"WA-05: DCCC Steps up for Goldmark"

mcjoan on Kos:

Peter Goldmark has been on the DCCC's radar for a while now, having been added to its emerging races list several weeks ago. They've just stepped up their commitment by helping Goldmark out with some ad buys. From the indispensable Goldy:

The DCCC hit the Spokane airwaves today in support of Peter Goldmark's surging campaign against first-term incumbent Cathy McMorris. WA-05 is a supposedly "safe Republican" district the NRCC had no plans to defend, but with multiple polls showing the race within the margin of error - and closing - the DCCC decided to catch McMorris with her pants down just days before the absentee ballots start dropping.

Combined with Goldmark's spectacular fundraising success (he once again doubled McMorris's efforts in the third quarter, almost entirely from individual donors,) the DCCC's media buy now puts this race on a virtually even financial footing. Of course the NRCC could also move money into the district, but with other surprisingly competitive "safe Republican" districts like nearby ID-01 already consuming half million dollar investments, they may just have to gamble that McMorris can hold the seat on her own.

How big is that Democratic wave that's threatening to sweep the Republicans out of office? Big enough that it's reaching all the way into the Inland Northwest, where just a few years ago Democrats were thought to be a dying breed. Yet another sign that the number of competitive House races continues to expand as we come closer to the election... and yet another confirmation of the netroots-endorsed, 50-state strategy.

Goldmark is running circles around McMorris when it comes to campaigning. He's just having a hell of a time getting the myopic local press to see it. That myopia extends clear to the other side of the Cascades, where the Seattle Times pens another utterly craptacular endorsement for a sitting Republican representative. Talk about damning with faint praise:

CONGRESSWOMAN Cathy McMorris deserves re-election in the 5th District because she is a good fit for her conservative district.

Her knowledge of federal issues has greatly increased over the past two years.

Knowing what drives the Seattle Times publisher and ed board, one might suspect this rather tepid endorsement has a little something to do with this:

The first piece of legislation McMorris cosponsored in Congress was H.R. 8, to permanently repeal the estate tax. She remains committed to passing legislation that calls for a permanent and complete repeal of all estate taxes.

At least they're consistent. The truth is, McMorris is a creation of the far right, and the extremely fundamentalist Christian far right at that. She's done next to nothing for the district's farmers and ranchers, and even less for anyone else. She's another Rubber Stamp for every bad administration policy that's come down the pike.

Cheers to the DCCC for helping Goldmark get the word out to eastern Washington voters about the very real choice they have on November 7. And just a note--every county in the district now votes by mail. Ballots are going to be mailed out no later than this Friday. If you're thinking about donating to this campaign, do it sooner rather than later.