Ninth District Congressman Adam Smith was the talk of the inside-the-beltway crowd this week after Monday night's 46th annual Congressional Baseball Game. Smith was a standout for leading all comers in errors. MSNBC reported:

The Dems actually had a 1-0 lead, but it all went south for the Donkeys in the third inning. They committed five errrors in the inning — three by shortstop Rep. Adam Smith (WA) — which led to four GOP runs. ... Zach Wamp (R-TN), who was solid at shortstop, was tough to stop at the plate, going 2-for-3.

(I think when NBC misspells "errors" they ought to cut our guy a little slack. And this Wamp guy's performance may explain his interest in this.)

The Washington Post Express coverage also focused on Smith's role in the game sponsored by Roll Call.

What Pelosi didn't know at the time was that by the end of the third inning, a member of her caucus, Washington Rep. Adam Smith, at right, would blow the Democrats' chances to clinch a key win after years of losses to the Republicans.

Smith, who has represented the Tacoma, Wash., area since 1996, led the Democrats in errors and drew derision in the stands, especially when he slid into third base when walking there briskly would have sufficed. One can only wonder if Pelosi will penalize Smith for his poor athletic performance, maybe cutting him from his coveted Armed Services Committee slot or forcing him to resign from one of the nearly 30 Congressional interest caucuses and working groups he is a member of so he can use the time to practice for next year's game.

But really, the harshest cut came from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette which reported:

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington was responsible for a Bill Buckner-esque, ball-through-the-legs blunder.

Making this even harder to digest for the hometown fans is that one scout reports Smith was the Democrat's MVP in the 2001 game.

When reporters ask long shot political candidates how they think they can win, the answer usually goes something like this: "By putting our children first."

That's one of the different things I noticed about Democrat Steve Novick — though not the first or second, but I'll get to those later. He is running in the Oregon Democratic primary to take on incumbent Republican Sen. Gordon Smith next year. He's not run for office before and likely isn't known widely outside a circle of Oregon political activists, reporters and liberals who have applauded his work opposing conservative ballot measures.

We met at a Belltown coffee shop Thursday and he talked enthusiastically and frankly about the strategy he says he'll follow to defeat Smith. I found out later he had also written much of the same for Willamette Week in January, while still pondering a race. Novick told me:

"What you do with Smith is point out he is a Republican in a period when Republicans are unpopular, and you point to obvious examples of his being extremely Republican."

One example, Novick says, was Smith's vote last year for a minimum wage bill that would have led to lower wages for Oregon waiters and waitresses and others who depend on tips.

"The flip side of that is he has said his greatest accomplishment in the Senate was sponsoring a one-year tax holiday for multi-national corporations that have their money stashed overseas — a tax holiday that gave one drug company, Pfizer, $11 billion, which, as I like to say, is enough to get any company excited with or without Viagara,"

Novick was here for a fundraiser thrown by his co-workers at Pyramid Communications. Novick is the sole employee in the Portland branch of the PR firm. Like Montana's Jon Tester last year, Novick hopes to tap into Seattle's liberal political money machine. I was about 20 minutes into my interview with Novick when I asked him what I guess was an obvious question: How'd he end up with a steel hook instead of a left hand?

"I was just born without it," he said.

"Obviously, politically, it's an advantage. People aren't going to forget the little guy with the left hook. I said in my announcement speech and I'll say it until I'm blue in the face: Oregon families need a senator who will fight for them and a fighter needs a hard left hook.

"And I'll also say until people get sick of it, every politician claims to be for the little guy. But when I say it you can believe it."

He's three inches shy of five feet tall. I told him that'd make it tough to be president since history shows the tall candidate always win.

"Except for James Madison," he says. "Madison was the man."

He probably knew exactly how tall Madison was and what his winning vote percentage was. Novick prides himself on being, as he said, "the campaign guy who is supposed to know the facts."

Here are some quick Novick facts. He went to college at 14 and entered Harvard Law School when he was 18. He was an environmental prosecutor for the Department of Justice and was lead counsel on the Love Canal case. When he returned to Oregon after his DOJ years, he was chief of staff to state Senate Democrats and headed up the Center for Constructive Citizen Action, which opposed a tax-cutting initiative.

"I occupy this position between policy and politics," he said. Oregon Democrats more firmly on the political side have so far declined to challenge Smith. Someone with better name recognition still has time to get in the race, but Novick is running as if Smith is his only opponent.

To do that he has to combat who he calls "some misguided liberals" who have been known to praise Smith for opposing cuts to Medicaid. Novick says the praise is wrongheaded because Smith doesn't say how he'll pay for escalating costs in the program. "Anything he does about spending on good things is just added to the debt," he said.

Smith has also worked recently to establish himself as more protective of the environment and less supportive of the Iraq war. Novick has an answer for the war stance:

"First of all, he is still supporting McCain for president. And how against the war can you be when you are supporting the one presidential candidate who's committed to staying there forever."

Smith and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden appear together at town hall meetings across the state and, as Novick said, "take advantage of the fact that people like to see politician's seem bipartisan."

"But Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith have voted against each other on virtually every issue of any significance for the past 12 years."

Is he arguing that there is a neutralizing effect in the delegation?

"Yes. They cancel each other out. And Ron Wyden is the most popular politician in the state and the message is we need to send Ron Wyden a real partner in the Senate, someone who won't vote to confirm Sam Alito, who wouldn't have voted for the war and would support Wyden's health-care plan."

(I will try to talk to Smith soon, too. We don't have a Senate race next year so we might as well spend some time watching to the south.)

There's a new bipartisan caucus forming in the U.S. House. Officially it's known as the "Congressional Caucus on Robotics." Calling it "The Robot Caucus" I guess would have made some think it would be filled by the automatons we see on C-SPAN.

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Penn., and Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., say it's time to have a group of lawmakers focus on "recent technological advances that enable robots to perform functions beyond traditional assembly line tasks and to operate in environments beyond the factory floor."

Warner Bros.

Rosie, maid robot

Doyle issued a statement boasting of American robots' prowess:

"Today, they are also being used to defend our nation, perform surgery, fill prescriptions, deliver supplies and materials, and even as tools to educate our children, so it is important that we create a forum by which Congress can familiarize itself with the impact this first great technology of the 21st century is likely to have on the lives of all Americans."

The House members were spurred to action, in part at least, by an article Bill Gates wrote in the January Scientific American, where he said the growth in robotics in the near future could match that of home computers. Gates wrote:

I believe that technologies such as distributed computing, voice and visual recognition, and wireless broadband connectivity will open the door to a new generation of autonomous devices that enable computers to perform tasks in the physical world on our behalf.

Clean energy advocates are unhappy with Gov. Christine Gregoire for asking a state agency to reconsider approval of a Kittitas County wind power plant. They say the governor's move flies in the face of her own energy policy, a citizen's initiative and a new state law and could chase away future projects. Gregoire told the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to look again at whether the giant turbines can be pushed back further from local homes "while allowing the project to remain economically viable."

Environmentalists say that has already been asked and answered and the project should move ahead. Marc Krasnowski, communications director of NW Energy Coalition, told me:

"We can't be rejecting properly environmentally-sited projects for frivolous reasons."

The coalition was a force behind the clean-energy portfolio initiative approved by voters last year and has supported Gregoire's environmental policies. But the group is now spearheading an e-mail campaign to pressure the governor to approve the Kittitas project. A form e-mail that people can send to Gregoire from the group's Web site says:

Delaying such an excellent project threatens clean energy development and jeopardizes the goals set in your own executive order on climate change.

The governor, though, wants to be very careful about approving this project because it will set precedent for future development, said communications director Holly Armstrong. She said:

There are a lot more of these projects coming. If we get this wrong — and don't give local communities an opportunity to weigh in — there is a potential to create siting problems in the future. The governor has been asked to pre-empt local regulations and, as such, is setting clear standards to make siting more predictable and give future developers more certainty about what to expect.

Krasnowski believes if the Kittitas project is delayed there may not be many others like it in the future.

"It has a chilling effect. Washington needs to be a leader in this. If developers are going to look at Washington state and say, 'They're putting up a lot of barriers to us,' hell, they'll go to Oregon. That's still good for the region in terms of clean energy. But in terms of economic development, we've lost an opportunity."

Organized labor is also concerned about any delay. Dave Johnson, executive secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, said he shares worries that any lengthy delay could send developers looking elsewhere.

"If we look like we're being too restrictive there's always that potential," he said, though he adds, "I think demand will be the ultimate driver."

Built into I-937 are incentives for companies to hire union apprentices, Johnson said, "to get people up to speed in the local workforce on building these projects." He said the building trades have reached agreements with the contractor of the Kittitas project, Horizon Wind Energy, on local hire and wage issues.

Here's the governor's letter to regulators and reporter Warren Cornwall's story about the project from Monday's paper. Also, see this Andrew Garber story from last fall that looked at some of the difficulties of siting wind power plants and meeting the goals set out in Initiative 937.

MORE: I missed this yesterday, but state Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser is on the side of the environmentalists. He put out a release Thursday criticizing Gregoire for the delay. He said:

"Gov. Gregoire is showing exactly the same bureaucratic indecision and lack of leadership that brought Washington the Viaduct debacle," said Washington State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser. "This wind farm has been studied for longer than Gov. Gregoire has been in office, but instead of making a decision she delayed it to ask for even more study. No wonder she's wasting half a million dollars hiring mediators to create a plan for 520."

A $100 contribution Sumner resident Angela Berg gave Sen. Barack Obama today was the 250,000th donation collected by the Democratic presidential candidate. An Obama spokeswoman told me that the Illinois senator called Berg tonight to thank her helping to meet the campaign's goal of a quarter million donors by midnight Saturday, the end of second-quarter fundraising for presidential candidates.

Berg teaches high school in the Auburn School District. Before she knew she was No. 250,000, she wrote on Obama's website where the campaign has been tallying donations as the deadline approached:

"I echo many of the same sentiments other donors have posted.
Supporting Barack Obama is one of the strongest convictions I've ever had! He represents the integrity, respect, honesty, wisdom, trust, logic, and inspiration our country NEEDS. While he has already proven that individuals CAN make a difference, his campaign has shown that individuals ARE the difference. I think that's why there are so many people, from all walks of life, who believe in him, need him, and want him as our next president!"

The AP reports tonight:

The Obama campaign said it believes the number of donors is a record for six months of fundraising. Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean built a reputation for unprecedented grass-roots support when 70,000 people contributed about $10.5 million in the first two quarters of 2003. Like Dean, much of Obama's money comes in small-dollar donations made over the Internet.

MORE: Berg told me by e-mail tonight that she feels like she won the lottery. It's easy to be cynical about politics, of course. But it is hard not to sense the excitement this woman felt. She says when the campaign called her to say Obama would call her soon, she locked herself in her bedroom, hung up on her dentist when he called and told her husband to use his cell phone to call his mother. She said she was "freaking out" and wrote down some things she wanted to say. She promptly forgot most of them when the candidate called.

He was so cool sounding...easy-going, natural. Of course he thanked me for contributing, and I, in turn, thanked him for giving me the opportunity to be part of his campaign*. He asked me about my job, how long I'd been teaching, what my school was like. I told him that it [Auburn Riverside High School] is pretty socio-economically split: we have both really wealthy and low-income families in our area. He asked how I dealt with that in the classroom... said how important he thought my job was. He asked about my family and joked that I must be pretty busy because I have a three-year-old son. He said that he appreciated my contribution because he knows that Washington teachers aren't paid [extravagantly]. I just told him that I was happy to invest in something I support so whole-heartedly. He said he'd be thinking about me and people like me during tonight's debate... We talked for about five minutes. I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world because when Senator Obama came to Seattle on June 1st, I was one of the few people asked to go on stage to stand behind him in the Qwest Center. I thought I already cashed in my good karma when I got to shake his hand...but tonight? the phone call?? oh, man!

Congressman Jim McDermott released a copy of a speech (not a letter as I originally wrote) he gave on the House floor today saying Vice President Dick Cheney should resign or face impeachment.

McDermott has not been among members of Congress who have already called for impeachment of Cheney and/or President George Bush. He says he will now sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 333, Rep. Dennis Kucinich's resolution — introduced in April — calling for impeachment of Cheney:

For months I have believed that impeachment was a dire course of action. Over these same months, I have seen the vice president repeatedly drive our nation into increasingly dire situations, in Iraq, in Iran, and within our own country as he tramples over the Constitution like it is a doormat.

For months, I have considered if America would best be served by bringing forth articles of impeachment against the vice president. I kept asking myself: Is the vice president's conduct that dire, because impeachment is the closest thing here is to internment on political death row.

McDermott says he has become convinced that impeachment is necessary because he claims Cheney has repeatedly held himself above the law.

Since the president permits this flagrant disregard for the Constitution, it is up to the Congress to act and defend the American people.

With each new revelation, America has seen only glints of what has been happening in total secrecy.

For all that we don't know, this much we do know: the vice president holds himself above the law. And, it is time for the Congress to enforce the law. I believe the evidence is overwhelming and articles of impeachment against the vice president should be drawn up.

McDermott's had advice for Cheney, too, if the vice president wants to resign:

Call it a medical condition; call it a political condition; call it what it is — the departure of a person who forgot that he works for the American people.

"Stevens will sail to re-election." National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher on Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

That's from a Roll Call story (subscription required) that the Anchorage Daily News reprints today. Alaska's widening political corruption scandal could touch both Sen. Ted Stevens and the state's lone congressman, Republican Don Young. As Roll Call says in a likely understatement:

the political terrain in the Last Frontier appears to be shifting.

I don't know if Stevens will be beat next year. But I feel comfortable predicting that if he runs -- and I'm far from convinced of that -- it will be his toughest race ever.

The Roll Call story is of particular interest to me because the name that comes up most when people talk about a likely opponent for either Stevens or Young is Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. His father held the House seat before Young. Rep. Nick Begich died in an Alaska plane crash. When I was a young city hall reporter in Anchorage, Mark Begich was an even younger junior assistant to Mayor Tony Knowles. He was a chauffeur, go-fer and body man who always acted older and looked younger than his years.

Today he's obviously one of the state's leading Democrats, getting hard-sell calls from senators and congressmen hoping he'll run for higher office next year. But I keep thinking of him as the earnest Knowles protege who didn't quite look old enough to be legally driving the mayor. I guess that means I'm getting old.

This is the full transcript of the answers from the six minute press availability Attorney General Alberto Gonzales held with reporters in Spokane this afternoon.

Good afternoon everyone. You know, we live in the greatest country in the world and one of the reasons for that is because in this country the hopes and dreams of every child can be realized. But that's impossible if a child lives in fear in a neighborhood that is besieged by gang activity. And so I just got out of a very, I think, informative briefing about the activities of state and local officials working with federal officials here in this area to focus on gangs.

As the chief law enforcement officer of the country I have an obligation to ensure that our laws are enforced and we will enforce the law and prosecute gang activity. That's extremely important.

But as a father I also appreciate the value of education and prevention and it's very, very important that we try to provide alternatives, facilities like this community center, where we provide hope to young kids before they get involved in gangs. That's very, very important as far I am concerned. But as the chief law enforcement officer of the country we're going to be working with our state and local partners and ensure that we're doing everything we can do and should be doing to ensure that the people can live safe, free of fear in this community.

So with that I'm happy to take your questions.

On whether there is anything he can add about the firing of John McKay:

I've testified before the Congress twice on this issue. We've answered hundreds of questions. Other officials within the Department of Justice have responded. So I've got nothing further to add with respect to that particular matter.

On why, given that the Spokane City Council is considering a new gang ordinance, weren't council members invited to his roundtable today:

I don't know anything about the specifics of this gang ordinance and again, this was the meeting that was set up to provide information to me about ongoing efforts. And so that particular matter that you're referring to, I don't know anything about. We reach out to our state and local partners, whomever they are, because we can't be successful in dealing with this issue without reaching out across the board. And so if there are additional partners that we need to reach out to, obviously we'll look at that.

On whether he will cooperate with Congressional subpoenas issued today about eavesdropping:

Well, it's too early to say whether or not we'll cooperate. I haven't seen the subpoenas or the wording of the subpoenas. Obviously, with respect to any request from Congress, we look at them and we try to reach an accommodation with the Congress where it's appropriate.

There are obviously institutional interests at stake for the Congress. But there are also institutional interests always with respect to the executive branch. And those competing institutional interests, you know, we try to accommodate those interests so that we can provide information where it's appropriate, so that Congress can do its job but at the same time in respecting the institutional interests of the Executive Branch.

On the local case of Otto Zehm, who died in police custody a year ago - a case referred to the Justice Department for investigation.

I'm aware generally about this case. I'm aware that it is ongoing and because it is ongoing I can't comment on it. And I'm sorry, but I can't.

On what he is doing in Alaska to insulate federal investigations of political corruption from any attempted influence by Sen. Ted Stevens, whose name has come up in connection to the investigations.

Well I've been very, very, clear with respect to restoring public trust in terms of our investigations. And that is that I expect our prosecutors to follow the evidence, to make decisions based upon the evidence, not based upon whether or not the targets is a Republican or Democrat, a member of the state House or the White House, but to simply do their job and follow the evidence. And so I have every reason to believe that our prosecutors are going to do that, as they've done so in the past.

On a request from the National Archives wanting White House documents and Dick Cheney's contention that he is not fully a member of the executive branch:

I'm not going to comment on this particular matter because it is something that is being looked at. And I am aware of course of the request from the National Archives and that's something that we're working on at the department to respond to.

On whether he had a timeline for responding:

I don't have a timeline. But we will be responding at the appropriate time.

On the possibility of federal funding to help Spokane fight gang violence:

That is something that we are always looking at. I do have a program. We identified 10 cities recently where we provide $2.5 million to communities that have submitted plans to the Department of Justice, grant proposals to the department, focusing on prevention and education, focusing on law enforcement and focusing on re-entry. And so it's $2.5 million that we are making available to 10 communities around the country and perhaps in the future that is something that we can look at this area as being a possible recipient for.

OK? Thank you very much.

A lazy reporter's trick is to fly into a town, take a cab and quote the cabby as the sage of local politics. So, to be clear, I don't think this represents anything more than an interesting comment and is not posted here as a declaration of the feelings of Spokanites at large.

But, as I was taking a cab in from the airport we passed some signs for mayoral candidate Al French. I said something deep like, "Oh, you've got a mayor's race." And the driver said, "I don't know anything about them. The one decent mayor we had died of cancer or something."

French is one of two council members running against Mayor Dennis Hession, who got the job after Jim West was recalled from office. West later died of cancer. Jim Camden is covering the race for The Spokesman-Review, and it seems Hession is the frontrunner.

Mayor Dennis Hession has raised more than twice as much campaign money as his two main challengers combined and has spent more than council members Mary Verner and Al French put together.

And while I'm in the business of reporting brief snippets of conversation as news, outside Starbucks here is a woman behind a card table collecting signatures for Ref. 67, which would repeal the state's new insurance law. As I walked by, a man was bent over looking at the petition and the printed material and said, "Just tell me which side the lawyers are on and which side the insurance companies are on." I couldn't tell which side he was on, but as complicated as that issue is, the debate may not be hard for people to understand.

I'm on my way to Spokane to attend a press conference by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He's in Seattle today, where protesters are on the scene,
but he won't be meeting with the press there. His one Washington state media availability will be in Spokane. It is scheduled to follow a roundtable discussion the AG will have with local law enforcement officials as part of his program to combat gang crime. The press conference will be streamed live at about 1:30 p.m. on KXLY.com.

Yesterday in Boise, protesters forced Gonzales to move his press conference to quieter quarters.

The controversial attorney general was in town to deliver a specific message — one aimed at bolstering the fight against gangs.

But with about 100 protesters on hand with a different agenda, the AG decided the environment was too hostile.

Shortly before Gonzales was to address the public at the Fort Boise Community Center, it was announced the media conference would be moved and restricted to reporters only.

You may have commented in the past few weeks and wondered why it was not appearing on the blog. I just figured out that a lot of comments have been held for approval automatically by MovableType, in most cases it appears because of links in the comments. Somehow I was missing the notification that these messages were waiting for my approval and I just now found a backlog. My apologies. And I will be much more vigilant in checking to see if comments are being held.

MORE: Poking around MovableType I figured out that if you put more than three links in a comment it will be held automatically. It looks to the machine as spam.

Not me, but public radio's Austin Jenkins. His story about "wealthy, gay political donors who target state-level races" airs on All Things Considered this afternoon. It is an expansion of something he wrote in May for both Crosscut and for a piece on local public radio that I found of note at the time.

In today's piece Jenkins has more on the local connections to the effort from Colorado software mogul Tim Gill. This, from the text version of the story on NPR's site (where you can also listen to an archived version of the story):

Last year, they funneled millions of dollars into dozens of carefully selected campaigns. Their goal: to elect gay-friendly governors and state lawmakers.

Freshman Washington state Rep. Deb Eddy, a Democrat from Seattle's Eastside, remembers the phone call she received last summer from a political consultant on the East Coast. "Her purpose was simply to let me know that I would be receiving checks from out-of-state and that these were all on the up-and-up," Eddy says.

As Eddy remembers it, the caller told her the money was coming from a group of gay and gay-friendly donors who wanted to help influence state legislative races. Soon the checks started arriving — seven in all.

"It was a dead giveaway because all of them were for $675, which was the limit from the preceding election," Eddy says. "So they had information about Washington's limitation on contributions to campaigns that was a year old."

Eddy says some of the checks came with a note attached: "[It] said that I had been brought to their attention by Tim Gill, which was the first time I'd heard the name. And then he, too, sent a check."

Democrat Darcy Burner hasn't said much in response to my questions about the chances she'll face a contested primary next year. Today, though, her campaign sent supporters an e-mail detailing some of her recent efforts to be the party's nominee against Rep. Dave Reichert. The message comes after comments by potential Democratic primary opponent Rep. Christopher Hurst, who said Burner doesn't "own" the 8th District nomination.

The e-mail urges donors to give before the June 30 cutoff for second quarter fundraising. The sort of strong fundraising Burner showed in 2004 could help scare off potential opponents. She says in the message that the campaign needs to pay production costs for its first commercial which will air soon. Burner also reports that Democratic congressman Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee have endorsed her again.

Burner's message tries to boost the image of her close race against Reichert in 2004 and explain how next year will be even better for her. She says that last year she was a prime target of White House political chief Karl Rove.

In spite of these efforts, Darcy ran a great '06 campaign. Although the Republicans spent close to $6 million against her, Darcy won 49% of the vote. Her percentage was the best any Democrat has achieved in the 8th, dominating in King County's eastern suburbs and improving the Democratic mark in Pierce County and South King.

...

Darcy starts out this new campaign with 16,325 loyal donors, over 2,100 volunteers and name ID in the high 80's! That's a far cry from where she was 2 years ago!

One of the most prominent Democratic attorneys in Seattle will soon endorse acting prosecutor and Republican Dan Satterberg. Jenny Durkan, at one time Gov. Christine Gregoire's personal attorney, will be one of the hosts of Satterberg's kickoff July 19.

Joining Durkan, according to Satterberg, will be former Republican U.S. Attorney John McKay, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, and former prosecutors Kathy Goater and Becky Roe.

Meanwhile, a Satterberg deputy has ended her political work on behalf of Satterberg's campaign. The P-I reported this week that chief civil prosecutor Sally Bagshaw was recruiting endorsements for Satterberg despite his pledge that his staff would "remain above politics" during the race.

Satterberg had earlier sent his staff an e-mail saying:

"I will be proud to continue the policy that Norm established to not permit members of the office to either contribute money or a personal endorsement to my campaign."

That seemed worthy of questions. I called Satterberg today to ask him if he had any second thoughts. He still maintains there was nothing wrong with Bagshaw's campaign-related efforts. But she won't be doing it any more. He said that after the story broke — as the P-I's banner — other people offered to do the work instead. Bagshaw's elderly father also recently broke his hip and needs her attention.

"She's not going to be sending out any e-mails for those two reasons," Satterberg told me. Instead, the work will be done by Lisa Marchese, a former county prosecutor now in private practice. Maleng's widow, Judy, will also continue helping as they go through a list prepared for what was expected to be Norm Maleng's re-election campaign.

Some liberals have been criticizing Satterberg as a pretender to the throne, saying he is not a moderate like Maleng. Durkan's endorsement — with her unimpeachable Democratic credentials — seems like a valuable get for Satterberg. He said:

"She's somebody I've known for many years and her endorsement, to me, is really important because it says she trusts this isn't going to be some Republican machine to be a political training ground or spring board."

UPDATE: Democrat Bill Sherman announced some new endorsements today in his race for King County prosecutor. The Washington Conservation Voters and state Rep. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, announced they were backing Sherman. A press release from the campaign this afternoon says Sherman has also been endorsed by other Democrats, including House Speaker Frank Chopp, Sen. Ed Murray and King County Councilman Larry Phillips and Bob Ferguson.

It appears that one of two Democratic legislators considering an 8th District Congressional race may challenge Darcy Burner. But it's unlikely both Rep. Christopher Hurst and Sen. Rodney Tom will get in the Democratic primary. Hurst told me today:

"Rodney and I have had good talks about that. I wouldn't think that a tough primary challenge would be good for winning the race in November, so I think it ought to be one of the two of us."

Hurst said that "collateral damage" from a primary fight between him and Tom would be "almost insurmountable." But he's confident that either of them would beat Burner in the '08 primary and that fall face incumbent Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn. (I talked to Tom last week.)

Hurst's decision, he said, rests with family issues. His 22-year-old son, Andrew, is in an Army airborne infantry unit and could soon be sent on his second tour in Iraq. Hurst said having his son back on the battlefield would make it difficult for him to give a congressional campaign the attention it needs.

"When he was in Iraq it was hard to even drive home in the evening. You just waited to see an Army car parked out front the house. Nine kids in the unit were killed that year and a ton of them catastrophically wounded. ... I can tell you, it is hard to focus during those times."

If he did run against Reichert, having a son serve in Iraq and Afghanisan and a nephew killed in action in Mosul would shape Hurst's campaign.

"I think I know more about the war certainly than Dave does."

Hurst retired last year from 25 years in law enforcement. As a cop he said he knows Reichert, the former King County sheriff, well and has respect for his work.

"Dave's a good human being. I like Dave. But I have been dissatisfied. He ran as a moderate in that election last fall and some of his votes since the election he has essentially gone pretty much lock-step with the president."

But the first race he'd face would be against Burner, who has already announced she is making her second run at Reichert. Hurst says his law enforcement and legislative experience gives him a better resume than Burner. He says he respects Burner and the hard run she made at Reichert last year. But he says 2006 was as good as it can get for Democrats, and yet Burner couldn't beat Reichert. That, he says, opens her to a legitimate party challenge.

"The reality is there's no ownership there. The bottom line is what's best for the citizens of the district. You can't say that because someone ran before that's owed to them. Maybe some of the real hardcore party faithful say that. But I'm sorry, I don't buy that.

"The bottom line is if you couldn't win in 2006 you really got to sit down and do some soul searching and do a very careful, realistic analysis. That's what it's all about. Nobody owns this."

Hurst says he will make a decision by the end of July.

Stefan Sharkansky's report last week from the Mitt Romney fundraiser included what turns out to be a little scoop. He reported that former Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn introduced Romney at the event. And today the Romney campaign announced Dunn's endorsement and said she would serve as the national co-chair of "Women for Mitt."

Dunn was an early and ardent supporter of George W. Bush. She was a major fundraiser for Bush's first campaign and there was speculation that could lead to a Bush administration appointment. Dunn left Congress in 2005 and went to work as a lobbyist.

The campaign to repeal a new state insurance law is fast becoming an expensive effort. Insurance interests have now raised more than $1.1 million, according to the latest filings at the Public Disclosure Commission. The industry-funded Consumers Against Higher Insurance Rates has launched a TV campaign, encouraging people to sign petitions for Referendum 67.

Records from state TV stations collected by the opposition campaign show the repeal effort has bought $692,000 worth of air time through July 20. (Campaign spokeswoman Dana Childers confirmed that was generally the size of the TV buy.) July 21 is the deadline for submitting signatures to the Secretary of State's office.

A 30-second ad began airing last week. You can see it on the campaign's Web site. It plays on the image of greedy trial lawyers with a pretend TV commercial from a firm called "Sooem Settle & Kashin." The ad says trial lawyers pushed through legislation "promoting frivolous lawsuits and jacking up your insurance rates."

The campaign uses the slogan, "Reject R-67," because a negative vote in November would repeal the law. But it's the insurance group that is trying to put R-67 on the ballot. The law it seeks to repeal allows courts to impose triple damages if an insurance company is found to have unreasonably denied coverage or payment.

Campaign spokeswoman Dana Childers told me, "The purpose of the media buy now is to simply inform voters that there is a petition drive out there" for a law that "will increase their insurance rates and they have a chance to reject that law if they want."

Some local insurance companies have said that they hope negotiations with Gov. Christine Gregoire produce changes to the law that would to satisfy the industry and the referendum will not have to go forward. Childers said it would take a "surprising agreement" with "substantive change" to head off the referendum.

"I think at this time it's wise for everybody to have all options on the table. We'll see what comes out of the governor and let's see how the petition drive goes. Then come the third week of July, we'll see whether the interested parties want to go that direction."

The latest donations to the industry group include large checks from State Farm and Allstate. But the total doesn't include another $230,000 that local firm Safeco has pledged to the campaign.

The repeal campaign is funded solely by insurance interests, mostly out of state companies.

The Washington Trial Lawyers have donated $100,000 to the opposition campaign. It is unlikely they will have any paid media to combat the petition drive. The campaign assumes the measure will qualify for the November ballot and is preparing for a fall campaign, said spokeswoman Sue Evans. She told me:

I will be working on educating the press while other members of the campaign will be working to educate progressive allies. We believe they have the money to buy the signatures they need to get it on the ballot. ... We will never match the insurance industry dollar for dollar in this campaign, but the facts and the truth are on our side.

Evans and the trial lawyers dispute that insurance rates would increase under the new law. She said:

Referendum 67 simply requires insurance companies to treat people fairly. If you paid your premium, and have a valid insurance claim, the insurance company must honor its commitment to the policy holder. Without this law, insurance companies suffer no penalties under the law for failing to make good on their promise. They actually earn interest on the money they wrongfully withhold from policyholders.

SIDEBAR: Also today, PEMCO issued a clarification on its stance on Ref. 67. Last week I quoted company spokesman Jon Osterberg saying the referendum was flawed and would be bad for consumers. But he said today that came from a misunderstanding between him and others in the company.

PEMCO is neutral on Ref. 67. It is the legislation in question, which was Senate Bill 5726, which PEMCO believes will be bad for consumers. The company will not donate to the referendum campaign, though, and believes negotiations with the governor and lawmakers are a better way to fix the law than a referendum campaign. Osterberg wrote me today:

Efforts to modify the new law on insurance claims would be seriously hampered by a complicated referendum campaign. The law passed in 2007 would generate massive litigation, leading to higher costs for consumers because of increased business-operations costs. We believe equitable revisions to the law can best be achieved through thoughtful recommendations from the Governor's working group.

The state Democratic Party filed a complaint today with the Public Disclosure Commission claiming Dino Rossi's non-profit is "functionally indistinguishable to that of a gubernatorial candidate." The Democrats say Rossi's fundraising and spending should be subject to the same rules as for political donations.

The complaint says:

Mr. Rossi's role is, specifically, to "speak out and take positions on issues affecting state government. These will be issues that are or could be affected by the state legislature, Washington State Governor and/or regulators. . . " See Attachment 1(501(a) Application). The president and executive director are also responsible for meeting regularly with community leaders to discuss state policies. Id. Similarly, the core activities of Forward Washington are akin to those of a campaign for public office. Core activities include, specifically, "speeches, statements to the media, forums, seminars and panel discussions, research into state government issues, . . . communications to state residents, [and] occasional paid media advertising". Id.

You can read the whole complaint here. Democrats say Rossi's "Forward Washington Foundation," a tax-exempt organization, is essentially a disclosure dodge created only after Rossi had formed, and then put on hold, a 2008 campaign committee.

Rossi lost to Gov. Christine Gregoire after a record close election in 2004, several lawsuits, recounts and a two-week Superior Court trial. Rossi says he won't make a decision about another run until the end of this year. But as Sean Cockerham reported in the New Tribune in May, he certainly seems like a candidate.

"I tell you what, if we did do this again, theoretically, we're going to need you and everyone you know," Rossi told a conference of moderate Republican activists. "You and everyone that you know."

Rossi said his family would make a decision before the end of the year whether he'll run for governor again in 2008. He's keeping himself in the public eye, going around the state giving speeches and signing copies of his book — generally acting like a candidate.

Everyone at this weekend's Cascade Conference of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington seemed to think he's running.

Recently Rossi has been on a listening tour asking people for suggestions on how to improve state government. To skeptical reporters at least, that has a campaign-like ring to it. This is from the Columbian after a Vancouver stop:

Republican Dino Rossi brought his "Idea Bank" tour to Vancouver Thursday evening in an event that he insisted was not a warm-up for a rematch against Gov. Chris Gregoire next year. Rossi, the former state senator who lost to Gregoire in 2004 by just 133 votes, is holding idea-gathering forums around the state in June and July — everywhere, he says, except Seattle.

...

Then Alice McClure said what was on everyone's minds: "A lot of us want you to run again."
To loud applause, Rossi smiled and said, "We'll talk about that later in the year."

...

Asked after Thursday's session why he would put forth so much effort to gauge public opinion if he weren't planning to run, Rossi chose to talk about Gregoire instead.

"All I have to do is say what I'm going to do and the governor does it," he said with a smirk. For example, he recently scheduled talks to business groups in Sammamish and Kitsap County. The governor showed up in both places the following week, he said.

I'll find out what Rossi has to say about the complaint. It is absolutely true that many complaints get filed with the PDC for no reason other than to make political hay and grab a headline. But the commission certainly finds merit in some complaints filed against a candidate by partisan opponents.

MORE: I just talked to Rossi. He said he assumed "Christine" would file a complaint against Forward Washington. He's convinced the governor is behind it. But, he says there's noting wrong with Forward Washington or his work with the foundation.

The Democrats claim Rossi s a declared candidate for governor in 2008. They base that on the fact that Rossi at one time opened a 2008 campaign account, then closed it before creating Forward Washington. Rossi says the '08 campaign committee was formed after advice from the PDC as a way to handle contributions to his legal defense fund for the '04 election contest. He says when the committee was shut down it was done in consultation with PDC staff.

"I never ever said I was running in '08. Those words have never crossed my lips, publicly or privately. ... I just tell people I'll make a decision by the end of the year and their complaint says I'm a declared candidate? Boy, they better check in with my wife."

Rossi said the Idea Bank is not designed to help in a campaign if he decides to run again. He said all the ideas vetted by the group will be posted on its Web site and be available for even Gregoire to use if she wants.

MORE: A spokesman for Gregoire says the governor was not involved with the Democrats' complaint. "We had absolutely nothing to do with the state party's efforts and there was no coordination at all," said Press Secretary Lars Erickson. He said he didn't know anything about it until he read it in the Slog today.

Last week at the Slog, Josh Feit wrote after reading a New York Times story about a questionable non-profit operated by presidential candidate John Edwards: "John Edwards Makes Me Think of Dino Rossi for Some Reason."

Today Feit writes that "Washington State Democrats apparently agreed with me." And of critics who knocked him for highlighting a N.Y. Times story some said was off-base, Feit wrote:

What do you Democratic Party partisan zombies say now? Are the Democrats being unfair to Rossi?

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will be in Seattle tomorrow. Dean will headline a fundraiser at the Westin Seattle.

Pleased with last year's election results?

Join Howard Dean as he talks about how we're going to Strengthen our Majority in Congress and Take Back the White House next November!

It'll cost $50 for a "Join the Party" reception and $500 to be considered a "Trailblazer" and get in to a more elite event.

A top official of Republican Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign is in Seattle for the weekend hoping to organize what he says has been a surge of support for the candidate here. Lew Moore, national political director of Paul's campaign, was in Detroit today and making his way to the airport earlier when we talked.

Seattle has the fourth largest Ron Paul MeetUp in the country, behind Austin, Manhattan and Chicago. Moore told me:

"We've had a spontaneous groundswell in the Northwest and we're now working to organize this into what we think is going to be a formidable political operation that will be competitive next year."

Moore will meet with Paul supporters Sunday afternoon at Magnuson Park.

Paul is a medical doctor and veteran Texas congressman. He ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988 and maintains serious libertarian leanings. He opposes the Iraq war, which Moore said helps the candidate win support here. He opposes U.S. intervention, but is also a critic of foreign policy spending in general.

His anti-war stance has made him attractive to some anti-war liberals. Will at Horsesass.org wrote yesterday that he's hoping his "liberal friends get off their Ron Paul fixation." Will pointed to Paul's vote against the "Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act." The bill would give the federal government authority to reopen Civil Rights-era cases that remain unsolved.

The frustrated Will wrote:

But he's against the war! Right? Right?

I'm sure he's got some phony-baloney reasoning for his vote (like his desire to privatize most of the federal gov't, perhaps even the Justice Department), but I hope the "Ron Paul Infatuation Fest, 2007″ can finally be brought to a close.

Moore said he didn't know the details of the bill or why Paul voted against it. But he said Paul often votes against legislation because of "either unintended consequences" or because it exceeds what he thinks is the proper limit on the government's reach.

"He's inclined to do things that can be misinterpreted because he is very strong on constraining the role of the federal government and being consistent about it."

In a telephone conversation yesterday with a Safeco spokesman, I understood that the company had pledged to stay out of the campaign to repeal a new insurance law. PEMCO had done the same thing — putting the state's two largest insurers on the sidelines of a fight being financed by their out-of-state industry brethren behind Consumers Against Higher Insurance Rates.

But Safeco spokesman Paul Hollie called today to clarify the company's position. Safeco is following a different course than Pemco. I'm not sure what caused the confusion, but whatever the case, I now have a clear idea of the company's position.

Safeco has, in fact, committed to donating about $230,000 to the Ref. 67 campaign, adding to what is already a $650,000 campaign account to qualify the measure for the November ballot. But the company is also committed to working with Gov. Christine Gregoire, legislators and trial attorneys, to see if there can be agreement on a package of changes to the law.

The deadline in Safeco's view is July 21 when referendum signatures are due to the Secretary of State, said Gary Strannigan, Safeco's director of government relations. If a satisfactory agreement can be reached before that date, he said, Safeco would end its support for the repeal and not participate in the fall election campaign.

The industry opposed the "Insurance Fair Conduct Act" and urged Gregoire to veto it. Strannigan said:

"It's regrettable that the governor signed the bill but her initiating the work group to fix the flaws in the bill is certainly a good step and we treat it very favorably and have engaged very actively with her staff to try to craft a solution that would make this statute consistent with other state statutes on this matter."

Strannigan said it would take more than a commitment from the governor to fix the problems, though. He said the company also needs assurances from Democratic legislative leaders as well as the trial bar that a new bill would be passed next year.

"Passing a bill is a much more difficult thing than killing a bill. And this is a very high stakes thing. The bill that passes is the most far-reaching — some in my industry would call it outlandish — piece of legislation in the country on the subject."

Strannigan couldn't say whether other insurance interests now backing the referendum would also drop their support if an agreement could be reached. "Some of them are pretty confident that they could win the referendum contest," he said. Some of the differences come from differing perspectives of local and out-of-state companies.

"Their headquarters aren't in the state and don't to live with the consequences of a vigorously contested election campaign. I would say there are some who have not watched Governor Gregoire broker solutions to big ... problems as she has in the past."

Once again Sound Politics blogger Stefan Sharkansky was on the inside of a GOP presidential fundraiser while the MSM was kept away. Here's his report on the closed Mitt Romney fundraiser.

I was surprised to read this:

Worth noting that it was former Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn who introduced Romney. That's a good endorsement to have.

Do you think the GOP campaigns are unhappy that Sharkansky shares lengthy reports from closed fundraisers? Or maybe it works out just fine for them to have a friendly blogger on the inside who is providing the only published reports of the exclusive events.

Via Eye on Olympia. (Warning: It's loud.)

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign announced today that Rep. Jay Inslee has endorsed the New York senator for president. Inslee was also named as co-chair of Clinton's Energy and Environmental Task Force.

Inslee said in a statement released by the campaign:

"We need a candidate who has been through the fire and knows how to lead. ... Hillary Clinton has the vision to lead this country in a clean-energy revolution. She has the toughness, experience, and resolve needed to end the Iraq war and begin rebuilding America's image around the world."

Inslee's political career has been influenced by the Clintons. He lost his Eastern Washington seat in Congress in the anti-Clinton backlash of 1994, with the added trouble of having voted for Clinton's gun control measures. After his defeat, Inslee worked for President Bill Clinton has the regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Inslee was elected again to the House in 1998, in part, after he attacked Republican efforts to impeach President Clinton.

The state's two largest insurance companies have decided not to join their industry colleagues in financing a ballot measure to repeal a new insurance law.

Instead, PEMCO and Safeco will rely on a pledge from Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire to propose changes next year to make the Insurance Fair Conduct Act more palatable to the industry.

The agreement could help keep Referendum 67 off the ballot. Having PEMCO and Safeco on the sidelines could mean less money for the campaign. It also would allow trial lawyers, Democratic lawmakers and others to argue that the referendum is mostly an effort by out-of-state insurance interests to overturn a new Washington law.

So far, eight insurance companies and a PAC have donated $650,000 to the campaign to qualify the referendum for the ballot. Of that, all but $150,000 has come from out-of-state companies.

PEMCO spokesman Jon Osterberg told me today:

"The governor has promised to present changes to the new law to the 2008 Legislature and PEMCO commends her leadership in doing that. We do support her willingness to see this through. And what we trust here is that the governor will identify all these unintended economic impacts of that Senate bill and will, in fact, present revised legislation."

PEMCO has committed to stay out of the already expensive referendum campaign to repeal the law. For now, Safeco has pledged to stay out of the referendum campaign. But that could change if the measure qualifies for the ballot and progress is not made with the governor's working group, said company spokesman Paul Hollie. "We're supportive of the governor's effort," he said.

Under the new law, courts can approve triple damages if an insurance company is found to have violated the Act and unreasonably denied coverage or payment.

During the legislative session, local insurance companies wrote Gregoire a letter asking her to veto the bill. PEMCO and Safeco both then