At a press conference in downtown Seattle today, Clint Didier said he will not endorse Dino Rossi unless Rossi meets three demands which he said shouldn’t “be much of reach for Dino Rossi. In fact, they are really part of our party’s platform.” Calling all three “necessary” he laid out his demands:
1) Introduce the “Sanctity of Life” Act that U.S. Rep. Ron Paul introduced in the House. The bill would allow local jurisdictions to pass anti-abortion laws without interference from federal courts.
2) Sign a pledge that he won’t support any additional taxes or increases in new taxes.
3) Pledge to vote no on any bill that increases federal spending.
Didier said, “I want to endorse Dino Rossi, I really do. I want to beat Patty Murray in the worst way. I want to send her home with her pink slip in her hand.” But he says he’s gotten hundreds of emails from supporters who do not support Rossi. Noting that one-third of the GOP vote—”more than 150,000 people who gave me their vote and their trust”—was cast in his favor he said, “I know my endorsement is very important to my supporters. I know that my supporters aren’t going to automatically vote for Rossi. And a lot them told me they won’t vote for him at all.”
In order to unite the party behind Rossi to beat Murray, and to get Didier to endorse and campaign for Rossi, he said he needs those three assurances. He said he couldn’t make “a half-hearted endorsement because it wouldn’t really help Rossi win the race, unless my supporters know that I really mean it.”
Didier also said: “the people lost faith and trust in this Republican party. So at this moment I cannot endorse Dino Rossi, but that can change in a heartbeat. It could change by the end of the day,” adding that he “want[s] to unite the Christian Coalition behind this party.”
Asked if he had talked to Rossi, Didier said he spoke to Rossi on the phone last night and “He [Rossi] just said he wanted to think about it.”
He added that if Dino didn’t agree to his demands: “My people have said they will not vote for him, and they will not support him, so I’m only hoping and praying that Dino will give this serious consideration because I want to unite this party behind Dino Rossi.”
Asked how long Rossi had to commit to Didier’s demands, he said he wasn’t putting a deadline on it.
We have a call in to Rossi’s campaign.
Rossi’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Morris just gave me this statement:
“Dino will keep working to earn the support of anyone who will work to reduce spending, get the economy back on track, and put Washingtonians back to work. He knows Washingtonians are principled and independent and expect their public servants to run on what they believe. In that spirit, Dino will continue to campaign on the things he believes, and will not submit to a list of demands made by anyone even people with whom he agrees, in Washington State or Washington, DC.”
