A lot
For some in eastern Washington the top of a heap of news last week was U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ (R-WA CD5) surprise announcement that, after 20 years in the U.S. House, she will not seek re-election this fall. Unsurprisingly, she declined to reveal any reasoning for leaving at what will be the age of 55. She wrote only that after “much prayer and reflection” she has decided not to run for re-election but to serve “the People of Eastern Washington…in new ways.” Speculation over what exactly might have tipped her over the edge was abundant—and, I submit, mostly pointless. She will most certainly will not write a book like Liz Cheney’s exposé. After all, McMorris Rodgers was the person who glowingly nominated Mike Johnson to serve as Speaker of the House (behind the closed doors of the Republican caucus). If, somehow, McMorris Rodgers were disillusioned by the MAGA Republican dysfunction in the U.S. House, it seems unlikely we would ever learn of it.
There was some speculation that behind the scenes, she had anointed a Republican successor. After all, she was essentially offered the job by retiring Republican U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt in 2004. Perhaps she did anoint someone, but if she did it was kept very quiet. Emry Dinman’s article yesterday (February 11) on the front page of the Spokesman certainly suggested clammer and disorder. Dinman contacted no less than a dozen local Republicans and more than five Democrats. We knew that Carmela Conroy, Dr. Bernie Bank, and Ann Marie Danimus were already registered for the August Primary to challenge McMorris Rodgers—but the article offered little clarity on who else will throw in a hat. The filing deadline is May 10, 2024, for the August 6th top-two Primary Election.
On February 5 Spokane County Commissioner Al French put to rest a contrary rumor by announcing on Facebook that he would run again for the District 5 (western part of Spokane County) seat he now occupies. I’m told there is a very promising but still undeclared challenger. French is arguably the most powerful elected official in Spokane County. He likes to exercise his power out of the limelight. He holds positions on a number of county and state boards and touts his expertise in advancing the interests of the business community. Apparently that includes trying to cover up and slow down efforts to research the extent of PFAS contamination from Spokane International Airport that has poisoned the well water of a good number of his constituents. Business über alles. An architect/developer by trade, French is also seen as pushing development in the Latah valley without supporting needed infrastructure.
Depending where you put your focus last week, McMorris Rodgers’ and French’s news was either overshadowed or was overshadowed by a plethora of national stories: Speculation about Taylor Swift and the upcoming Super Bowl lit up right wing media. Tucker Carlson (a modern day Father Coughlin?) went to Moscow and was given an extended and faulty history lesson by Vladimir Putin. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last Thursday over Colorado’s efforts to bar Trump from the ballot based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment (with “Justice” Clarence Thomas having the gall to start the questioning rather than recusing himself). President Biden was exonerated in the classified documents investigation by Republican Special Counsel Robert K. Hur in one sentence—followed by a couple of hundred pages in which he opined as if he were Comey 2.0. I recommend Heather Cox Richardson’s post on Hur’s political hit-job.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry