When I arrived in Washington state from California in the freezing grip of winter, I heard the only thing colder than the temperature was the chance of Ron Sims becoming governor.
Chris Gregoire would smoke him, my instructors in Politicalthink 101 told me. They produced poll after poll documenting her insurmountable lead and his inability to register even a standard-sized blip on voters’ radar.
Seasons change, and so have the surveys.
The attorney general has kept raising money, but her lead on the King County executive has been eroding. She hasn’t lost ground, Sims has gained.
And I can see why. Her invincible campaign has been running on a treadmill.
Her theme song, the Gregoirean Chant, is lulling voters into a slumber with its melodious riffs of practicality – new jobs, less regulation, affordable health care, better schools, cleaner air.
She exemplifies why moderate Democrats are so frustrating. They’re so damned reasonable that you can’t get fired up about them.
(Ironically, Republicans yearn for that moderate sweater, and GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi is searching for the right size to wear in the governor’s mansion.)
Moderate Democrats tend to check the weather vane for any breeze. Then they step outside and toss a bit of confetti into the air, hoping it will look like a snowstorm of change.
Sims, meanwhile, has been proving his mettle as the son of a preacher, singing a spiritual song of change. He’s not afraid of taking big chances on big problems, and that often means spending big on things like education and transportation.
I’m not saying he’s a spendthrift. Good business people know that time is money. Sims figures that all the time spent talking about solutions is draining the public trough. Pay now, he says, and maybe you won’t pay later.
What’s more intriguing about this liberal Democrat is that when he doesn’t talk about forgotten issues, he talks about a forbidden one – taxes. Pundits insist it’s the third rail of state politics. I think Sims is showing off his third eye.
Sims and Gregoire couldn’t be more different in style as well.
He is a walking revival, an evangelist of gab who makes you go hmmmm. He speaks in full quotes and can’t shed his rhetorical heft because it’s quite becoming. Gregoire the lawyer is a grown-up who uses grown-up words about grown-up subjects. Serious seems to be her permanent state of mind.
Last week, the Gregoirean Chant sounded very rock ‘n’ roll. And last week, it became personal.
They called Gregoire a racist. She counterpunched. She bottled up her handlers and uncorked her heart.
For a few moments at the state Labor Council, Gregoire proved her skill at blending fury, passion and point in fighting back against the charge and for the office that so many say she’s destined.
Her intensity forced Sims into a rare retreat.
How long will it last?
An answer won’t be known for a while. For now, Gregoire no longer seems intent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield’s column on politics runs every Sunday. He can be heard at 7 a.m. Monday on the “Morning Show” on KSER (90.7 FM). He can be reached at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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