After reading AceinTx’s update on the RMSP, I did a (very little) bit of checking into Dave Reichert’s record.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Reichert was a popular King County Sheriff, under whose tenure the Green River Killer was arrested, tried and convicted. Capitalizing on that popularity, in 2004 he ran for Jennifer Dunn’s open seat in the US House and defeated local talk show host, Dave Ross, 51-46.

Reichert defeated Darcy Burner in 2006 by a margin of 51 to 48 and again in 2008 by a margin of 51-49.

The American Conservative Union gives him a 56 lifetime rating. Of Washington’s nine congressmen and 2 senators, that ranks him as the third most conservative. Of these 11, 3 have lifetime ratings of less than 10; 2 have ratings of 10; 3 have ratings between 10 and 20; and two have ratings of over 90 (both from Eastern Washington).

My point is that while Dave Reichert may appear to be quite moderate, by Washington standards, he is quite conservative. He is almost certainly as conservative as anyone could be and still have a chance at winning in his district. I would say his association with RMSP is in keeping with his record.