+++++++UPDATE++++++

Lou has linked some additional information on the story, to be fair it certainly covers more of the Hinton history.

+++++++++++++++++++

Did you happen to catch this piece by Lou Brancaccio at The Columbian?

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/31/guilt-by-association/

Interesting, but some key information is missing or glossed over. Including a forced public apology for lying about the marriage and spousal abuse of a sitting State Representative.

The question is did Lou just not do his homework or is he protecting the candidate his paper has endorsed?

Even just a cursory glance at Hinton’s record is both disturbing and revealing. Dig a little deeper and the connections to democrats and possible violation of PDC, Election and Ethics laws is enough to give any honest newspaperman pause.

I have to assume that sometime after the endorsement of Ann, Lou caught wind of the Hinton story and feeling it his duty wrote this piece. But did he really dig for the story or just talk with Ann.

Just the story of Hinton stealing access codes to get at other legislative aides emails to use those emails against political opponents is “glossed” over. Not even a mention that Hinton was fired and escorted off the Capitol Grounds by Capital Police. Important conclusion to the story that Lou either did not know or ignored.

I suggest you do a little research yourself. Hinton is bad for conservatives, bad for the 18th and bad for any voter who hates the politics of old. He is the poster child of mean, dirty, underhanded, win at all cost, slash and burn politics.

You will be appalled by this man, the only question is will you blame Ann Rivers for her association with him over the years?

For Ann Rivers I give the same warning I did privately months ago, get as far away from Hinton as you can. Publicly denounce Hinton and move on.

Did you happen to see this article in The Columbian today?

Poll says Republicans, Herrera trending in 3rd Congressional race

Fairly boilerplate and to be expected, Republicans trending big and Jaime Herrera the front runner in the 3rd CD race.

No big news, the grassroots have known that CONSERVATIVES would win big in November since last April, 2 months after the first Tea Party events that sparked a revolution. Then we had the Town Halls, the Governor races, a Senate race and the recent primaries.

So what struck me as odd was the quote by David Castillo:

David Castillo, Herrera’s leading Republican opponent, called the survey “a name ID poll” and told The Columbian, “I take it with a grain of salt.”

“The sample size is too small,” he said. “Where in the district did they poll? The vast majority of voters have no idea there is an election going on.”

Okay…. lets go through that quote.

The sample size was small, only 300. It was a name ID/support poll (Jaimie wins hands down) AND  a no name Republican vs. Democrat poll (Republican wins).

I agree…. take any poll with a grain of salt..

We hear you David, the poll makes you look bad (polling 8%) and you have every right to ask questions…

But then he showed why the grassroots is having trouble with his candidacy… Arrogance and a disconnect with the grassroots.

“The vast majority of voters have no idea there is an election going on.”

Really? Vast Majority? Really?

Have you been to a Tea Party event? Have you had any contact with the grassroots bursting with eagerness for November?

Do you watch the news? Have you seen the recent primaries? Was he at the conventions or caucuses?

People are tuned in, angry and making noise on an epic scale. They are READY to vote!

I noticed this lack of understanding of the grassroots and this attitude of entitlement last summer when the Cowlitz County grassroots asked David to attend a candidate forum, using any format he was comfortable with. He declined, citing no need to give credence to any other Republican candidates. They wanted an opportunity to have a voice in choosing the next Republican candidate, he did not want the grassroots to have that choice.

I personally asked him his opinion on the Tea Party movement and if he had been to any events. He mumbled something about the town halls and changed the subject.

When talking about Jaimie’s original appointment to the 18th Leg. Seat, he calls into question the validity of the grassroot effort in Cowlitz County that rallied duly elected PCOs behind her. He discounts the long deliberate process by the PCOs that included multiple meetings and candidate interviews. Who can deny the PCOs, the only ones who could vote, duly elected by their fellow Republicans as the grassroots?

Now he is claiming some National Republican Senate Caucus (or “establishment”) involvement in the grassroots votes at three county conventions that gave Jaimie Herrera the endorsement of Cowlitz, Pacific and Wahkiakum county Republican Parties. Three of the most conservative counties in the district with delegates made up of the grassroots, elected by the grassroots.

All while he gladly takes the endorsement of a D.C. lobby group claiming to be the “muscle” behind the Tea Party movement (last I checked the muscle was We The People!). No interviews, no questionnaires, no inquiry with the real muscle, just a blind endorsement (turns out not to be completely blind, they did know David, he used to work for them.)

Last summer David kicked off his campaign with a big time campaign consultant, a lot of arrogance and very little need for the grassroots.

I warned him and his campaign manager that the paradigm had shifted and that the Tea Party movement and the grassroots as a whole was where the real political power was. (It seemed obvious to all of US!)

This poll and his quotes is just one more example that they have not been listening to We The People!

With the  attention that primaries this spring have brought to the Tea Party movement (so much for AstroTurf eh?) and the potential influence that “they” are having I am not struck by the results, but more by the way the movement is still not understood by Republicans, Democrats, pundits and special interest. When you understand what the Tea Party is, you understand the power of the movement…. the power of the citizen!

The Tea Party movement is just that, a movement, an idea. It is an idea which millions of citizens have awoken too, a way to finally be HEARD as citizens. It is about the individual, not an organization with meetings and “leadership”, but a ad-hoc group of concerned citizens willing to educate themselves and work together to MAKE their voices heard on some very basic principles.

It is action, not words. It is outcomes, not rhetoric.

While some would characterize it as a “third party”, others would attempt to co-opt it and still others would attempt to describe it as some monolithic entity, few outside the movement “get it”. They sense the power, they may fear it or covet it, but they fail to respect its true nature.

A good example of this was in Nevada this week when two candidates for Senate claimed “Tea Party” support or endorsement. I am certain that some people or organizations who are participating in the “Tea Party” movement gave support or endorsements, but the media and candidates fail to understand that the Tea Party movement is people, people trying to get their voices heard and binding together with like-minded individuals. That has represented itself as different people working with different groups with little or no connection. So claiming some monolithic “organizational” support is both wrong and a disservice to the cause.

The power of the movement is that it is the individual working at the grassroots and building coalitions with other individuals. There is no Tea “Party” in the strict sense; there is no organization that we are all “members” of. It is the empowerment of the citizen and any attempt to “consolidate” it destroys it.

Some special interests groups and candidates would love to use the lack of a single voice or “command and control” to “claim” the Tea Party. Its very nature lends it to the easy claim of Tea Party affiliation, there is no roster, no dues. Politicians know it is so much easier to grab a few “leaders” endorsements instead of going to the people and working for their votes individually.

Thankfully the very people who make up the movement know this and are aware when their endorsement or “position” is being used without permission.

Here in Cowlitz County we jealously guard our Tea Party independence. We will not be consolidated or laid claim to. We will not acquiesce when some D.C. special interest group or candidate claims some authority or bestows endorsement in our name. We protested loudly when FreedomWorks tried to claim some “leadership” role for what we had accomplished of our own free will and work. We knew they had no hand in our movement, had never approached us individually and had no claim to some collective endorsement. They may be a fine organization, but the muscle of the Tea Party is the citizen, it is We the People!

Within the Cowlitz Tea Party movement the founding “members” are supporting Jaime Herrera for Congress as are many of the ardent and active “member”, but no claim can be made of “endorsement” of the Tea Party. That would be a betrayal of all the other individuals and their voices. Each individual is responsible for their vote and speaking for themselves!

I encourage the citizen to seek out candidates, ask questions and hold them to high standards. More importantly, become active in the governance and policy making process. Attend Town Halls, protest on the street, ask tough questions of the candidates, go to your city council meetings, join a board or commission – RUN FOR OFFICE. Make your voice heard.

That is the Tea Party.

We can only bring our nation, state, counties and cities back to our Constitutional foundation when each citizen takes responsibility for the process and outcome of our government.

It is time Washington employers and workers have the same choices that those in 46 other states have. Vote Yes on I-1082 and bring competition to the workers’ compensation insurance in Washington State.

Time for choice

Competition a key part of workers’ compensation reform

BY MATTHEW CLARKSON Building Industry Association of Washington

It’s been working successfully in Oregon for 20 years… so why not bring reform to Washington state’s workers’ compensation program?

That’s the reasoning behind Initiative 1082, scheduled to appear on this November’s ballot, which would allow private insurers to compete with the state Department of Labor and Industries and sell workers’ compensation insurance to employers in Washington state.

There has been a growing frustration in the business community because of ever-increasing workers’ compensation costs – with rates rising 54 percent since 2000. And employers are bracing for a possible double-digit increase next year to prop up a program that even the state auditor has warned is facing insolvency in the near future.

If you look across the U.S., you’ll find that Washington is only one of four states left in the country that still has a government monopoly on providing workers’ compensation. 46 other states give employers the choice to purchase workers’ compensation coverage from whichever insurer offers them the best product at the best price.

Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of business knows that a lack of competition leads to complacency, increasing costs and consumer frustration.

Employers in Washington state pay the second-highest cost per employee in the nation for workers’ compensation. Injured workers stay off the job more than twice as long as the national average. And Washington is one of only a handful of states that increased workers’ compensation taxes this year.

Higher costs of doing business are exactly what Washington employers do not need in the current economic climate.

By contrast, employers in Oregon haven’t had a rate increase in 20 years-in fact, their rates have decreased 18 percent during that time. And this year Oregon’s state fund handed out $100 million in dividend payments to participating employers. The benefits of competition haven’t just been for employers – Oregon’s injured workers enjoy some of the best claims management and care of any state.

Fears of a reduction in worker benefits or fears that more worker claims will be denied if privatization is allowed have not played out in Oregon or in states like West Virginia or Nevada, two states that most recently allowed competition.

I-1082 would create a workers’ comp system similar to Oregon’s and bring Washington in line with almost every other state. These states have already figured out allowing competition in the workers’ comp marketplace yields lower workers’ comp rates for employers and better care for employees. That’s why more and more states have moved away from a government monopoly on workers’ comp and embraced competition from private insurers.

Like our neighbors to the south figured out 20 years ago, it’s time to give businesses that need coverage to protect their workers a choice when it comes to providing workers’ compensation.

Clarkson, a principal in Soaring Eagle Homes, a local custom builder based in Camas, is president of the Building Industry Association of Washington.