It’s Not Just a Matter of Choice

The Junior Senator from Washington State Maria Cantwell has become something of a lightening rod for Democratic voter dissatisfaction as she tries to mount her campaign for re-election.
She won election six years ago by a razor thin majority and has done little to improve her appeal to voters.

She has been unapologetic in supporting Bush’s corporate war in Iraq.
She has voted for the Patriot Act twice.
She voted for and touted about the industry written and incredibly expensive and dangerously ineffective Medicare D.
She voted for the draconian bankruptcy bill authored by the credit card industry and favors repealing the estate tax.
She voted for every crony, crook and hack that George W dredged up and put before the Senate including Gonzales and the infamous Michael Chertoff.

Those who do support her do so because of her position on the environment and women’s reproductive rights.

Generally they seen unaware that some of her top contributors are environmental lawyers or that she helped seriously anti-choice judge to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

Mark Wilson, a former Marine, who is far superior to her on all the issues is challenging her but the Democratic Party has all ready thrown its weight behind Cantwell's candidacy.
She has raised over 6 million dollars and they believe her incumbency gives her a dominant position.

They feel they have other fish to fry. But how safe is her seat?

Both major newspapers, The Seattle Times and the Post Intelligencer have published articles about her troubled relationship with her constituents and her struggling campaign.
Friday’s Seattle Times published a flurry of letters from her constituents registering their dissatisfaction.

Below is the letter I sent to Seattle Times about my experience with the Senator and why I don’t think she is a good choice to represent the people of Washington or to help the Democrats regain their majority in the Senate.

A Matter of Choice

"Maria Cantwell claims to be a
pro-choice candidate.
Until recently, her voting record seemed to back that up.

However, she confounded her constituents when she voted to end the
filibuster on extremist Judge Samuel Alito, effectively guaranteeing him a
place on the Supreme Court.
Any hopes that Bush/Roberts Supreme Court might take a
moderate view of Roe v. Wade were dashed with the addition of Alito.

The fact that she voted against him on the floor was completely meaningless. The
Democrats only had enough votes to prevent a vote on Alito. They didn’t have
enough votes to defeat his nomination once it reached the floor of the Senate.

What is even more disturbing is that she won't own it.

As a delegate to the King County Democratic Convention, I listened to speech
after speech praising her record on choice.

Frustrated by the cover up of her vote to end the Alito filibuster, I confronted
her outside the convention hall. She looked puzzled and told me she voted against Alito. I repeated my question: "why did she vote to end the filibuster and
guarantee a lifetime appointment for for radical extremist on the Supreme
Court?"

She huffed and puffed and said she had a 100% rating by a
women's group and turned away.

She didn't mention whether her rating was given before or
after her cloture vote .
Some reproductive rights groups are not very picky. NARAL and
Planned Parenthood both give money to anti-choice candidates.

Did Senator Cantwell respond to my concerns?
Hell no.
Would I trust Cantwell to make good
decisions on reproductive health issues for my family?
Hell no.

It's not just a matter of choice. According to Roll Call,
on key Democratic positions, Cantwell votes with the GOP 75% of the
time.

There is no doubt the Bush oligarchy needs to stopped. 70% of
Americans agree.
If the Democrats take back the House it will help open
the door for critical investigations to take place.

However, according to Rep. Jim McDermott, taking back the Senate is just as
important. It will give the Democrats subpoena power which they desperately
need to put a crimp in the Bush administrations murderous agenda.

I think the party leaders and the
party faithful are making a critical mistake
in supporting an unpopular and unDemocratic candidate like Senator Cantwell.

In order to win, the
Democrats must present themselves as a clear
alternative to the GOP.
They cannot afford to support incumbents
who are GOP enablers.
They cannot afford to support candidates that
misrepresent themselves and refuse to be accountable to their
constituents."

I am very concerned about the health of a political system that gives us such poor choices.

Carol DW