Storm warning

Appreciation extended to The Stakeholder for a pointer to today's E.J. Dionne piece that takes a look at Democratic Congressional prospects through the eyes of a couple Upper Lefters - Representatives Jay Inslee and Brian Baird. It's always nice to get noticed by the other Washington.

Dionne points out that Inslee, who was swept out of the House in the Republican tidal wave of '94 "...came back to the House in 1998, and now what he's seeing "is the same tidal wave moving in the opposite direction. . . . There's a passion out there." And the passion, Inslee says, is running against George W. Bush."

Baird, who represents a sprawling district in southwest Washington, reports that ""I've never seen a time with so many Republicans expressing consternation about their party and a willingness to support the other party."

Bear in mind, these guys don't come from the kind of deep blue environment that produces my Congressman, Jim McDermott. They represent small towns and suburbs and farm country - Baird's district, in fact, went to Bush in 2000 even as Gore was carrying the state. Where they're from isn't very different at all than the places where we have challengers like Don Barbieri and Alex Alben battling to take our Congressional delegation from 6 to 3 D to an overwhelming 8 to 1 advantage.

There's a big blue storm brewing off the Pacific coast, folks, and by November it may build up enough force to sweep across the country. Hang on to your hats, there's a wild ride coming.