Baxter endorsement strange

In a recent letter to the editor, a gentleman claimed that the support of Rep. Shea and Sen. Baumgartner told him all he needed to know about the temporary appointee to Sen. McCaslin’s seat, Jeff Baxter.

The backing of these two conservatives guaranteed this gentleman’s vote. It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows, and it appears to be true in this case.

The United Steel Workers Union Local 338 is also supporting Mr. Baxter. Getting an endorsement from an organization means you share their goals and work for their agenda. The union is hardly a bastion of “well-respected, conservative credentials,” as the letter writer claimed was important to him.

Baxter joins the ranks of fellow “conservatives,” such as Christine Gregoire, Patty Murray and Barack Obama, in gaining USW support. They have never endorsed a Republican in the 4th District in living memory.

The union rates each legislator’s voting record on bills of importance to them, and Baxter has a whopping 25 percent – a failing mark from the union’s perspective and hardly deserving of an endorsement.

It looks like Mr. Baxter and USW Local 338 are keeping rather strange company.

Carol Snyder

Spokane Valley