Former Seattle sportscaster Tony Ventrella announced that he will run as a Democrat to challenge U.S. Representative Dave Reichert in the 8th Congressional District. Unfortunately for Democrats, there are already problems with his candidacy.
You see, Ventrella appears to believe that he is the Bernie Sanders of Washington State, claiming that won’t “take money from political-action committees or ask rich people for big checks.” Rather, he wants to fund his campaign through small donations.
The problem, of course, is that Ventrella is not Sanders. Ventrella has no record that would inspire voters’ financial support. His prospects of drumming up support are made worse by the reality that Rep. Reichert, a former King County sheriff, is a district favorite who will almost certainly win re-election.
Ventrella may not want to accept reality, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) does. That’s why, when informed of Ventrella’s fundraising plans, the DCCC officials asked him if he would step aside if they found a candidate “more enthusiastic about raising money.”
Since he is unlikely to convince people to give him their own money, Ventrella is an avid supporter of the so-called “democracy voucher” scheme. That’s a measure being pushed by Integrity Washington for the November 2016 ballot. As Shift reported, the scheme would allow Washington voters to make $150 in taxpayer-funded donations to legislative candidates every two years.
Perhaps, given that Ventrella has no problem supporting a blatantly hypocritical measure that is funded primarily by two rich guys from the East Coast, the DCCC officials will convince their new candidate to change his mind about asking other rich people for money — not that it would make much of a difference for his prospects.
Picture via King 5.
FUGEDDABOUDIT Tony..The “DEMOCRATIC OUTHOUSE” NEEDS FLUSHING..Locally & Nationally !!