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King County: "Abe Lincoln … Wouldn't Win"

News   November 4, 2009 at 3:55 pm Josh Feit

The PI.com has a good write up on Washington State Republican Party Chair Luke Esser’s conference call with reporters this morning re: Last night’s election.

Esser laments the plight of Republicans in King County, quipping that even Abraham Lincoln (the R’s most famous president) couldn’t win here.

Abraham-Lincoln-bw14

Probably true. But given that Esser made the remarks in the context of “nonpartisan” Susan Hutchison’s loss, it seemed odd that he blamed the loss on her Republican status and her opponent King County Council Member Dow Constantine’s Democratic status.

Interestingly, the Hutchison campaign’s strategy—the classic Turn-your-opponent’s-strength-into-a-weakness gameplan—was to hype Constantine’s Democratic status, playing up his partisanship, while casting Hutchison as a unifier.

Given the current numbers in the Constantine vs. Hutchison contest , 57 to 42.7, and Esser’s glum comments—”[King County's] a tough nut to crack”—the plan seems to have backfired.




  • http://www.movinglikewater.com/ Nicholas

    Additionally I think people are turned off when candidates pretend to be something they’re not. Or in Susan’s case pretend not to be something they are. I suspect she would have performed better had she worn her right-wingedness proudly. As it is, she not only looked right-wing, she looked slimy, too.

  • http://www.movinglikewater.com/ Nicholas

    Additionally I think people are turned off when candidates pretend to be something they’re not. Or in Susan’s case pretend not to be something they are. I suspect she would have performed better had she worn her right-wingedness proudly. As it is, she not only looked right-wing, she looked slimy, too.

  • http://www.movinglikewater.com/ Nicholas

    Additionally I think people are turned off when candidates pretend to be something they’re not. Or in Susan’s case pretend not to be something they are. I suspect she would have performed better had she worn her right-wingedness proudly. As it is, she not only looked right-wing, she looked slimy, too.

  • http://www.movinglikewater.com Nicholas

    Additionally I think people are turned off when candidates pretend to be something they’re not. Or in Susan’s case pretend not to be something they are. I suspect she would have performed better had she worn her right-wingedness proudly. As it is, she not only looked right-wing, she looked slimy, too.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit
  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit
  • Timothy

    Abe Lincoln wouldn’t be an R today.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @3,

    Well, they’ve got Thomas Jefferson too. He and James Madison founded the party.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @3,

    Well, they’ve got Thomas Jefferson too. He and James Madison founded the party.

  • So Sea Resident

    If Abraham Lincoln lived in King County today, Jim McDermott would be still waiting for him to retire as the 7th District Representative and the congress’s most liberal member.

  • So Sea Resident

    If Abraham Lincoln lived in King County today, Jim McDermott would be still waiting for him to retire as the 7th District Representative and the congress’s most liberal member.

  • klatu

    Chairman Esser, I served with Abe Lincoln, I knew Abe Lincoln, Ane Lincoln was a friend of mine. Chairman, Susan Hutchison is no Abe Lincoln.

  • klatu

    Chairman Esser, I served with Abe Lincoln, I knew Abe Lincoln, Ane Lincoln was a friend of mine. Chairman, Susan Hutchison is no Abe Lincoln.

  • Michael Wolfe

    Abe Lincoln wouldn’t win because Abe Lincoln wouldn’t make it out of a Republican primary in this day and age.

  • Michael Wolfe

    Abe Lincoln wouldn’t win because Abe Lincoln wouldn’t make it out of a Republican primary in this day and age.

  • actually

    thomas jefferson and james madison founded the democrat republican party or maybe the republican democratic party which became today’s democratic party. this is they d’s have jefferson jackson dinners. they are not celebrating someone who founded the GOP.

    the republican party of today was sort of founded about the time of lincoln after the whigs died.

    so to recap basic history, at first it was the federalists gw and hamilton and adams versus the democratic republicans jefferson and madison; later it was whigs; then they died and there were the republicans who favored antislavery and free labor and low tariffs.

    since then to continue the basic history, the parties have flip flopped on appealing to the south so that now the republicans have all the white southern racists and the democrats don’t.

    thanks to lbj.

    remember this and do not show up at jj dinner saying hey where are all the republicans?

  • actually

    thomas jefferson and james madison founded the democrat republican party or maybe the republican democratic party which became today’s democratic party. this is they d’s have jefferson jackson dinners. they are not celebrating someone who founded the GOP.

    the republican party of today was sort of founded about the time of lincoln after the whigs died.

    so to recap basic history, at first it was the federalists gw and hamilton and adams versus the democratic republicans jefferson and madison; later it was whigs; then they died and there were the republicans who favored antislavery and free labor and low tariffs.

    since then to continue the basic history, the parties have flip flopped on appealing to the south so that now the republicans have all the white southern racists and the democrats don’t.

    thanks to lbj.

    remember this and do not show up at jj dinner saying hey where are all the republicans?

  • stinky

    @Michael Wolfe

    Amen, brah. Lincoln’s about the best thing the GOP has going for it – 145 years after his presidency.

  • stinky

    @Michael Wolfe

    Amen, brah. Lincoln’s about the best thing the GOP has going for it – 145 years after his presidency.

  • ivan

    All of today’s Republicans would be Conferderates or Confederate sympathizers.

  • ivan

    All of today’s Republicans would be Conferderates or Confederate sympathizers.

  • Jarvis

    That Lincoln, total RINO.

  • Jarvis

    That Lincoln, total RINO.

  • Trevor

    Historynerd says:

    Except that Washington didn’t vote in Presidential elections until 1892, and was solidly Republican from its days as a territory in the 1850s until the 1930s. Why the shift? Because the Republican Party became the anti-New Deal party in the 1930s. Turns out that if you’re pro-Dam on the East side of the state, or need a job on the West side, government might be better at helping you out of a recession than tax cuts for the rich.

    Also, Josh @4, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Republican party founded in the 1850s, while the Democratic Republicans of Thomas Jefferson actually was the forefather of today’s Democratic Party?

  • Trevor

    Historynerd says:

    Except that Washington didn’t vote in Presidential elections until 1892, and was solidly Republican from its days as a territory in the 1850s until the 1930s. Why the shift? Because the Republican Party became the anti-New Deal party in the 1930s. Turns out that if you’re pro-Dam on the East side of the state, or need a job on the West side, government might be better at helping you out of a recession than tax cuts for the rich.

    Also, Josh @4, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Republican party founded in the 1850s, while the Democratic Republicans of Thomas Jefferson actually was the forefather of today’s Democratic Party?

  • http://gomezticator.livejournal.com/tag/2009+election Gomez

    I want to see some neo-con spin this into ‘Democrats would have kept slavery’

  • http://gomezticator.livejournal.com/tag/2009+election Gomez

    I want to see some neo-con spin this into ‘Democrats would have kept slavery’

  • http://gomezticator.livejournal.com/tag/2009+election Gomez

    Also, it’s all fun and games until someone revives the Whig party.

  • http://gomezticator.livejournal.com/tag/2009+election Gomez

    Also, it’s all fun and games until someone revives the Whig party.

  • Christina

    Progressive Republicans do exist. Are they too smart to run for office here, or do they need to have international movie star fame before running for public office? I would think that a progressive, moderate Republican with some government experience would be a more successful choice than an evangelical with hairspray. I know some GOP folks who are quietly gnashing their teeth because the anti-science, anti-reality brigade is taking their party away from them.

  • Christina

    Progressive Republicans do exist. Are they too smart to run for office here, or do they need to have international movie star fame before running for public office? I would think that a progressive, moderate Republican with some government experience would be a more successful choice than an evangelical with hairspray. I know some GOP folks who are quietly gnashing their teeth because the anti-science, anti-reality brigade is taking their party away from them.

  • Timothy

    Abe Lincoln wouldn't be an R today.