UPDATE: Someone is posting comments under the name of others. I am trying to figure out who did it and will be sure to ban them. But until then, and until I can verify others, I'm going to suspend comments on this thread. I don't have time over the weekend to babysit every single comment. And until now it hasn't been a problem.

UPDATE: Other than the first "Toby Nixon" comment the others all seem to be legitimate. Still hunting for the phony Nixon.

At a press conference yesterday to promote election legislation, three state Senate Democrats sat in front of photographs of two famous political figures inscribed with quotes about voting. When Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles was speaking, this shot was often what you'd see if you watched on TVW.

TVW

Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, left, and Joseph Stalin, murderous dictator-USSR.

Freshmen Sen. Eric Oemig, D, Kirkland, opened the press conference by explaining the presence of the photos:

"Voting is a fundamental right, because it's preservative of all are other rights. Our ability to vote and make an informed choice is the foundation of democracy. Referring to some props over here, Lyndon Johnson said that 'voting is the primary duty of democracy.' But Jospeh Stalin warns that 'it's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes.' And that's why this is such an important issue. Our election system must not obstruct the citizens' right to vote."

You can see when TVW shows the wideshot of Kohl-Welles, Oemig and Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, that Kohl-Welles is sandwiched between the LBJ and JS photos.

I heard that Stalin quote tossed around during the fight over the 2004 governor's election. But it was always Republicans using it to cast aspersions on the state's election system. Isn't it a little alarmist to equate any of our election problems — even without legislative fixes this year — to one of the most brutal regimes in history?

UPDATE: Oemig left a comment tonight that I thought should be moved out here. He wrote:

Why does David Postman support the murderous regime of Joseph Stalin? After all, he's got a picture of him on his website. By using his same logic, that's the conclusion we must draw.

That's just the kind of false association I would expect from Sound Politics, but I expect better of Postman.

Sen. Kohl-Welles came to a press conference late, grabbed an available chair in the corner and made a statement about some election reform legislation she's sponsoring.

She is such a beautiful and compassionate person that to mischaracterize her this way is just shameless.

Why I what to know is, how did Postman miss the irony of the inclusion of LBJ?

My response is in the comment thread.