instead of sticking with the rest of the Republicans, Herrera bails AGAIN and gives the democrat money machine what they want.

Despicable.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

Herrera throws a hissy fit in the Olympian: stomps her widdle footsie.

Gee, Ridgefield Barbie REALLY got stung by lying about having others vote in her place. SO stung, in fact, that she throws a genuine hissy-fit in today's letters to the editor in The Olympian, who rightly popped her upside her vacuous little head for ditching her job and having others vote for her while she was out making fund-raising calls. In fact, here's her whining little hair pulling screech of a letter, hot off the web site:

Not off the House floor for hours

I am disappointed that this paper chose to restate untrue allegations to single out my voting record in the editorial “Voting for others in the House is unacceptable. The source this paper quoted is not exactly a nonpartisan source — until recently Rep. Deb Wallace was my opponent in the 3rd Congressional District election.

I don’t disagree with the editorial’s call for procedural reform. I would like House leadership to better organize vote timing so that the procedure of voting for others can be changed, and legislators won’t have to miss any votes at all.

What I take issue with is the restated claim by Rep. Wallace that I have been away from the House floor “for hours at a time” during votes this year. That is false. I have one of the best voting attendance records in Olympia. In three years, I’ve missed only 10 out of 1,863 possible floor votes, and all were before this year.

When I am not on the floor, it is typically because I am honoring a constituent’s request for a meeting. As an assistant floor manager, I must also move around the floor to work with legislators about to speak, or attend leadership meetings in the wings. Involvement in the legislative process does not equal hours away from the floor during votes.

I stand behind my voting record, available at washingtonvotes.org, and I stand behind my hard work and service to the people of my legislative district.

REP. JAIME HERRERA, 18th Legislative District

YOU were "disappointed?" Imagine how "disappointed" we, your constituents were, to find out that you had others voting for you... and then have you deny it? Imagine how "disappointed" we were to find out you were too STUPID to stay here and do OUR business, instead of waiting until after session was over to go slurp at the special interest trough your puppet-master McMorris and lobbyist Slade put together for you. As you may have guessed, that disappointed the HELL out of me.

And then this lie about your "voting record" at washingtonvotes.org.

Your voting record, which includes your co-cponsorship and vote for an SEIU backed bill requiring collective bargaining for day care workers, is nothing to brag about in the BEST of circumstances.

But in THIS case, what washingtonvotes.org has isn't YOUR voting record. What it's got is the voting record of YOUR voting BUTTON. And what it DOESN'T tell us is who was PUSHING THAT BUTTON.

Man, it wasn't that long ago. You remember the stupidity of the Kool Aid drinkers supporting her; the screeching, whining, moaning and wailing at the very THOUGHT that Ridgefield Barbie would allow someone to vote for her... in her absence... so she would actually appear to be there and voting... was simply, in their minds, untrue.

What was it she said to The Columbian?

Herrera, R-Camas, angrily denied that she was absent in order to campaign.

“Deb has no credibility, she has no proof,” Herrera said.

She said that as deputy floor leader for the House Republican caucus, she was busy
last week organizing testimony in opposition to suspending Initiative 960, a voter-approved measure that requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber to raise taxes.

“I have missed 10 votes in my entire time as a legislator here,” she said. “I haven’t missed any votes (by being) off the floor this session. I’ve been on the House floor fighting for I-960. As a floor leader, part of my responsibility is to manage the floor debate.”

Interesting. Our lying little cardboard cutout DENIES she was "absent in order to campaign," but mere days later, she ditches her constituents and her job, to, you guessed it, be absent from the House so she could campaign.

Of course, she didn't manage spit when it came to the floor fight, but that's for another post; and it's in keeping with her flair of being a drama queen and someone bent on exaggeration to puff up her paper-thin resume'.

That said, Barbs was not, as it would seem, denying that others had voted for her in her absence... au contraire, mon ami.

No, what Barbs was doing was quibbling about just how long she was off the floor, and what she was doing while she was gone.

Now, using the Liz Mair dodge, unnamed sources have verified to me that democrat State Representative Deb Wallace's allegations that Herrera both allowed others to vote in her place AND was making campaign fund raising calls while she was absent from the floor is true.

Of course, the way to solve this problem is to FOIA Herrera's phone records from her office... and ask her to produce her cell phone records... while looking to see the number of times she, say, called McMorris during session to nail down the arrangements for her DC special interest fundraiser... or check to see if those calls were to, say, one of the 8 people who provided the large bulk of her money for the December 31 FEC reporting cutoff... you know, to make arrangements for yet another fund raiser she bailed on us for, this one in Seattle that had lobbyist Slade's fingerprints all over it.

If only Ridgefield Barbie was an adult.

Remembering that old saw about Winston Churchill and the Madam at the party:

Churchill: Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?
Socialite: My goodness, Mr. Churchill! Well, I suppose – we would have to discuss terms, naturally.Churchill: Would you sleep with me for five pounds?
Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!
Churchill: Madam, we’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.

So, when it comes to the matter of others voting in Herrera's place, we've established who and what she is.

Now we're just haggling over how much time she was spending off the floor.

And frankly, knowing what I know?

My money's on Wallace.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

Herrera takes it in the chops again: FreedomWorks backs Castillo.

March has been a particularly bad month for Ridgefield Barbie.

Still stinging from the backlash of her co-sponsorship and vote for a horrific SEIU-backed bill to force collective bargaining on day care workers and businesses; hammered by an effective robo-call reminding everyone that Herrera wasn't even politically intelligent enough to wait until after session was over to ditch her job to bury her head in the special interest trough held up by lobbyist Slade Gorton and her puppet master, Cathy McMorris; getting positively bitch-slapped for having others vote in her place so she wouldn't be seen as absent, even though she WAS absent making fund raising calls... It has been a tough month for our own Little Miss Muffet.

FreedomWorks backing Castillo is something Barbs did NOT want to see. But in addition to House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt (The only elected official to work with both Herrera and Castillo) that Dick Armey and his Tea Party-aligned group came out in support of David Castillo HAS to hurt.

Combined with the endorsement of the Washington Republican National Hispanic Assembly's National Committeewoman, Milagros E. Rice - National Committeewoman, WRNHA (Thurston County) and you've got to wonder: are, as I suspect, the wheels coming off the cardboard cutout's campaign?

A lot of folks out there trumpet Gorton's endorsement of Herrera. But they either don't know or don't care that until Vander Stoep and McMorris made the ask, Slade had never heard of Herrera. Meanwhile, Herrera has the most vanilla endorsement list I've seen for a long time. And wasn't part of that McMorris directed buzz supposed to be that "young Latina" diversity bit?

As the campaign goes on, the endorsement of lobbyist Gorton will ultimately mean less and less as the people come to know what I know... and they will become to be as disgusted as I am.

Meanwhile, political alignments have put Castillo smack into the center of a resurgent GOP in the district in a way that can only make Herrera turn green with envy... in honor of St. Patty's Day, of course.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.

The inanity of Ann Donnelly: a weekly column as campaign ad.

Ann Donnelly is the token Republican our local paper gives a platform to every now and then. She has done yeoman service to the GOP over the years, including a stint as chair back in the day.

Unfortunately, she has drifted leftward for quite some time... thus the justification the paper must have used to hire her as the token Republican in the sea of avowed leftists running the show.

So, it was not terribly surprising that she has joined the kool aid drinkers supporting SEIU activist Jaime Herrera.

What is a surprise was her use of her column as a not even thinly veiled campaign ad for Ridgefield Barbie, chock full of hyperbole and crap about the non-existent impact our local cardboard cutout of a state representative had when the democrats rolled us on getting rid of I-960 and then jacking our taxes up through the roof.

That Donnelly would stoop to such a moronic level is indicative of your basic Herrera supporter.

When asked why they would support someone of Herrera's ilk... someone who has lived here only 2 out of the last 13 years; someone who is proud of renting a house because she lacks the wherewithal to buy one, (and never planned on living here long anyway) someone who would ditch her constituents in mid-session to attend a lobbyist fund raiser in Washington, DC put on by her masters, McMorris and Gorton...

Someone who was obviously lying when she told the commissioners during the appointment process that "there is not a job in the world I would rather have," Herrera supporters typically have no answer.

Herrera only lacks the experience, the education, the character and the depth to be in Congress as anything but what she was: a minor-level staffer who even lied about that.

When the robo call went out from Castillo's campaign, accurately characterizing Herrera's malfeasance in office, Donnelly was among those who flipped. Many Herrera supporters, like Liz Mair, cobbled together loads of nonsense.

Keath Huff blew a gasket and ladled out a horrific load of crap. Calls were made by people who should have known better demanding to know the involvement of which people who had something to do with the call.

Well, between Herrera ditching her job of voting in favor of her fund raising calls and just plain ditching us altogether so she could bury her face up to her shoulders in the special interest trough held in place by her string pullers, something went wrong.

The loud and over the top response to the robo calls tells the story. Much like our resident whiny little punk's response to Wallace's allegations ("Deb has no credibility. She has no proof," hardly a denial.) and the failure of any of her colleagues to rush out to her defense (speak volumes, doesn't it?) shows that both Wallace's allegations and Castillo's robo calls have hurt HER badly, unlike the guck other bloggers have mentioned.

To use your column of alleged opinion to prop up a failing candidate by making outrageous and untrue connections between this political waste of skin and two of the giants of SW Washington political history... Williams and Smith... is simply beyond the pail.

In fact, it makes as much sense as comparing a Volkswagen bug with a turbocharged Ferrari.

It is, in fact, a despicable use of a column to shill for a candidate who has achieved a cult-like stature among some... people like Donnelly blindly supporting her but lacking any justification for that support when Herrera is compared to almost any of the other candidates running from either party, the majority of which having vastly more experience, judgment and actual time living in the district.

Herrera's campaign has taken on the stench of desperation. And Donnelly's middle-school effort to make Herrera shine just serves to re-enforce that smell.

Cross posted on Clark County Politics.

Jaime Herrera: Three lies in one.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's Three Lies In One!



"Independent?"

Herrera is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathy McMorris Rogers/ Slade Gorton, Inc.

An SEIU supporter who voted for a horrific child care worker collective bargaining bill and then threw Senator Don Benton under a bus by lying when she falsely claimed he voted yes on the same bill, calling Herrera "independent" is like calling Stalin a democrat.

"Hardworking?"

Sure. She's working so hard fund raising that others vote for her in her absence while she's off the floor making those "dialing for dollars" calls of hers.

"Effective?"

Yup. If you're an SEIU thug, she's EXACTLY the one to call to help a leftist majority ram one of the components of YOUR agenda through! She was VERY "effective" doing that.

Yes... this is three lies in one.

If she was "independent," she wouldn't have done her Master's bidding by ditching me and the rest of her constituents in her "can't imagine doing any other job" district during session so she could go slurp at the special-interest, lobbyist trough McMorris and Gorton held up for her in DC.

If she was working hard for US, instead of working hard for HER, she would be doing all of her own VOTING, instead of bailing.

And if she was "effective," she actually would have got some sort of bill passed besides the "hand hold" bill that ALL new members get to teach them about the process.

The guy she replaced certainly did.

And now, she got hammered in the Chronline poll and the Columbian rightfully backhanded her when 60% of those responded questioned her "integrity" because she had been off the floor making fund raising calls while others voted in her place.

Not really all that comfortable, is it, Barbs?

It's not looking good for Herrera blowing off her votes to fundraise.

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So, first the Olympian newspaper an now even our local effort are allowing people to weigh in on Herrera's lack of integrity in allowing others to vote for her in her fund-raising absense.


Print this article .Comments

I was going to vote but had someone else vote for me because I am not here...LOL
teacher — March 8, 2010 at 10:09 p.m. ( permalink suggest removal )

That's too funny teacher! Great line!
lbrancaccio (Columbian Staff) — March 8, 2010 at 10:11 p.m. ( permalink suggest removal )

I agree, Lou, that was funny, teacher.

Humor aside, the Olympian published their take on it, http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/07...

As for the allegation by Wallace, I can't help but notice the lack of fellow Republicans coming to Herrera's aid saying they do not press votes on her behalf.

If they are, I haven't stumbled across it.
LewWaters — March 8, 2010 at 11:47 p.m. ( permalink suggest removal )

As a rule, Herrera, arrogance is rarely a good campaign strategy.

Cross posted at Clark County Politics.