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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fact check trims one argument for revote

Jim Camden The Spokesman-Review

By now it should be clear to every resident of Washington not in a coma that some folks really want a revote on the governor’s race. Really, really want it.

But that doesn’t mean they should short-change the facts to support their argument.

ReVoteWa.com, which describes itself as a grass-roots effort to lobby the Legislature for a new election, may have some good arguments for their effort. But this, from their Web site, is not one of them:

“This is our state’s tradition. Lawmakers called an election when former Governor Dan Evans was appointed to the United States Senate and an election was needed.”

Not exactly.

Henry “Scoop” Jackson died on Sept. 1, 1983, and Evans was appointed seven days later by Gov. John Spellman. There was always going to be an election in November, because, well, that’s the law. But the ballots had already been printed for the scheduled primary on Sept. 20.

What Spellman, legislators and the state Supreme Court disagreed on was whether there had to be a special primary, and who had to call one. Spellman said he didn’t have the authority to order one up, and wouldn’t call a special session of the adjourned Legislature, for fear of what else the honorables might do.

But without a primary, the state faced a free-for-all in the Senate race, with an unknown number of candidates fracturing the vote like asphalt on a Spokane arterial during the thaw. No one knew who’d get the biggest chunk of votes.

When the court said calling a primary was the job of the Legislature, Spellman and legislative leaders cut a deal that a special primary was all they would discuss if he called them back into session. They got in and out in fewer than three hours, setting a special primary for Oct. 11. A grand total of 31 candidates filed for the office, and the primary winnowed them down to two, Evans and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Lowry. Evans won the general.

Is anyone calling for a gubernatorial primary? No, we thought not.

Listing left and right

Something we thought we’d never see: John Kerry, John Edwards and George Nethercutt on the same list from the National Taxpayers Union.

This organization against government spendthrifts often criticizes the voting records of the former Democratic ticket toppers as tax-and-spend liberals. The group is generally more favorably disposed toward the former Republican House member from Spokane.

Last week, however, the NTU published a report that castigates members of Congress who took time off to campaign for some other office. Federal law has a no-work, no-pay rule for Congress, the group says, so such unexcused absences should disqualify senators or representatives for pay on days they ducked when their colleagues were voting on bills.

NTU President John Berthoud complained that “taxpayers covered the bill for several members of Congress who were trolling for votes at the polls instead of casting votes in Washington.”

It should be noted that Nethercutt is at the low end of the NTU’s list of “chronically absent” congresspersons – absent 13 days, for $8,188 worth of pay – while the two Johns were up at the top thanks to their races.

Kerry missed 146 days of votes, from January 2003 to the October 2004 recess, campaigning for president and was overpaid $90,932.68, the group estimates. Edwards was gone 102 days during that period, and was overpaid $63,543.16.

Democratic presidential wannabes Joseph Lieberman, Dick Gephardt and Dennis Kucinich were also on the list. The NTU suggests all congresspersons who played hooky to campaign should reimburse the treasury for the salary they got.

Curious about George?

Speaking of Eastern Washington’s former congressman, an announcement may be imminent on his next career.

Nethercutt has been mentioned as a hot hire for some Washington, D.C., law and lobbying firms and for a spot somewhere in George W. Bush’s second-term administration.

One possible non-administration appointment rumored for Nethercutt is a spot on the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, the group that will travel the country this year and decide which military installations to ax. Former Sen. Slade Gorton, late of the 9/11 Commission, has also been rumored for a spot on the BRAC.

This is an important job that somebody’s got to do, but Spin Control would not wish it on our worst enemy, let alone two guys who represented this Washington in that other Washington for lo those many years.

There are four of the nine appointments left for BRAC; Bush has three and the Senate Democrats have one. We’re guessing neither Gorton nor Nethercutt is on the Ds’ short list.

Nethercutt was traveling last week and not reachable, but Gorton said he’s heard rumors, but nothing else.

“The White House hasn’t picked me for anything yet and they certainly haven’t called me,” he said.

As for the imminent announcement … if we knew, we’d tell you, which is probably why no one is telling us.