Merriam Webster's dictionary defines "abortion" not only as the termination of a pregnancy, but also as
2 : MONSTROSITYWhich brings us to the local newspapers coverage of Rep. Rodney Tom's transformation into a Democrat so he can run against incumbent Republican Sen. Luke Esser.
3 : arrest of development (as of a part or process) resulting in imperfection; also : a result of such arrest
The Seattle Times: "GOP legislator switches to Dems"
[Tom] said being a Democrat is not only a better fit for the political demographic of the Eastside's 48th Legislative District but a more comfortable fit for his ideology, which includes support for legal abortion ...The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Election 2006: Sensible switch"
Esser has left himself ripe for challenge with a voting record increasingly discordant with much of his district. He has been a regular vote ... against abortion rights ...Today's P-I print edition offers a correction, which I can't find online, to the effect that Luke Esser reports that in his 8 years in the legislature he has never voted against abortion rights.. Oh, well. So much for the armies of fact-checking editors that separate real journalists from bloggers.
Of course it's fair game for the papers to compare and contrast Esser and Tom's respective voting records. It would be even more helpful if they both (a) focused on issues that actually come before the legislature, and (b) represent their positions, uh, truthfully and accurately.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at March 17, 2006 11:44 AM | Email ThisEsser hasn't been in the Senate for 8 years, only 4. He was in the House 4 years before that.
Posted by: Cliff on March 17, 2006 12:20 PM-- that could have been my screw-up. I don't have the paper with the correction in front of me. I corrected the post.
Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on March 17, 2006 12:29 PMuh, reporterward, have you not noticed that South Dakota is trying to wrestle it back?
Remember, the seat he won four years ago was an open seat, and he beat a long-time (18 years, I believe) House incumbent to do it.
He wins going away. 56-58 percent, at least.
Posted by: jimg on March 17, 2006 01:21 PMBTW, when SCOTUS "took that responsibility" from state legislatures 30 years ago, it was the biggest usurpation of states rights in our history. Then they followed that up with that sodomy ruling a few years ago.
Posted by: Palouse on March 17, 2006 01:27 PMhttp://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/005756.html#005756
You've been corrected so many times on this comment board that we've all lost count.
You don't correct yourself, either. You just stop commenting on threads where we point out how wrong you really are.
Posted by: Larry on March 17, 2006 03:38 PMEsser is a typical extremist politician....bends to the far extremes of the party.
It will be fun to watch him sail into the sunset.
But, you, Stefan, will probably "Toby Nixon" him and make him seem like some God-like politician. Turns out your efforts will be wasted...actually beneficial to the oppostion as it's clear you represent the extreme right wing of the party and even moderates are distancing themselves from your extremism.
Posted by: LovinUSA on March 17, 2006 03:41 PMCare to make it interesting, or is this just wishful thinking on your part?
I just love it when lefties try to describe conservatives - based upon their Fidel-Castro-is-a-moderate point of view.
Posted by: jimg on March 17, 2006 04:14 PM"Former Attorney General Gregoire is proposing a $350 million biotech boondoggle. The usually responsible Sen. Finkbeiner and Sen. Esser have joined the boondoggle bandwagon."
That doesn't sound like Stefan making him seem God-like to me. It doesn't sound like Luke being an extremist either.
As for sailing into the sunset. I guess you know Luke better than I do because I didn't realize he was such an avid yachtsman. The only sunsets we'll be seeing in November will have a golden hue, a "Debra" Golden hue.
Posted by: Politics is a contact sport on March 17, 2006 04:19 PMObviously, there's no stool like a loose stool, eh biteme? ;'}
Posted by: alphabet soup on March 17, 2006 06:21 PMBy simple majority are you referring to Gregoire's declaration that she wants it passed next session, so that schools can steal more property taxes from the poor homeowners?
There is a reason for super majority, I will support simple majority when property owners are the only ones voting to increase their taxes.
Posted by: sgmmac on March 17, 2006 07:02 PMWell it's kind of having it both ways. The state leg has plenty to do with abortion. It has the power to do what South Dakota is doing. It also puts regulations on abortion or lifts them depending on who's in power. But I'm glad to see you make such a pro-life statement. Somebody should tell reporterward that. And while we're at it, tell Dino Rossi that if he runs again, it's not "out of the governor's hands" either. God bless South Dakota, but they didn't change it for the other states. They sure can be an inspiration though.
Posted by: Republican in Exile on March 19, 2006 03:46 PM