SOUTH COUNTY POLITICS: McKenna now a polarizing figure

  • By Evan Smith Enterprise political writer
  • Tuesday, April 6, 2010 7:43pm

Much of my recent e-mail has been about state Attorney General Rob McKenna:

• A letter from more than 100 attorneys asking him to reconsider participation in the lawsuit against the health-care reform bill and noting that the suit makes arguments that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected long ago;

• A letter from 66 Democratic state legislators that also asked McKenna to withdraw from the suit;

• A copy of an article defending the merits of the suit; and

• A press release from the state Democratic Party that accused McKenna of using his office as a public relations mill.

The suit has turned McKenna’s image from that of an independent, moderate Republican to that of a right-wing ideologue.

The old McKenna could work with Democrats in Olympia, as he had previously on the King County Council. He could be an effective advocate for consumer protection. He could defy his party as he did when he defended the top-two primary before the U.S. Supreme Court.

That McKenna won the votes of people who elected Patty Murray and Christine Gregoire. He appeared to be a strong candidate for governor; no one wanted to challenge him if he chose to run for a third term as attorney general. Many Republicans distrusted him, but they backed him because he was one of the few Republicans who could win in Washington.

The new McKenna is now a hero to conservative Republicans, but he has become a clear target for Democrats.

In December, King County Councilman Bob Ferguson told me that he was considering a run for attorney general in 2012 but only if McKenna wasn’t running. Last week, he again said he was considering it but he left out the “only if McKenna doesn’t run” language.

In two weeks McKenna has gone from someone both parties tolerated to a Republican icon and Democratic target. In Washington, that doesn’t lead to political success.

Why the state House-Senate impasse?

The state Senate and House continue to wrangle over fixing the state budget.

The disagreement seems curious since both chambers represent the same 49 districts and have similar Democratic majorities.

So, why do the House and Senate have such differences?

Democratic state Rep. Al O’Brien of the 1st District told me recently that he’s tried to figure out the reasons for years.

Democratic state Rep. Hans Dunshee of the 44th District said recently that the disagreement between the chambers represents differences within the Democratic Party.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@verizon.net.

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