What was that...

...about living in 'interesting times'? Goldy does a little crystal gazing...

So in 2012 alone we could see competitive races for open seats for Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, WA-01, WA-07, WA-08 and WA-10, not to mention a half dozen or so legislative seats opening up due to incumbents looking to advance. And this in turn will likely open up some council and/or executive seats for 2013. Throw US Sen. Maria Cantwell and President Barack Obama into the 2012 mix, and it’s gonna be a heck of a few years.

Whee!

Good question…

…from Goldy's feature story in The Stranger...

...when longtime Reichert observers started speculating that his recent head injury may have resulted in permanent brain damage, the first question I had to ask myself was: “How would you know?”

I dunno, how would you?

I'll tell you something I do know - if I lived in WA-8 I'd vote for Suzan DelBene.

From the "Me neither" file.

Goldy...

I don’t know what’s more insulting, the suggestion that Reichert is brain-damaged, or the insistence that he’s not.

Me neither.

From the "If we do say so ourselves" file.

The official script seems to call for repeatedly relating tales of Democratic dismay, so we've got to tell the other side of the story ourselves. Over at the D-Trip blog, The Stakeholder, Brandon English rounds up 27 tales of Republican "Disarray Across the Country."

Nice to see WA-8 on the list.

And the lights dim a bit…

Darcy:

It is likely at this point that Congressman Reichert has won re-election, and while we will certainly ensure that every valid vote is counted, we accept the decision of the voters.

The classy gesture you'd expect from Burner, but she was robbed, plain and simple, by the conjunction of a front page smear in the Seattle Times and the likely criminal line of credit extended by Reichert's media buyers, allowing him to broadcast the smear in the closing days of the campaign.

Darcy will be fine, I'm sure. Smart, personable, attractive Harvard graduates tend to do fine in our society.

Our country, though, has lost a treasure.

Now that's impressive.

Via David Postman…

Rep. Dave Reichert, the two-term Republican incumbent, raised $115,474 during July, compiling $929,113 in cash on hand.

Democratic challenger Darcy Burner raised more — $350,837– during July, and reported having almost $1.5 million in the bank...

Money isn't everything, of course, but there's no denying it's an important something in a political fight. Darcy has apparently dumped a chunk of that 1.5 on a media buy, but the point is that she can do that and still retain a financial advantage over Brand W Dave.

...Reichert relied on PAC money to make up over 55% of his anemic July total, whereas Burner only raised 5% from PACs. That kind of disparity tells you a lot about both candidate’s work ethic, and their allegiances.

Over 300k from individual donors? In the middle of summer?

Amazing, and encouraging.

Time is money…

…and vice versa.

Like everyone hereabouts, and a good many of y'all thereabouts, I was shocked by the news of the fire that destroyed Darcy Burner's home yesterday, and grateful that the family escaped without injury. Darcy's issued a statement and, unsurprisingly to those who know her, has encouraged gestures of financial support to be sent to animal shelters and firefighter's charities. Good causes, no doubt.

I'm sure she'll pardon me, though, if I prefer Goldy's plan...

Darcy needs to raise about $150,000 this July to keep pace with Dave Reichert and her own 2006 fundraising, and every day she takes off makes her campaign budget that much harder to hit. That’s about $5,000 a day.

And that’s why I’m joining with bloggers nationwide to ask our readers to contribute what they can today, to help give Darcy the breathing room she needs to tend to her own affairs without worrying about neglecting her campaign. Every $5,000 increment we raise represents a day that Darcy won’t have to dedicate to her own fundraising efforts. It is a gift more precious than money; it is a gift of time.

You can help buy Darcy some time at the Upper Left ActBlue page.

And yeah, I think the shirt is cool, too...

Photo by ELLEN M. BANNER/THE SEATTLE TIMES

Movin' on up…

…on the Eastside.

The WaPo's Chris Cillizza moves WA-8 up a couple notches (from 19 to 17) on his list of Congressional seats most likely to change hands. He credits Darcy Burner with being "an improved candidate," but sees a win coming from Presidential coattails...

If Obama wins big in the 8th, he is likely to carry Burner along with him.

Yep, that's likely. I'm not sure those coattails are essential to Democratic victory in the 8th, but they'd certainly be helpful. That's true, I suspect, for seat after seat, in state after state. If Obama wins as big as I think he should, and believe he can, it could change the Congressional map dramatically.

Hat tip to Goldy.

Have you done your Good Deed For Darcy today?

Via Goldy…

Gen. Wesley Clark is going to one lucky Congressional district to do a community service project and we get to decide where to send him. So go to Democrats Work today and vote for Darcy in WA-08.

You'll feel better when you do!

So you can't give five grand…

…to Darcy Burner. Russ Feingold and the Progressive Patriots Fund can, though, and you can help her get it. Darryl has the details...

Sen. Russ Feingold is offering a $5000 check to one of ten progressive House candidates. You get to help decide who gets the dough.

Cast your vote for Darcy in the Progressive Patriots Fund election today. Let’s show them the kind of strong grassroots support that has allowed Darcy to kick Reichert’s ass in dollars raised and number of individual contributors in every quarter since she joined the race this election cycle.

Of course, if you can give something, the Upper Left ActBlue page is available for your convenience.

Good news…

…from PolitickerWA.

U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) earned a dubious distinction in the pages of Roll Call, the newspaper that focuses on congressional politics. Yesterday, the former King County sheriff was featured in an early edition of the newspaper's "10 Most Vulnerable" House incumbents list.

Or, as I like to put it, Darcy Burner is one of the ten challengers most likely to succeed.

She cleaned up in Q1 cash…

…and now she's cleaning up, literally. Via PolitickerWA...

Darcy Burner, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th District, will be taking her campaign back to the earth this weekend. As part of an event to encourage community service, Burner will join the 47th LD Democrats and the national grassroots service organization Democrats Work to clean up garbage along the Green River at Flaming Geyser State Park this Saturday morning.

Which gives rise to the question - can Dave Reichert catch the Green River Cleaner?

Darcy's right…

…about many things, including this…

If ever there was a core government function that should not be contracted out, it is the right to use deadly force in our names.

One of Burner's finest qualities as a candidate is her consistent effort to match problems with solutions, and this is no exception...

H.R. 4102, the Stop Outsourcing Security Act, currently has 27 sponsors. The Senate equivalent, S. 2398, currently has 2 sponsors. I've listed them below. If your representative or senators aren't on these lists, it's probably time you asked them to be.

My own personal Congressman is on the list. If you're a Washingtonian outside the 7th, yours isn't.

Darcy!

Via Horse's Ass we learn that Darcy Burner has raised $516,740 this quarter, pushing her total over $1 million and almost certainly swamping Brand W Dave Reichert once again. More impressively...

The vast bulk of Burner’s fundraising has come from individuals rather than PACs or political party committees – about $456,500 this quarter, or more than 88 percent of the total raised. Burner received 4,859 contributions from 4,416 individuals in the first quarter. Burner has received 11,615 contributions from 8,817 donors who have given over the course of the current campaign.

I have no idea what the record is, but I can't imagine there have been many Congressional campaigns, let alone challenger campaings, with nearly 9000 contributors 7 months out from an election. Yay for Darcy, and for all y'all, too.

Mr. Lonely?

During his US Senate run against Slade Gorton, I asked the late Brock Adams why he seemed so confident about his chances against all the advantages of incumbency. "Shaun," he told me "I'm going to beat him because even his friends don't like him." I imagine Dave Reichert knows just how that feels. Via Goldy...

A hotly contested Republican seat on the House Appropriations Committee will go to Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama, rebuffing a desperate plea from a cash-starved Rep. Dave Reichert that “I need a seat now.”

What he needs is a career counselor.

Darcy, Dave and dollars.

Goldy has the good tidings...

Rep. Dave Reichert’s year-end fundraising report just showed up on the FEC website, and man is it pathetic: only $236,612 net contributions for the quarter and $462,828 cash-on-hand at the end of the year. Compare that to Darcy Burner’s $339,495 for the quarter and $607,144 cash-on-hand...

I wouldn't be surprised if this news puts that House Appropriations Committee seat Reichert covets so shamelessly out of his reach. It's hard to believe the R's would consider him worth the investment. After all, Darcy's not beating him because her party is stacking the deck in her favor. The President of the United States hasn't been in town to give her a boost. She's without any of the inherent advantages of incumbency.

He's got all that, and it all adds up to behind.

The scary part is that he's probably a better candidate than he is a Congresscritter.

Rothenberg rates...

TOSS-UP/TILT REPUBLICAN

· WA 8 (Reichert, R)

Time to turn the tilt.

Dave ducking Brand W™?

Stuart Rothenberg takes a close look at WA-8 and offers some prudently cautionary but hardly discouraging notes for Darcy Burner fans. In the end he finds that…

Reichert’s ultimate fate depends on voters’ willingness to distinguish him from President Bush and see him as an “independent” legislator.

That's Brand W™ Dave Reichert. This guy…



Well, one of those guys. The other one? Just makes my point.

Meanwhile, have I mentioned that Darcy Burner is featured on the Upper Left ActBlue page?

Speaking of polls…

…a private poll commissioned by the 21st Century Democrats in WA-8 was taken on the heels of the Preznit's visit to Sheriff Dave (and the landmark on-line fundraiser the netroots held for Darcy Burner)...

Reichert (R) 39
Burner (D) 44

When people say we need more Democrats and better Democrats, they mean Darcy.

Toss her a celebratory buck or two here.

Tale of the tape.

The adding machine tape, that is. Darryl has the details...

The FEC reports for the second quarter (1 Apr–30 Jun) are in. The result: Darcy Burner has raised more money than Dave Reichert (R-WA-08). She has also spent less money, and has more cash on hand.

Good news, but Q3 is already underway. Help Darcy win another one.