Reichert Trails in 8th CD; Let the Smears Begin

"Candidate Labor Day Tug of War," from the Darcy Burner Flickr pool

Things are heating up in the 8th Congressional District race, which pits the incumbent, former King County Sheriff and Bush waterboy Dave Reichert against the challenger, retired Microsoft exec Darcy Burner. After losing the 2006 race, and trailing most of the 2008 campaign, Burner several polls have shown Burner surging to a lead in recent weeks. A SurveyUSA poll released Wednesday evening has Burner leading 50-46 after trailing by ten points a month ago.

So what do you do when you find yourself suddenly lagging with ballots already in your constituents' hands? Call in the local media! The Reichert campaign has received over $770k in television ads from KING, KOMO and KIRO, all unpaid and extended on credit which far exceeds Reichert's cash on hand, and according to the Burner campaign, constitutes an illegal contribution.

Also, the Seattle Times is running a disingenuous story about Burner's college education. The story tries to paint Burner as being untruthful about her education, even though the Times' own bio of Burner clearly states what she's said all along. We are guessing that reporter Emily Heffter will be made totally clear on how some colleges don't have majors and minors, because her email address has been posted on nearly every major left-leaning blog in the U.S. in the past hour.

Think our state's politics is getting too much like a sewer? It was revealed today that Oregon Senator Gordon Smith is irrigating his farm's crops with actual human sewage. Yum.

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By Brad in News on October 22, 2008 9:00 PM

Comments [rss]

jwhieger

Getting pretty tired of conservatives whining on national televsion that the media doesn't let them speak.

If you are on national television, you are part of the MSM, enough said.

Troy Morris

From a person who actually went to Harvard (did anyone here? I went to Evergreen, which really doesn't have degrees):

y the same token, there are no minors at Harvard. What Burner did is the Harvard equivalent of doing a joint degree in computer science and economics, though it’s not technically called that and the process (which would involve taking an adequate number of economics courses and then writing a thesis that bridges both subjects) is probably somewhat different from what you might find elsewhere. That she chose not to give a tediously detailed description of the academic procedures of her undergraduate institution is just common sense.

ruffhauser

If Paul Krugman can win a Nobel Prize in Economics, maybe it's best that she is "un-certified" in this field.

Brad

I'm just guessing on this, but the more discussion there is about Burner and her economics background, the worse it is for Reichert.

It's a corollary of McCain's "If the campaign is about the economy, we'll lose" theorem.

BigGreenFrank

"some colleges don't have majors and minors"

But Harvard does...

I don't know that I've ever heard Burner claim that she had a degree in economics, but if she did, that would be untrue, as the article states.

A "special field" designation, and even some minors, are just a bullshit way of saying you took more than a couple classes in one area. It denotes more of an interest in an area rather than any expertise (It's like grade inflation, just another way to make yourself look good after paying $120,000 for college)

For example, I technically have an engineering minor from my Ivy League college. Any real engineer would not respect that in the slightest, and I would be embarrassed to put that down for anything beyond the least technical of positions.

mbq

I can't wait for the MSM to run a story about how MSM is no longer liberal.

seatown22

The Times changed the headline online, now calling it an exaggeration! Here is the original headline- "Darcy Burner's claims of a Harvard degree in economics aren't true"

BUSTED! Total BS, can't believe they haven't pulled the story yet. I wrote them before they changed the headline. Wonder if they changed it in time for the print edition....

Thanks for the post, good call.

Troy Morris

And it's still more economic education than the vulturing Davey has.

sciencevsromance

is that an anti-Obama banner ad floating over a pro-Burner post? weird admatch.

Troy Morris

Thanks, Brad. I guess the over-sensational anti-Burner ads have made the voting public a little upset that a group would consider them so stupid.