Another bit of nasty business…

…in my postal box. I've received only two pieces of political mail about the upcoming primary election here in the upper left. Both of 'em are hit pieces attacking King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson.

Second verse, a little bit worse.

The latest from Ferguson's opponent, Carolyn Edmonds, is a classic, I'll admit. Some pull quotes without context and a bit of strategically placed red ink on an oversized, full color card, it's the kind of thing that consultants make their bread and butter on. Sometimes it works. This time it shouldn't.

It's basically an attack on Ferguson's attempt to get $10 million in funding for veteran's services in the county. Edmonds' attack is predicated on pitting the needs of veterans against the needs of seniors, the disabled, the homeless and children (earth to Carolyn - many veterans are seniors and/or disabled. Veterans are disproportionately represented among the homeless. Lots of us have kids. You're pitting us against ourselves).

There's no mention, of course, of any alternative measures Edmonds might support, or any actual problems with Ferguson's proposal. It just exists, and a lineup of straw men with a heavy dose of emotion seems to be all Edmonds has left in her arsenal.

Actually, there's hardly any mention of Edmonds at all. The only place her name appears is in the legally mandated 'paid for' line, doubling as the return address, on the bottom of the reverse side. That's kind of noteworthy itself. When it's time to issue a hit, candidate from both sides of the aisle usually seek cover from their respective parties, having the party make a contribution of mailing expenses so the candidate's name needn't appear on the piece. That's an option unavailable to Edmonds. Every time the Party has considered the race for endorsement, from a convention of precinct workers to legislative district organizations to the County Executive Board, Bob Ferguson has been the choice of Democrats.

That's two in a week, with three weeks to go. The mud is piling up, and Bob's going to have to start shoveling it out of the way pretty soon. Responses to this kind of sustained assault are expensive. You can help out here. As I've said before, the political aspects of this race extend far beyond the local policy concerns involved. The integrity of the Democratic Party's candidate selection process is just one of those aspects that make this an election worth your attention, no matter where you are.

You can learn more about Bob here.