Team Gregoire assembled a cast of characters to express their earnest outrage about...
...a bunch of political yard signs.
Has our politics really become this small? Besides, I thought we already hit "
rock bottom"? If Gregoire will complain this much about a round of critical radio ads and some annoying yard signs, how much will Rossi be entitled to invalidObjectTag when Gregoire's left-wing allies at Evergreen Progress unload on him with even more vigor on TV this fall?
The BIAW signs in question aren't the brightest move ever;
I've said as much. Nevertheless, excessive whining about yard signs and billboards, even as the incumbent herself can't seem to run an ad talking about her own "accomplishments," increasingly gives off the feel of a campaign that knows it can't win on the merits of Gregoire's actual time in office.
Eventually, those sort of tactics don't hold, as already happened today in a rebuttal statement from the Rossi campaign spokesperson Jill Strait:
Last week the Governor said there wasn't enough time in her busy schedule to place a phone call to a company about creating 400 new jobs in our state, but now she has time to hold a press conference to complain about yard signs. At least we know what her priorities are.
Jobs or yard signs. Which issue resonates with voters more?
Meanwhile, let's be fair and acknowledge that BIAW's signs represent an understandable attempt to motivate Republican voters east of the Cascades who could have showed up at the polls in greater numbers in 2004. Broader efforts to achieve that end are entirely laudable, which almost inevitably will include a bit of stoking of the frustration east-siders feel with Pugetopolis.
At the same time, BIAW should keep in mind that their own ill-chosen words have at times done more harm than good. Democrats, related interest groups, and the left-of-center media establishment will jump all over any perceived rhetorical slander between now and Election Day. Regardless of the motivation factor that may provide to the conservative base, the concurrent negative blowback could prove problematic to the Rossi campaign that will have to rely on many less partisan voters - especially west of the mountains. It would be a shame if such a turn of events came to pass, especially since there is already such a robust stable of issues on which Gregoire is weak.
In the bigger picture that's a common problem in politics. Ideologically fervent opponents say things that inspire like-minded souls, but that which don't always sit as well with voters at large. Given the stakes of this race, it would be prudent if conservative groups working to supporting Rossi kept that in mind, particularly since the Gregoire campaign itself is already making their own candidate appear exceptionally small.
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