Democrats Trash Talk Radio For Role In Gop Landslide

Talk radio was instrumental in getting Republican Randy Tate elected to Congress, Mike Kreidler, the Democrat who lost his seat to Tate last November, told a meeting of Democrats.

Kreidler said he blames right-wing radio personalities for encouraging hecklers to show up at his campaign appearances.

“These were people who would stand up in the back of the room and say, ‘Mike Kreidler, if I had a gun, I’d shoot you.’ These are scary people,” he said.

Many of them were advocates for gun rights and wanted access to assault weapons in case they were needed against the government, Kreidler said.

“They were still upset about 1933, when they made machine guns illegal,” he said.

Kreidler, who lost the 9th Congressional District seat to Tate last November, is now a member of the Northwest Power Planning Council. He made his remarks Friday night at the Chelan-Douglas County Democrats’ annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner.

State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt took aim at state Rep. Steve Fuhrman, R-Kettle Falls.

Berendt said Fuhrman was one of four “far-right, nutty politicians” in the state House before the 1994 election.

“Today, there are 18 Steve Fuhrmans in the state House,” Berendt said. “This is a very, very serious situation. We all need to be cognizant of it.”

Berendt contended those 18 Republicans are making life difficult for state House Speaker Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee.

“Ballard is considered an ultra-liberal in the Republican caucus,” Berendt said to laughter from the Democrats.

Fuhrman did not immediately return telephone messages left at his home and legislative office on Saturday.

Kreidler contends the GOP will suffer in the future because it made government the enemy in the 1994 election.