Damning with faint praise
Andy MacDonald at
Sound Politics points to an interesting article about our Senator Maria Cantwell in the Seattle Weekly:
With Friends Like These...
Mike Seely is guest mossbacking at The Seattle Weekly. Smack in the middle of a column asking liberal Democrats to stop criticizing Senator Maria Cantwell for her vote in support of the Iraq war comes this:Cantwell is far from perfect. In fact, she ranks high among the most difficult people I've ever worked for or with. The seven months I spent in her charge felt like seven years. The campaign, larded with her RealNetworks stock windfall, spent more money on Red Vines than most candidates spend on direct mail. And conspicuous consumption during happy hour became all but a necessity, as it was invariably better to be half in the bag when Cantwell, a paranoid hellcat of a boss who rolls through staff like toilet paper, would make her daily sweep through the office, berating everyone in sight.
On the trail, Cantwell often handled small groups of constituents in closed settings well. But she was not what you would call warm -- a trait that should be preternatural for politicians of her stature. Her stump speeches were uninspiring and her grace with would-be donors flaccid at best. Most of the people who helped guide her to victory were motivated almost exclusively by their disdain for her opponent. Had a dead squirrel been the Democratic nominee for Senate that year, we would have busted our butts for the dead squirrel. Hell, we may have worked harder, because squirrels can't talk -- especially dead ones.
Essentially, we worked for Maria in spite of Maria. Yet if you were to ask Cantwell, the only person responsible for her victory over Gorton was the person who stared back at her in the bathroom mirror each morning. Her lack of gratitude and common human decency were simply repulsive. When the campaign ended, virtually nobody sought to accompany her to D.C. in even the cushiest of capacities. Good night and good luck, Senator, was the collective adieu.
Seely goes on to laud Cantwell for being "firm," "brilliant," and "progressive." Can't the Democrats find someone with those qualities and without the character flaws?
One of the comments to this post was worth some serious thought when 2008 rolls around:
I keep asking the same questions about Cantwell and I never get an answer.
Can anyone name something positive that Maria Cantwell has done while in the position of Senator?
Is there any piece of legislation or change in policy that she has been instrumental in pushing through?
Has she helped to bring dollars to Washingtons state for important projects?
About the only answer I ever get is that she opposed ANWAR.
Very true -- lots of hot air and little actual work.
Posted by DaveH at May 25, 2006 10:17 PM