Attack misses facts, but scores
Rep. George Nethercutt spoke at the state American Legion convention in Bellevue on July 17, and Sen. Patty Murray did not. Then, the political games began. In an attack release, Nethercutt’s Senate campaign claimed Murray “canceled on the veterans hours before” the event “after it became clear the Legion had scheduled her and Nethercutt to speak back-to-back.” In the statement, the Republican congressman added, “Murray’s no-show was unfair to the veterans who expected to hear from both sides.” But according to a state Legion official’s account, Nethercutt may have been unfair to Murray.
Murray actually canceled five days before the event, citing family obligations, according to Dale Davis, department adjutant for the Washington American Legion. And her campaign knew well in advance Nethercutt would be speaking, Davis added. A Murray spokesman confirmed his account.
Partisan hype aside, Nethercutt fairly chastised Murray for skipping an opportunity to address hundreds of Washington veterans. After all, he has been soliciting the votes of West Side moderates by supporting Murray’s Wild Sky Wilderness initiative and opposing (for now) a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. But besides working to keep a Walla Walla VA hospital open, Democrat Murray hasn’t reached out to more conservative Washington voters this year. And bypassing the state Legion convention won’t help her cause with them.
Satisfied by favorable early poll numbers, Murray may be playing a “My base is bigger than your base” game. The latest mark of her campaign’s complacency: Nethercutt raised more money in the second quarter. But because Murray’s still got more than twice as much cash on hand as Nethercutt, her people aren’t worried. Still, they promise a more aggressive campaign starting Aug. 1.
But they should worry now about alienating moderate constituents. While praising both Nethercutt and Murray as friends of veterans, the Legion’s Davis said, “It is disappointing when she isn’t able to make it” to the state convention. He pointedly added that Murray’s failure to attend will be written up in the next issue of the Legionnaire newspaper that goes out to 42,000 veterans in the state.
Connecting the dots for Murray
After repeatedly criticizing Murray’s rope-a-dope campaign against Nethercutt, I thought I’d offer a savvy tactic Murray might deploy against the giant killer of Eastern Washington.
Last Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported how political bloggers are making big money through campaign advertising this year. Here’s the part Murray should memorize: “Back in January, the campaign of Ben Chandler, a Democratic candidate for a U.S. Congress seat in Kentucky, placed $2,000 worth of ads on a dozen politically oriented blogs. Two weeks later, his campaign had raked in more than $80,000 in donations from hundreds of blog readers, some of whom lived nowhere near Kentucky. Chandler went on to defeat his opponent in the Feb. 17 special election, and the political world, especially the left-leaning side, took note.”
The day before that feature appeared, the New York Times analyzed how U.S. Senate races are shaping up in a story headlined, “Democrats see new hope in Republican strongholds.” Again, here’s the critical passage for Murray: “Democrats say the chief concern they have in the [West] is protecting the seat held by Senator Patty Murray of Washington.”
See where I’m going with this, Murray campaign staffers? Place a fund-raising pitch on political blogs along these lines: “New York Times calls Patty Murray the West’s most vulnerable incumbent Senate Democrat.” Then watch the money roll in from progressives desperate to put the Senate back in Democratic hands. If Nethercutt ever claims victory on landing a federal sales tax deduction for Washington residents, Murray will need every cent.