The Political Desk: US House of Representatives

I really wish I was in the 8th, Dave Reichart's district, so I could recommend Santiago Ramos for the position. But they pulled back the borders of Mr. Reichert's district so exclude more people of blue  persuasion (as well as other shades), and so I am in the 9th, the Seattle Arcology which runs from the Tacoma Dome up to Cap Hill, with a spur picking up Bellevue and Mercer Island. In this domain we have Adam Smith.

Adam Smith is pretty darn good. He's the head Dem on the Armed Services Committee, places himself as a progressive and though the House is as woefully unimpressive as the Senate these days, he's been one of the good ones. He's going on to the fall election through sheer inertia, and that's a good thing.

Other than that? Doug Basler ran as the Republican against him last time, and is running against him again. He pushes a lot of moderate positions, and his web site still has this creepy burning US Great Seal of the US. He also has really cool yard signs, which are narrow and thin. Sort of like the guy who gives you the business card that is half the size of the normal ones you collect.

Though Adam Smith pitches himself as a Progressive, there are two guys running to the left of him. Both Jesse Wineberry and Daniel Smith are supporters of Bernie Sanders, so if you're a Dem that can't bear to vote to Mr. Smith because he wasn't a Bernie Sanders supporter, take a look at these two. Daniel Smith would get the edge in the not-Adam-Smith department only because he offers Edward Snowden a job at the NSA if elected. That sounds like a fun job interview.

If everyone is a progressive, what about the rest of us? We have a centrist Republican, a progressive incumbant, and two even more progressive Democratic challengers. Fortunately, to pick up the spare we have Jeary Flener, of No Party Preference, who claims ideas from the Constutionalists, Libertarians, Democrats, Socialists, and Republicans, but believes that the federal government should be the least of our governing bodies. He is apparently legion, for he contains multitudes.

OK, on to the really grisley stuff. More later.