Democrats Back-Slap In Solidarity Murray, Newcomer Behrens-Benedict Stars Of Show At Convention

The mom in tennis shoes put on her running gear, and an unknown interior decorator brought down the house.

The Washington State Democratic Convention, which ended Saturday, was a chance for party leaders to send their own into election season with a tidal wave of support.

But the biggest splash seemed reserved for one of Washington’s best-known politicians, and perhaps its least-known: freshman U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, and Bellevue widow Heidi Behrens-Benedict.

While standing ovations were common enough to seem meaningless, the several hundred delegates, party officials and guests who packed into a convention hall here thundered their approval for the two women.

“It feels like a family reunion,” Murray told the crowd over heavy applause.

The crowd seemed equally taken with Behrens-Benedict, a political novice. Just last week, friends and strangers convinced the self-employed decorator to run for office - after she wrote a powerful letter to the Seattle Times, expressing her anger and frustration over the school shootings in Springfield, Ore.

“The time is over when we can allow our elected officials to turn their backs on the cries of our children,” said Behrens-Benedict, who will take on U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Bellevue.

Despite the show of solidarity, the convention started in controversy, as platform officials battled over a move to reprimand Murray for her position on Hanford’s Fast Flux Test Facility.

Even as anti-nuclear activist Gerry Pollet agreed to soften the resolution, he insisted that Murray needed to come out more strongly against restarting the reactor or risk alienating grass-roots support.

“She has no idea how angry people were that we even compromised,” he said.

By midday Saturday, delegates were still discussing a platform that called for an end to intolerance and support of strong environmental protection, affirmative action, an increase in the minimum wage and a focus on education.

While delegates and candidates rarely mentioned the opposition by name, the GOP’s shadow was never far.

Democratic Gov. Gary Locke told the crowd, “We are the party that heads to November with our head up and our pride intact,” a reference to Democratic losses in 1994 and 1996.

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, flown in to invigorate the crowd, suggested that simply by shifting priorities, Democrats can eliminate their “tax-and-spend label.” He boasted of his own success in reducing child abuse and improving access to health care while cutting taxes during New England’s recession in the early 1990s.

Dean said it is essential for Democrats to not debate Republicans on their own terms.

“When they say ‘school prayer,’ we should say ‘school lunches,”’ Dean said.

Taking the cue, Brad Lyons, a Lincoln County farmer challenging Rep. George Nethercutt, said Republicans must have meant “children from low-income families would pray for a good meal.”