Irresponsible, fruitless, whiny, radical…

…etc, etc.

George Howland seems to hit most all the right notes in his post-mortem on the recent unpleasantness in Wenatchee for the Seattle Weekly…

On Monday, June 6, after seven months of irresponsible rhetoric and fruitless litigation by his lawyers and spinmeisters, Rossi finally ended his bid for the governorship. He did not, however, take personal responsibility for his headline-grabbing, whiny, and expensive litigation. Instead, Rossi took a page out of the playbook of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, making an ad hominem attack on the integrity of the state's highest court. It was as baseless as the rest of his legal arguments and should serve as a reminder that Rossi is deeply wedded to the radical right-wing agenda emanating from D.C.

He comes up with the money quote from Seattle U. law professor John Strait, too...

"I'm not sure that the Republicans ever thought they would reverse the results of the election. This was an organizing tool for them."

...a valuable reminder that this victory isn't truly consolidated until Rossi's next loss, and then offers some useful background for my outrage over the slimy partisan attack on the State Supreme Court.

...the state Supreme Court has a deserved centrist reputation in legal circles and has acted in an exemplary fashion during this season of election discontent. In December, the court made two key rulings in the gubernatorial election challenge. Both were unanimous. One favored the Democrats and Gregoire, the other supported Rossi and the Republicans. The truth is such fairness and independence is precisely what Rossi and the Republicans hope to eliminate from the judiciary.

Good stuff from a usually reliable source. Don't take my word for it. Read the whole thing.