Recently I’ve been doing some traveling around the state of Washington and gotten a chance to speak to other grassroots activists and Tea Party leaders. I’ve heard a common theme from many of them. Dino Rossi is giving them the cold shoulder. I was told by one conservative activist that he had received word from the Rossi campaign that they would not be making an appearance at any Tea Party sponsored events. Another one told me that the campaign would not even return their phone calls.

As a Tea Party activist, I can only assume that the Rossi campaign has calculated that the conservative vote is his by default and therefore does not need to be earned. With the conservative base “all locked up”, Rossi is then free to focus his attention toward more moderate voters in the liberal suburbs of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. If this is the political calculation that has been made by his campaign managers, I’d like to suggest that someone has made a very serious mistake.

It’s a recognized political reality in Washington that a republican candidate cannot win a statewide race unless they are able to appeal to a respectable percentage of voters in the Puget Sound area. However, given the liberal nature of Seattle and surrounding cities, a conservative candidate cannot reasonably expect to secure a majority of area voters. It is therefore necessary that they win an overwhelming majority of votes in the remainder of the state. This is not possible without very strong support from the base.

Senator Murray has a huge amount of money built up for her re-election campaign and Dino Rossi is correct when he states that he will be out spent in this campaign. It SHOULD not be too much of a concern though because of the arrival of grassroots organizations such as the local Tea Parties. You cannot put a dollar figure on the support of these groups. However, it is these very groups that Dino Rossi has made an incomprehensible decision to distance himself from.

Mr. Rossi, simply being a republican with widespread name recognition is not enough to “lock up” the conservative vote. Washington DC is full of republicans who have been just as dangerous to America’s future as any democrat. What assurance can you give the people of Washington State that you won’t follow in the footsteps of Lindsey Graham or John McCain?

I’m not convinced I agree with the logic, but I’ve spoken to many people who have said that unless they are convinced that Dino Rossi is a true conservative who will always vote to uphold the constitution, they may actually sit this election out, thereby giving Patty Murray six more years.

Dino Rossi might want to re-think the decision to snub the Tea Party.

I received a fund raising letter in the mail from the Rossi campaign today. Many of you in Washington State may have received the same letter. In a postscript, Rossi says “The issues of this campaign are clear, and our friends and neighbors don’t need 2 years of TV ads to make up their minds”.

This is true. We don’t need a candidate to spend millions of dollars on fancy TV commercials. What people DO NEED is to hear from a candidate personally as much as possible, and look in the candidates eyes and decide if they are who and what they say they are. We know what the issues of this campaign are, but some of us just are not sure where you stand on those issues. With no disrespect intended, Dino, the conservative base is not yet convinced that you are one of us.

Duane White

VP, Remember Us…We the People

Yakima, WA

dwhite@ruwtp.org