Fireworks in Seattle

Appearing at the July 30 Filipino Festival Pista Sa Nayon, Steve Beren and Baghdad Jim McDermott took to the "microphone to address the crowd from the stage." Here's a glimpse of the exchange:

Speaking first, Beren told the audience that he was running for congress because of his desire to work on behalf of the people and families of the Seattle area. He noted that people who are born elsewhere and immigrate to the United States often appreciate our freedom more than some native-born Americans, who sometimes take freedom for granted. "In today's world, there are great challenges and we need to stand up for freedom," Beren said. He noted that the Philippines, India, Israel, and other countries, like the United States, face the threat of terrorism. "I support our troops," Beren declared, "and I am for victory in the war against terrorism." The Republican candidate received a good round of applause from the crowd.

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McDermott spoke next, also addressing the issues of immigration and the war. With regard to immigration, McDermott said that during the course of the campaign "some people are going to tell you that immigrants are the problem, that immigration is bad." With regard to the war, he said that situation in Iraq keeps getting worse, that there is no way for us to win, and that we should withdraw all our troops from Iraq before Election Day. The response from the audience was tepid, but polite.

Let's hope that McDermott's defeatism doesn't play well in Seattle. Steve Beren is facing an uphill but winnable fight against Seattle's 'Congrssman for Life." Based on the response he got, I'd say that Mr. Beren's message resonated quite well with the audience. That's becoming more of a GOP trademark with minority communities nationwide because of the RNC's outreach programs.

These outreach programs are just one of the things that flies below the Agenda Media's radar screen because it doesn't have the splashy headlines that a new poll or a new development might have but it's the type of thing that topnotch political strategists pay attention to.

One thing that's becoming rather apparent to me is that the GOP candidates are strong communicators, making them great campaigners, too. I have the privilege of being able to vote for three such local candidates this fall in Mark Kennedy, Michele Bachmann and Jeff Johnson. (Follow the links to contribute to their campaigns.)

Let's hope that the people of Seattle realize what a great representative they'll be getting in Steve Beren. Let's close with a great exchange between Beren and McDermott:

"Congressman, we've really gotten to the point where our staffs have to get together to discuss the scheduling of some debates," Beren said. "We'll see," McDermott replied. Beren persisted, saying, "You keep saying that there needs to be a debate between Republicans and Democrats on the issue of the war. Let's have that debate." McDermott replied, "We'll see how the campaign develops." "The campaign is developing very fast, Congressman," Beren answered. "I'm going to be on you about this challenge every day throughout the campaign."

I remember Paul Wellstone's last nminute ad blitz when he first defeated Rudy Boschwitz where Wellstone appeared to be stopping at Boschwitz' campaign offices. The ads later became known as the "Where's Rudy" ads. They were the main reason why Wellstone overtook Boschwitz in the last couple days. I think Mr. Beren would be wise to run a similar set of ads against McDermott, who isn't nearly the campaigner that Sen. Wellstone was. An ad campaign like that would put McDermott in a defensive position at the most crucial stage of the campaign, too. He'd be faced with either debating Beren or looking like he's afraid of debating him. Neither is a position of strength for an incumbent.

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Posted Thursday, August 3, 2006 2:17 AM

July 2006 Posts

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