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Ridiculous drama and hyped up rage have been expressed by various Democratic Party candidates and organizations around Washington State over the past few days based on some mailers which were sent by a few small political action committees this author set up and manages (Sorry, Rachel Maddow – there is nothing fake about these – the PACs are real and the mailers are real).  These over-reactions and emotional responses are disproportionate to the simple message of providing more voting options for self-identified Progressive voters in Washington State.  It is rare to witness such rage and anger being expressed by the simple action of providing more voting choices to voters who may be searching for better options.

Hopefully this article will reduce the rage, temper the anger, and bring peace once again to the local political scene.  I want to apologize for the lateness of this article but there have been many distractions over the past few days.

Correcting misconceptions and managing rumor control

This author is not a “Progressive” and I’ve never claimed to be one.  However, there is ample evidence to support my claim that I have become the conscience of the progressives in this state, which is why I named one of my PACs “Conscience of the Progressives.”  I also wanted voters to have the option to send a message, which is why I named another PAC – “Send a Message.”  In addition, where I live I want Thurston County to have a brighter future, which is why I named one of my PACs “A Brighter Thurston County” and I also wanted real Thurston County Progressives to have the option to send their own message, which is why I named my other PAC “Real Progressives in Thurston County”  Let’s look at some examples to support this claim:

• In 2012, I was involved in publicly releasing and exposing videos of major Democratic Party donor cult leader JZ Knight (who claims to channel a 35,000-year-old homicidal Lemurian warrior spirit named “Ramtha”) making racist and hateful speeches about Mexicans, Jews, Catholics, Gays, and others. When I released the video of JZ Knight’s racist statements of Mexicans – the Washington State Democratic Party was silent.  When I released JZ Knight’s hateful statements about Jews and Catholic, the State Democrats did nothing.  When I released the video of JZ Knight saying Gays were all reincarnated Catholic Women, the State Democrats got concerned.  Finally, when I release the video of JZ Knight attacking organic farmers, that was the bridge too far – the State Democratic Party divested themselves of $70,000 of recent JZ Knight cult funding.  (See Seattle Times article linked here, see NPR story linked here).  Real Progressives wouldn’t align themselves with a racist cult leader, so I was able to be their conscience.

• In 2014, Once again, cult leader JZ Knight/Ramtha

  

  was funding the Democrats. This time she/it was starting to purchase the Thurston County Democratic Party by giving massive donations – eventually exceeding $216,000 to the Thurston County Democrats and their local candidates.  Since JZ Knight had threatened legal action against all online entities who had posted her videos, this author was forced to submit the videos on DVD to the Thurston County Commissioners who she supported so that they could see for themselves the racist speeches and so that the citizens of the community could request their own copies as part of the public record.  JZ knight/Ramtha attempted a frivolous copyright lawsuit against this author and former employer, the Freedom Foundation.  However, once it became apparent that JZ Knight was not only going to lose this lawsuit, but also likely lose all copyright protection on almost everything she had claimed, she wisely dropped this lawsuit (See lawsuit linked here).  This author was the Progressive Conscience in Thurston County, but the Democrats were not listening.

• In 2016, Once again, this author was forced to

  

  intervene in the Thurston County Commissioner races and expose both candidate Jim Cooper’s shady work history and the cult leader JZ Knight/Ramtha continued funding of the Thurston County Democratic Party. While the voters rejected the Democratic Party’s chosen Commissioner candidates, a Democratic Party PCO made a death threat against this author (he was not the brightest guy out there – he called from his home phone and left a voicemail – which makes a restraining order pretty simple).  In the flurry of frivolous litigation, silly PDC Complaints, and plenty of other drama, the Thurston County Democrats finally listened to this author, the conscience of the progressives, and they stopped taking cult cash.

• Beginning in late 2016, this author also 
• began to experience the joys and wonder of Washington State’s campaign finance laws. Partially inspired by Democrat State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s desire to more rigorously enforce the laws, and partly inspired by Democrat Senator Sam Hunt’s accurate claim that I didn’t know anything about the law, this author chose to inspire the desire to make changes in Washington State’s campaign finance laws.  In order to get to the first stage of the change – it required filing 400 complaints which triggered 19 AG lawsuits against Democrat groups, politicians, candidates, judges and unions (until AG employees quit because they had only planned on suing Republicans when they went to work for Ferguson), and another 30 Citizen Action Notice lawsuits on behalf of the state, plus many fines, warning letters, and the greatest improvement in campaign finance reporting ever seen in Washington State history.  Once the Democratic Party realized they would be subject to the same rules they had imposed on the hapless Republicans and others for the past few decades, there was a sudden desire to find bipartisan support for modifying the law.  The first reform was made during this year’s legislative session.  This author helped the Progressive Democrats see the light on campaign finance reform.

  

• In 2017, the Thurston County Democratic Party finally elected a real Progressive to run their party. Boudicca Walsh (formerly Gordon Walsh) is a self-described Trans Radical Witch of Olympia, and the first real Progressive the Thurston County Democratic Party has elected in many years.  In this author’s opinion, Boudicca should become the poster person for the modern progressive.  Boudicca stopped accepting the cult cash from JZ Knight/Ramtha, which also made me a big fan.  The Conscience of the Progressives was finally being heard.  Unfortunately, Boudicca is not currently the chair, which is disappointing, and could explain the Thurston County Democratic Party’s drift away from their stated Progressive values.

This background is just a quick overview of this author’s efforts over the years to be the conscience for the local Thurston County Democratic Party (and the Washington State Democratic Party as well) and help them aspire to the Progressive ideals that they claim to believe.  They claim to not support racism, then they shouldn’t take cult cash from a racist cult leader.  I was their conscience helping them get back to living their beliefs.  They claim to love the campaign finance laws, then they should start to follow them or change them if they can’t.  In this case, they opted to change the law, which probably will make it better for everyone.  They claim to care about people, then maybe they can stop inflicting harm on rural people who live in my community.  I’m still working on them in this area.  They claim to want to support women, #Metoo, etc, then why pick a privileged, old white guy with almost no civic background to be your standard bearer?

I rarely agree with my Progressive friends on public policy, but as a political outsider I can help them see the error in their ways and perhaps change their actions and influence their policies.  If they can live up to their ideals, then at least we can have a real contrast and political debate on policy.

How the idea began

It began with a conversation I had several months ago with someone I consider a Progressive.  Not a “Democrat,” but a “Progressive.”  I speak to self-identified Progressives and Democrats and others all the time.  I believe it is important to have civil discussions with people with whom you disagree.  In a few cases, some were complaining about how the Democratic Party choices were “just as bad” as the Republicans or Independent political options.  They said it was too bad they couldn’t write in a “real Progressive.”  I didn’t think too much of the conversation at the time, because many activists in politics have similar feelings.  Many of us have heard these types of statements before.  A self-described “Mainstream Republican” once told me when I knocked on his door that he was going to write in his choice rather than pick from the limited two options on the ballot.  However, what if there was a better write-in choice for those who were true progressives?  When crappy candidates and poor choices end up on the ballot why not give people a better option – even if it only sends a message to their party to do a better job on candidate recruitment next time?

Thus, the idea was born.

In defense of write-in candidates

While political parties would probably love to eliminate the write-in option on your ballot, that would be an exceptional restriction on our rights as citizens to choose something other than the options we are presented.  This is also a unique option for voters in the United States.  Except for Japan (where voters need to write in all their candidates – nothing preprinted), the United States has this unique feature of our election process compared to the rest of the world.

Write in candidates are usually protest votes against a party, the system, or the options otherwise presented.  However, there are some notable successes in Washington State:

• Linda Smith was elected to Congress in the 3^rd Congressional District in 1994. She started her campaign as a successful write in candidate in September of 1994 to bounce the only listed Republican candidate in the primary.  She went on to win the General election and serve for many years.
• In 2012, Sharon Hanek, a Republican, was the first ever successful state-wide candidate to succeed with a write in campaign during the primary (with 33,319 votes) to get on the general election ballot to challenge the incumbent, Jim McIntire.
• In 2010, Rob Chase, a Republican, ran a write in campaign during the primary (garnering 1500 votes) and was able to get on the general election ballot which he won and a position he still holds.
• In 2016, Bucoda Town Councilman Gary Givens became the first write-in candidate to ever win a race in Thurston County with a victory of 64% of the votes.

While there are some policy changes this author would like to see to facilitate a more open write-in campaign process, for now, many write-in campaigns are protest votes.

This author has written in many candidates over the years when presented with options where I didn’t like the choices.  This has been particularly true with unopposed candidates who are frequently terrible choices in Thurston County.  This author has been written in as a write in candidate many times (assuming the stories I’ve been told are true).  However, I had found an option which solved several problems at one time.

First, for my real Progressive friends out there, I could give them a clear path to more effectively vent their frustration at the poor candidates the Democratic Party offered on their ballots.  They aren’t voting for the Republican or the Independent anyway, and they believe the Democrats botched the job once again with some of these final candidates chosen, so real Progressives can write in someone who is more Progressive instead.  This will send a message to the Democratic Party to find someone even more Progressive next time.

Secondly, I like contrasts in elections.  How often have you heard people tell you that “there is no difference between the candidates on the ballot”?  I can help real Progressives in select districts and Thurston County send a message to the Democratic Party that they want someone far more Progressive next time.  It isn’t like the local political leadership will listen to them or even care what they have to say otherwise – usually party leadership dismiss their concerns and ignore them anyway, if what I’ve been told is true.  However, the party can’t ignore a large write in block.  That actually sends a message.

Finally, some of these candidates chosen by the Democratic Party are just atrocious.  Look at Jessa Lewis in the 6^th Legislative District in Spokane.  She is completely unqualified for any political office, let alone a state senate seat.  She is a total political chameleon.  She once ran a “Standing Rock” GoFundMe page and then just kept the money for herself. A real Progressive wouldn’t do that.  According to Walla Walla police records from the rape investigation from last year’s Democratic Party Quarterly meeting she had some bizarre interaction in her text messages where she was clearly trying to convince the victim to not come forward.  That isn’t progressive either (at least it isn’t supposed to be).  I feel bad for real Progressive voters there – they have poor choices, and they aren’t voting for a Republican, so they might as well write in a Real Progressive and send a message to their party, so the party can do better next time.

Another example is in Thurston County where the Democratic Party claims they are progressive, and they have lost the last three commissioner races to Independents (not even Republicans, but Independents).  There is palpable desperation in the air to win a seat at the courthouse for the “Progressive” movement and they’ve been complaining about a “bunch of old white guys” running the county commission.  So, to prove their progressive bone fides, they select a privileged old white guy named Tye to be their guy.  If they are going to be real progressives, they need to step it up a bit, shake the dust off their Evergreen College degrees, remember their identity politics and send a message to the Democratic Party – write in a real Progressive, and who could be more progressive than EJ Zita?  I may disagree with Zita and I am certain that she disagrees with me on a variety of issues, however, we can both agree she is as hard-core progressive as it is possible to get in Thurston County.  She also has the benefit of being a woman which, on the automatic grievance scale, always ranks higher than a privileged old white guy.  As an aside, I considered recommending Boudicca Walsh instead, who would be an awesome candidate for the Thurston County Commission, but I wasn’t sure that Walsh lived in the right district.

Another example is the Frasier race where I recommend Purcell.  It is obvious that Purcell has had difficulty complying with Washington State’s wonderful Campaign Finance laws, however, that doesn’t automatically mean she isn’t a true Progressive.   In fact, I would argue that this settlement would help enhance her qualifications as a progressive.  I also was the one who filed the original series of complaints which led to her AG lawsuit and settlement (see article here).  However, that doesn’t mean she isn’t a hard core Progressive. I may not want to vote for her, but that doesn’t matter.  A real progressive probably would, and probably already has once.  The only second thoughts I’m having in this specific race now is that it might be possible that Frasier was a more extreme Leftist and more progressive than I had originally thought.  We’ll have to see if she can demonstrate that she is even further to the left than Purcell.

How come you didn’t talk to the proposed write in candidates?

Because that would be illegal.  It is considered illegal coordination, and it is not allowed under Washington State’s Public Disclosure Rules. I know they aren’t official candidates, but it is better to not take chances like that.  To make it a bit more complicated, I’m also currently in court with at least one of these proposed candidates, and it would be illegal for me to speak to that person as well without an attorney present, and the attorney, if they were worth anything would point out that the conversation is also potentially illegal under Washington State’s campaign finance laws.

Isn’t this dirty politics and fake news?

Not at all.  There is nothing fake about these mailers and the message that writing in these real progressive candidates would be heard.  Rachel Maddow demonstrated her own fake news story when she called my PACs “Fake” and the mailers “Fake” yesterday.  She was wrong, they are very real and the option to send a message is very real.  Sure, the current candidate in these areas might get a few less votes, but the only people writing in the real progressive option are going to be serious progressives who want to send a message to their party which can’t be ignored.  If the message is received, the Democratic Party nominating process would be far less ambiguous next time as the candidates prove genuine, unquestionable, unchallengeable progressive viewpoints.  That will really help in future elections so that the contrasts are much clearer for all to see.  This result will clarify elections for everyone, and I view this is a net benefit to all of us.

There is nothing dirty about giving voters more choices in their elections.

I believe that because of these campaigns, future Washington State elections will be even better and far more interesting.  This is particularly true if the Democratic Party gets the message and starts walking the Progressive walk rather than just spouting the Progressive talk.

Is this voter suppression?

This is probably one of the stupidest and least educated statements made by any of the Democratic Party leaders.  In what world is giving voters more choices voter suppression?  In What world is reminding people to vote voter suppression?  This is just another bizarre and deceptive talking point by people who are trying to profit from my efforts to give voters more choices (note that every attack they send out has a fundraising appeal attached).

Why is Planned Parenthood involved?

Planned Parenthood even put out a bizarre press release that was challenging to decipher, but somehow they extrapolated that I’m involved in the abortion debate, which is entirely out of Left field.  I have written on many issues over the years.  My articles are very public, and they are easy to search and read.  Nowhere, until now, does the abortion debate even surface.  I’ve mostly written about politics, government policy, property rights, the environmental movement, government corruption, etc.  I’ve never written about any side of the abortion debate, but if Planned Parenthood is truly pro-choice, they should support voters having more choices as well.  They shouldn’t be trying to limit the choices voters can make.

A final note on the bizarre freak-out by the Democratic Party and others to these mailers

In the last week, millions of dollars have been spent on thousands of mailers that are all sent out just before the ballots drop in the mail.    Most of them are garbage and get tossed in the mail seconds after the voters receive them.  Many of them are stupid, wasteful attack ads and negative campaigning.  I felt that I would stay above the fray and merely point out that real Progressives don’t have to plug their nose and vote for the crappy candidates offered by the Democratic Party.  They can send a real message and write in a better option who would represent their values far more effectively.  Will it matter?  Will any messages be sent?  We’ll have to see, but my mailers are far more civil, reasoned, and way more factual than what we typically see out there.

Voters have choices, and regardless of the bizarre freak-out by the anti-choice Democratic Party over giving people more voting choices, they can’t force everyone else into the neat box in which they want us to stay.

Finally, in closing, here are just a few examples of electioneering by others and you won’t hear the Democratic Party, Rachel Maddow, Planned Parenthood, or any of those overreacting to my friendly mailers say anything about these:

Tom Steyer and the Whatcom County Democrats funded this mailer in 2013:

Democrats in Chicago ran these mailers a few weeks ago against other Democrats (and Rachel Maddow was strangely silent as was the rest of the Democratic Party):

Yeah, this one is classy too:

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OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.”  IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE.  IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT.  IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.”  UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…

Related Articles:

Planned Parenthood Press Release – “Planned Parenthood Votes Condemns New Deceitful Mail Pieces by Republicans”

The Stand – “This is dirty politics at its absolute lowest”

Longview Daily News – “Democrats:  misleading mailer attempting to sabotage Frasier”