Much has been written recently (such as here and here) about the bloodletting that is going on in the national Democrat Party, as blame for the loss of all the levers of control in Washington, D.C. is being shared far and wide.
Now Washington State Democrats are getting into the act, embarking on that well-known winning strategy of eating your own. And, like at the national level, it’s the far-Left leading the way. Liberal blog PubliCola pointed out that:
“Democratic State Representative Noel Frame (D-36, Ballard), a Bernie Sanders supporter who chaired the Washington state Democratic convention last summer in the run-up to the national convention in a show of strength for Sanders delegates, is now the lead signature on an online petition signed by a parade of Democratic Party precinct committee officers—“including supporters of both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton”—calling on the Washington State Democratic Central Committee (WSDCC) “to withhold their support and endorsement in the race for Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party until they’ve given all other candidates an opportunity to make their case.
“The petition reads as a clear rebuke of current Washington State Democratic Party chair Jaxon Ravens. Citing recent state legislative losses (the Democrats failed to take back the state senate this year despite a concerted effort), the petition states:
‘Washington has long been viewed as a “blue” state. And while we passed ballot measures and elected Democrats at the statewide level, that’s where our blue streak ends. Now is not a time to pat ourselves on the back for maintaining on a statewide level. Instead we must seriously reflect on why we’re losing ground at every level below. We have consistently lost seats in the State House for the past 10 years, and now cling to a one-vote majority. Since 2013, Republicans have controlled the State Senate. In this 2016 election, we lost countless county-level races across the state previously held by Democrats. There is no excuse for this in a “blue” state.’”
The intra-mural fight also caught the attention of the Seattle P-I’s Joel Connelly, who provided background on just how “establishment” the current Democrat leader is, writing that “(Democratic State Chair Jaxon) Ravens is a fixture in the state party, having served as its executive director from 2005 to 2014 before assuming the chair’s post.”
Ravens’ performance is coming directly under attack, according to Connelly, from several candidates who lost earlier this month. The “Democrats’ 2016 ‘Candidate of the Year,’ ex-Seattle City Council member Tina Podlodowski, has signed on with the critics. Podlodowski lost a challenge to Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman. She used a 36th District Democrats’ forum last week to lament lack of support from the party. The complaint has been echoed, particularly among Southwest Washington Democrats. Historically Democratic counties went Republican, and the GOP elected its first 19th District legislator in decades.”
Of course, calling for the head of the State Party is nothing new, especially given the Democrats inability win very often in targeted legislative races. As Connelly points out “in the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, the Democrats have gone just one-for-eight in contested races against Republican state senators. They have lost House seats in such traditionally Democratic areas as Mason County and Southwest Washington’s 19th District.”
But Democrats sure do well in Seattle, and much of King County. However, Ravens may find out that won’t be enough.
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