Public Periscope

Campaign lit late hit

That red-and-black junk mail with the shooting range target may look like the cover of a cheap, Cold War spy novel, but it’s really the latest campaign literature the Washington State Republican Party is sending to local Democrats.

The state GOP apparently is so concerned about the choice that Democrats will make in Tuesday’s 6th District Senate race that it decided to give them a little friendly guidance, and assumes that at least some of them won’t consider the source … The mailer offers readers “The truth about Keith Johnson,” one of two Democrats vying to take on state Sen. Jim West. It criticizes Johnson for taking money from “Seattle political bosses,” for missing three of the last four elections and being relatively new to Spokane. In case anyone missed recent stories in The Spokesman-Review, the GOP notes that Johnson used to work for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Valid points, as far as they go - although there’s a bit of irony when Seattle political bosses of the Republican stripe spend money to criticize spending by Seattle political bosses of the Democratic stripe.

What’s really strange - some might even say pathetic - is the conspiratorial tone that hints about government overthrows by Johnson’s old boss. “The CIA calls it ‘misinformation’ when they spread information that is false or deliberately misleading,” it warns. “They do it to overthrow governments or remove politicians from power” … Obviously, the whiz kids at GOP central haven’t read their Ian Fleming or John LeCarre closely. That’s really called “disinformation” - which could be a good description for this mailer.

Know thine enemy - spell his name right

While we at Public Periscope find ourselves indebted to U.S. Term Limits for its ad attacking U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt - full pages in the paper don’t come cheap, ya know? - we’d be a little more likely to pay attention to the group’s press releases if its fancy Boston public relations firm could hire a good proof reader … Hoping to get some extra coverage for the group’s ongoing tiff with the congressman over his refusal to sign its pledge, it sent out a press release castigating “George Nethercut.”

Second notice

We’ve mentioned this before but, because it ends a long-standing tradition, it bears repeating. Political junkies who like to be “right there” when the ballot counts are announced should reroute themselves Tuesday night to the Spokane County Health District Building on College … For years, the tally watch has been conducted in the County Courthouse annex, outside the vehicle licensing office.

Stats to ponder, stats to wonder

Here’s a sign the folks at the Democratic National Committee either have too much time on their hands, or just learned how to use the word search in their computer program. Within eight hours of the release of the Kenneth Starr report, the DNC sent out the following statistics: Number of times sex, or some variation, occurs in the report - 548. Number of times Whitewater appears in the report, 2. FBI files, 0 … We’re expecting an update soon on counts for perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of office.

Reminder

Want to vote absentee in the primary? Today’s your last day to request an absentee ballot … Planning a write-in campaign? Today’s your last day to file a declaration so you get the benefit of the doubt when the ballots are counted.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT TOPICS Tuesday: Election day. Cast your ballot for your choice for U.S. senator, representative, legislators and county executives. Levies and bond issues in some districts, too. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at precinct polling stations all over Washington.