Spokane7
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August 14, 2010 in City
Anti-Marr mailer draws fire
State GOP leader says criticism aims to divert attention from incumbent’s record
This flyer sent by the Washington State Republican Party in opposition to state Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, was mailed before the August 2010 primary.
(Full-size photo)
In Tuesday’s primary elections, voters can pick a candidate for the state senate in Eastern Washington’s most competitive legislative district, but both choices are assured of winning a spot in November’s final showdown.
Even so, the race between Sen. Chris Marr and his GOP rival, Michael Baumgartner, in the 6th Legislative District has turned into one of the nastiest primaries in the region, with accusations of ignorance, mismanagement and carpetbagging dominating the debate.
This week, Marr supporters are questioning an anti-Marr mailer from the state Republican Party showing a picture of Marr’s face with a splotch of red on the side of his head. It talks about the state “drowning in red ink.” But some Democrats say the picture appears to show an act of violence against Marr.
“It looks like there’s a bullet hole in Chris Marr’s head,” Spokane County Democratic Chairwoman Amy Biviano said.
Marr said he doesn’t think the red blotch was meant to look like blood, and that he’s more concerned about what he calls half-truths and falsehoods on that and other campaign mailers voters are receiving in the final days before the primary.
Luke Esser, chairman of the state Republican Party, said any assertion that the red ink on the flier was meant to look like blood is “nonsense.”
“That is just an attempt to divert attention from Chris Marr’s record,” he said.
Baumgartner said his campaign was not consulted by the GOP on its mailers.
“I thought the imagery (of the red ink flier) distracted from the message, but I absolutely agree with the message that Chris Marr has spent recklessly,” Baumgartner said.
The state GOP sent at least two other anti-Marr mailers in the district. One criticizes Marr’s record on education, the other his support for health care reform.
Esser said the party will continue to be active in Baumgartner’s race.
“We are going to make sure there’s an even playing field,” he said.
Marr said that if he had such a bad record on education, he wouldn’t have been named legislator of the year by the Washington Education Association or have the backing of the League of Education Voters.
He said other materials are trying to confuse voters into thinking he voted for the candy, soda and other taxes approved by the Legislature this year. Unlike most of his Democratic colleagues, Marr voted against those taxes.
Meanwhile, Baumgartner is taking aim at Marr’s fundraising. In a radio ad, Baumgartner’s campaign says Marr can’t stand by claims that he’s independent when Marr has raised so much from business, energy, insurance and other interests. Marr has raised $308,000 – more than all but one legislative candidate so far this year.
Asked if he is beholden to special interests because he’s raised $136,000 so far, Baumgartner said the issue is quantity. “One drink before dinner is probably just fine. Eight drinks before dinner and someone probably has an issue,” he said.
Marr said it’s hypocritical for Baumgartner to criticize him for successful fundraising when many of his contributors donate more often to Republicans. He said his diverse group of support shows his independence.
“They know I’m willing to hear them out,” Marr said. “They see me as a voice of reason within my caucus.”
Marr responded with a flier taking aim at Baumgartner’s recent move into the district. Baumgartner, who moved to Spokane in January, spent much of his life in Pullman, where his father was a professor at Washington State University. He spent two years in Spokane in the early 1990s when he attended Gonzaga Prep.
While Baumgartner is new to the 6th District, some high-profile Democrats have exaggerated the residency issue.
In June, Don Barbieri, chairman of Red Lion Hotels Corp. and former Democratic nominee for Congress, wrote in a letter published in The Spokesman-Review that Baumgartner until recently lived in Florida. Democratic officials provided an address for Baumgartner in suburban Orlando. But other records indicate that the Florida address belonged to a Michael S. Baumgartner, not the candidate, Michael J. Baumgartner.
MAC faces angry crowd 
CalJones on August 14 at 7:32 a.m.
I received two mailers concerning Marr’s record. Both say paid for by the Republican Party and neither did I find offensive, they did make me go online and start looking up bill numbers though and both mailers did seem accurate.
Marr voted Yes on SB 5537 to eliminate our state’s statutory
Marr voted yes SB6874 raising taxes on Tobacco Products -
Marr voted yes HB2493 raising taxes on cigarettes -
*http://washingtonvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=
364217 472579 485252
*add each of the above numbers to the end of the web address above to see each of the bills respectively. Spokesman’s spam filtering won’t allow a direct link.
and on and on and on…..
Lulubelle on August 14 at 8:19 a.m.
Again the Westside Republican establishment boys are trying to assert themselves in Eastside politics with dirty ads against Chris Marr. And yes……the flyer did look like a bloody bullet hole precariously close to Senator Marr’s head and yes I found it offensive.
When a political party is running a candidate whose only qualification for the job is military contractor experience and only connection to the community is a two year stint holed up in the Ridpath hotel with his brother to attend a local high school…..I guess dirty ads are all they’ve got.
The good news is, Spokane voters don’t like dirty politics and negative ads.
CalJones on August 14 at 8:23 a.m.
I think lulu should do some research, typical far-left Democrat. At least the moderate Republicans and Democrats are sensible and reasonable enough to look up votes and candidate backgrounds.
CalJones on August 14 at 8:31 a.m.
One thing this article did teach me is that someone can make up facts about a candidate get it printed as a letter to the editor and the Spokesman will wait months to write a tiny little paragraph revealing the truth. At least we can all now agree that Barbieri is not a reputable individual in our community anymore.
ericdx on August 14 at 8:34 a.m.
Marr is supported by the WEA, aka the State teachers union, and the League of Education Voters, aka a Teachers union PAC. That right there is enough reason to dump him, he is a lapdog to the Teachers Union.
Lulubelle on August 14 at 8:43 a.m.
Sorry Cal….Lulu knows of what she speaks. My suggestion to you….as long as we’re making suggestions…….why not take a look at Senator Marr’s entire voting record……not just cherry pick those you think make your point. Oh, silly me……….I know why…..because the whole picture WOULDN’T make your point.
Question: Why do some “conservatives” always fall back on trying to tag those who disagree with their point of view as “far-left” and “typical”…as if that is a bad thing.
Lulubelle on August 14 at 8:51 a.m.
Ah ericdx…….correct me if I’m wrong….but I thought Senator Marr’s opponent is saying he (Senator Marr) is a foe of education. How can he be a “lapdog” and foe at the same time?
Personally I think education should be a #1 priority. Continued support is vital.
Obama08 on August 14 at 10:07 a.m.
I usually identify myself with the progressive ideology, almost exclusively, but I find myself questioning my support of Chris Marr. Although I don’t necessarily support his opponent I do find Marr’s record quite troubling. Marr did in fact vote to cut education funding which I strongly believe should never happen, funding for education should only increase, not decrease.
And his $308,000 campaign money makes me question his progressive values, that type of money could go towards a lot of good in this community, but instead it is being used for an re-election campaign. I think the good people of Spokane are capable of selecting their leaders without the bombardment of TV ads and signs that are not very eco-friendly.
Unfortunately, I am very torn in this race. I fear Olympia has corrupted yet another warrior for the progressive cause.
mmspowaus on August 14 at 10:14 a.m.
Lulu:
Look up SB 5599. This is legislation that Marr sponsored. It takes away every citizens of Washington State right to vote for president of the United States. Look it up and read it before you comment further.
You are defending a despicable man. (Anyone who takes away someone’s right to vote for their own leadership is by definition, despicable…our nation learned this in the mid 1960’s during the civil rights era)
SB 5599 does not benefit the 6th district or any other citizen in Washington State. It does benefit DC democrats however and outside of Washington State interest – large contributors to Chris Marr’s campaign.
Don’t be a DNC lemming or even a GOP lemming. Research and hold accountable the elected folk that are not serving who elected them.
Marr needs to go as does anyone who voted in favor of SB 5599…
Stand up now and cry foul against this legislation and the despicable people who passed it. They are up for re-election THIS election. Losing ones choice for leadership leads to dictatorship as history has so often proven….
Let us not repeat history…
FYI: I’d vote for a rock instead of Marr…he is that bad. Michael Baumgartner however is an attractive candidate with proven negoation skills. He will make an exceleent State Senator and hopefully will reverse SB 5599 when elected…..he might actually serve the people of the 6th district…
Dazzeetrader11 on August 14 at 10:58 a.m.
Marr’s still a used car salesman who is supported heavily by the unions.
Spokane need a conservative like it had in the 6th district for 30 plus years. Marr won by default when the other canadiate thought Marr couldn’t touch him….and so he didn’t campaign.
Marr is a complete socialist. He’s out of touch with Eastern Washington. He, like Lisa Brown…his role model…shouldn’t represent the 6th. He’s done nothing but vote higher taxes and he’s been inconsistent on everything ( translation= he votes liberal when he won’t get caught).
Baumgartner’s a breath of fresh air who has a terrific resume and is deserving of this position. He’s conservative while Marr is a Gregoire, Obama, Brown clone.
ericdx on August 14 at 1:58 p.m.
He is a foe of effective education, he is the lapdog of the Teachers unions. Take a good look at the teachers unions. They are not about teaching better, they are about getting more money for the union. They support higher and higher wages, even when it means that they can’t hire more teachers, to make the classes smaller, which would be better for the kids. The teachers unions are demanding pay raises when the whole economy is cutting back. i have had to take a pay cut to keep a job, but teachers are demanding more money each year, and Marr is an elected mouthpiece for the unions. Maybe if Marr voted to cut some of the Democrats pet projects, i would believe he is about helping people, but he is about special interest.
And Frankly right now, i would say every incumbent, Democrat and Republican, needs to be shown the door, they are not doing a thing for us.
gonzomo on August 14 at 2:31 p.m.
Matt Monroe is totally correct. The SB 5599 is not only a terrible idea, it is entirely unconstitutional. It would make 44 states irrelevant in Presidential election. I too would vote for a corpse over Marr.
Lulu, you are totally wrong on every point. Baumgartner worked for the State Department trying to build a safer, more democratic world. There was an article in the Boston Globe about his work teaching Afghans how to grow wheat rather than poppies. I wonder where he learned to grow wheat.
I would like Marr to explain how he would solve the budget crisis that he helped create. His entire campaign is “Baumgartner’s a carpetbagger” (which is not true). The people working for his campaign have no idea what his positions are on many issues.
And Marr, like Lisa Brown, Timm Ormsby, and all the other dingbats in the legislature, votes exactly how the WEA, WSLC, WFSE, and SEIU tell them to vote. Lets get rid of all of them this year.
paulti on August 14 at 10:00 p.m.
That is so funny. Baumgartner trying to built a safer democracy…..under the bush administration who knows what he and the state department were doing…… And as a Long time resident of the 6th district I feel he is a carpetbagger.
Dazzeetrader11 on August 14 at 10:18 p.m.
November is the time we vote. Don’t blow it.
BethB on August 15 at 8:14 a.m.
Chris Marr has done an excellent job on behalf of our legislative district. He responds to constituents as well. He is extraordinarily available that way, even during legislative session. He takes his job seriously and is highly regarded by people across party lines. (btw, I’m thinking all the people saying bad things about teachers must have had only bad teachers in school??? mine were almost always great, energetic, and hard-working)
mmspowaus on August 16 at 12:28 a.m.
BethB:
Did you read my blog entry? Chris Marr sposored SB 5599
Chris Marr via legislation took away YOUR right to vote for president of the United States.
Countless people lost their lives so we today could have this right to vote for president and you dismiss it as if it were insignificant annoyance…
Bethb, THANKS to CHRIS MARR you, your children and your children’s children will NEVER again be able to VOTE for PRESIDENT on the United STATES as long as they live in Washington State….
ANYONE who takes away someone’s right to vote for their own leadership is despicable.
Mr. Marr is therefore despicable, Bethb This is not a GOP / DNC thingy this is a right and wrong thingy…
Don’t be afraid to seek the truth Bethb….
I’m sorry if you think Marr is a nice guy or you know him socially, just look up what he did. SB 5599. Read it and join me to hold him and EVERY single person who voted for this awful legislation accountable and retire them to private life.
Otherwise explain to me if this legislation is so wonderful why is it not in Marr’s, Ornsby or Driscoll campaign literature?
THEY KNOW IT IS appalling legislation TOO.
BETHB, all that is required for evil to prosper is for good people to do nothing. Don’t do NOTHING Stand up while you can and make your voice heard! WE WANT TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!
Stand up, spread the word and vote these despicable people out of public office.
We owe this to the people before us who entrusted us with the future of Washington State and this great nation. We owe this to our children as well. Let us not make the biggest mistake of the 20th century; Don’t give up your right to vote.
Tell your family, friends and neighbors..read SB 5599,
stand up and join your fellow citizens’s and vote out the depsicable Mr. MARR
misjustice on August 20 at 6:07 p.m.
Matt; your reading of SB 5599 is incorrect as spoketucky stated on the following post.
spoketucky on August 18 at 12:09 p.m.
“SB 5599 would not have “taken away Washington citizens right to vote for the Presidency.” It was a part of a nationwide movement to elect the President by popular vote and not the archaic, undemocratic electoral college. If you are a member of the GOP I would think you’d welcome such a change. Under the current system you are essentially disenfranchised as all of Washington’s votes in the electoral college are cast for the Democratic presidential candidate in that winner take all system.”
It’s really not all that different than the electoral college system of electing the President of the United States; under the electoral college system a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the Presidency.
“Each state has a number of electors equal to the number of its U.S. senators plus the number of its U.S. representatives. Currently, the Electoral College includes 538 electors, 535 for the total number of congressional members, and three who represent Washington, D.C., as allowed by the 23rd Amendment. On the Monday following the second Wednesday in December, the electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals to officially cast their votes for president and vice president. These votes are then sealed and sent to the president of the Senate, who on January 6th opens and reads the votes in the presence of both houses of Congress. The winner is sworn into office at noon on January 20th.”
“Most of the time, electors cast their votes for the candidate who has received the most votes in that particular state. Some states have laws that require electors to vote for the candidate that won the popular vote, while other electors are bound by pledges to a specific political party. However, there have been times when electors have voted contrary to the people’s decision, and there is no federal law or Constitutional provision against it. ”
http://people.howstuffworks.com/question472.htm
Here are the four elections when the candidate who led the popular vote did not win the office:
•1824: John Quincy Adams received more than 38,000 fewer votes than Andrew Jackson, but neither candidate won a majority of the Electoral College. Adams was awarded the presidency when the election was thrown to the House of Representatives.
•1876: Nearly unanimous support from small states gave Rutherford B. Hayes a one-vote margin in the Electoral College, despite the fact that he lost the popular vote to Samuel J. Tilden by 264,000 votes.
•1888: Benjamin Harrison lost the popular vote by 95,713 votes to Grover Cleveland, but won the electoral vote by 65.
•2000: Al Gore had over half a million votes more than George W. Bush, with 50,992,335 votes to Bush’s 50,455,156. But after recount controversy in Florida and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Bush was awarded the state by 537 popular votes. Like most states, Florida has a “winner takes all” rule. This means that the candidate who wins the state by popular vote also gets all of the state’s electoral votes. Bush became president with 271 electoral votes.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/question4721.htm
It is my understanding that SB 5599 would have our state’s electors (11) over ride the electoral college in favor of casting thier votes to reflect the popular vote (which is a more direct form of democracy). No one is trying to take away the ability to vote for President.
mmspowaus on August 28 at 5:07 a.m.
Wow, my retort got deleted. This is the second time in a week my comments have been deleted from an SR-blog..
I’ve been commenting for years and now I get deleted…anyway read this while you can…
==============================
I quickly and respectively retorted that SB5599 does indeed take away WA-State citizens right to vote for president.
Here is an example (this is similar to what I posted earlier…)
Let’s say EVERY citizen in Washington State voted for candidate “A” for president of the United States. The rest of the country is split down the middle between candidate “A” and candidate “B”. Candidate “B” leading with 120 votes in the popular count and 3 votes in the electoral count.
In 2008, candidate “A” would win since all eleven electoral votes would go to candidate “A” in 2012, candidate “B” would since all Washington State electoral votes get converted and given to whomever wins the popular vote for president of the United States.
Clearly against the will of the people of Washington State….
Our vote for president has been taken away from us. One of the local sponsors of this despicable legislation is Chris Mar; with John Driscoll and Tim Ornsby supporting the legislation.
Our vote has indeed been taken away from the citizens of Washington State. Chris Marr led the charge.
JBlim on August 28 at 6:55 a.m.
Actually Matt, it’s the opposite of what you said:
SB 5599 - 2009-10
Approving the entry of Washington into the agreement among the states to elect the president by national popular vote.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5599
It’s a little complicated so I’m not surprised folks either don’t understand it or are demagoging it:
“…States joining the compact will continue to award their electoral votes in their current manner until the compact has been joined by enough states to represent a controlling majority of the Electoral College (currently 270 electoral votes). After that point, all of the electoral votes of the member states would be cast for the winner of the national popular vote in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. With the national popular vote winner sure to have a decisive majority in the Electoral College, he or she would automatically win the Electoral College and therefore the presidency….”
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact
mmspowaus on August 30 at 7:33 a.m.
JBlim:
You need to take a course in debate and persuasive writing…Your retort was meaningless and contributed nothing to this important discussion.
Thanks to Chris Marr and his sponsorship of SB5599, Washington State voters effectively have no say who will be president. No matter how we vote in Washington State our electoral votes are AUTOMATICLY given to who ever wins the popular vote for president. My given example is indeed correct. Your attempt to dismiss is intellectually dishonest and morally disappointing.
This is not a GOP / DNC or liberal / conservative issue Jblim. This is an issue of right and wrong.
Taking away a group of people’s right to vote is a despicable act as our nation learned in the civil rights era of the 1960’s.
In that same era, 18 year olds were giving the vote under the banner that if they can be drafted they should have the right to vote.
People in the 1960’s understood the importance of the vote. Washington State citizens have had their vote taken away quietly in the night without a word from the media.
JBlim, look at this legislation objectively. Join me and thousands of other voters and send the message loud and clear. Vote out every sponsor of SB 5599 like Chris Marr and every legislators who supported it such as John Driscoll and Tim Ornsby; regardless of party affiliation.
If their replacements don’t act to reverse this awful legislation by 2012, then join me and thousands of other voters and vote them out as well.
One of the hard lessons of the 20th Century: It is only a short amount of time after one loses the right to vote for their own leadership before those who retain their right to vote exploit them.
In case you are still on the fence Jblim, answer this question:
If Chris Marr and his fellow SB5599 supporters are convinced this is such great legislation, then why have they NOT touted it in their campaign literature or websites?
It is an election year…
Marr et al know this is heinous legislation that does not benefit Washington State citizens or citizens of the 6th District.
He wants to get re-elected
If the supporters of SB5599 are re-elected, they will be embolden to pass any awful legislation they choose.
Send the message loud and clear; vote out Marr, Driscoll, Ornsby and anyone else who supported SB5599.