"Builder-gate" (WA): Is the Republican Candidate for Governor Another Bush, Another Nixon, or Both?

Here in Washington State, we have a close Governor's race between Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire and her Republican challenger Dino Rossi. Although he shuns the Republican label in favor of "GOP", Rossi promises to bring a George Bush regime to our beautiful State: he will cut taxes and decrease spending without cutting services and, at the very same time, take care of the most vulnerable, aka, "compassionate conservatism". We have all suffered the disastrous results of electing such a façade to the White House, and yet Rossi seems to be determined to inflict it upon us.

Like Bush, Rossi's real agenda is quite different. In the State Senate, he cut 40,000 uninsured children from the healthcare rolls, he supports pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for oral contraceptives, he opposes embryonic stem cell research, and his one solution to our nightmarish transportation problems is to build more roads. Bush and Cheney were strong supporters when he ran for Governor in 2004.

But Rossi now may also be channeling Nixon, or at least his disgraced vice president, Spiro Agnew, the only person to resign the vice presidency since John C. Calhoun. Politicians who get caught up in campaign finance scandals are lucky; their deeds go underreported and undiscussed. Let's face it; given the past few years of Republican scandals, misappropriation of campaign funds doesn't score too high on the moxie meter.

Nevertheless, illegally juicing up an attack ad campaign war chest for Governor of the 18th most populous state is a far bigger threat to democracy than how the Senator from our neighbor to the East shuffles his feet in an airport bathroom. So, long story short:

First, a little background: BIAW (the ultra-conservative Building Industry Association of Washington) administers workmen's compensation claims, and is paid to do so by the State based upon 20-year old actuarial tables of workplace injuries. Today, the injury rate is far lower [p.s., wanna know why? All those terrible government and union regulations protecting workers' health and safety], and thus the payouts are smaller, creating surpluses. In what must be one of political history's supreme ironies, BIAW retains the surpluses from this program that were created by government regulations, and a provision that allows them to charge "administrative fees", to fund political campaigns and ballot initiatives to enact a radical rightwing agenda of defunding government and deregulation. They have tried to take over the Supreme Court. They have opposed every environmental regulation in our very green state. They opposed a homeowners' bill of rights. They supported a state initiative that would have made enforcement of environmental regulations so costly that the state would be bankrupted.

BIAW is being prosecuted for generating a secret war chest to fund attack ads in the governors race without reporting or disclosing the fundraising or expenditures. A rightwing trade group not reporting expenditures is so common that it no longer qualifies for "news". However, new evidence that surfaced yesterday suggests that Dino Rossi himself helped coordinate this fundraising by placing calls to the top 14 BIAW officers asking them to redirect funds to a war chest that has been bankrolling a host of nasty attack ads against Gregoire that I won't dignify with a link.

If the allegations are true, it's equivalent to George Bush meeting secretly with donors asking them to fund the "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth", but denying any involvement so he can disassociate himself with the content of the ads from which he clearly benefits but doesn't want to look like the jerk that's responsible for them. Today's evidence suggests that Rossi did just that. It's scummy, underhanded politics, and it's illegal too.

And so, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna should investigate Dino Rossi to get to the bottom of "Buildergate", as it is being called. FuseWashington.org has a list of questions they'd like this investigation to answer.

1. Did Dino Rossi help plan the BIAW's fundraising campaign and strategy, or did he just make fundraising calls?

2. Rossi made fundraising calls to all of the top officers for the only BIAW chapter that was investigated. How about the other 14 BIAW chapters? How many fundraising calls did he make to whom, and how much money did he ask for?

3. Is Dino Rossi willing to release his phone records for the months covering the illegal fundraising campaign?

4. Has Dino Rossi hired a defense attorney to represent him in this situation?

5. Does Dino Rossi believe the public has a right to know about his involvement in this secret and illegal fundraising campaign organized by one of the states most powerful and conservative business interests to build a war chest to support his run for Governor? If no, why not? If yes, why didn't he speak up about it when the illegal fundraising campaign became public?

Either we believe that our campaigns should be run legally, and that our right to vote is so precious that we cannot allow it to be diluted by chicanery, or we do not. We have a right to know the character of our elected officials.

Washington State has had a proud electoral tradition. We were one of the last oases of respectful campaigns before the Bush-Rove strategies were employed. If Dino Rossi is complicit, we ought to know before November. As a voter I want to know whether he was behind the scurrilous advertisements.

We need to know whether Dino Rossi broke the law, and whether he "approved this message".

Comments

[birdie2]

I would also like questions about how socially conservative he is and his positions on choice. His budget proposals are exactly like McCain's cut taxes for business and then radically cut spending. I saw the debate with Gregoire a couple of weeks ago and his sole contribution on the environment was cleaning up his campground. Our beautiful state would be ruined by this guy.

[ValerieT]

Per Pro Choice Washington he's anti-abortion, against contraceptive education, against contraceptive equity (ie. that insurance companies covering viagra should cover contraception) and believes that pharmacists should have the right to deny women birth control prescriptions if they choose. Supports "refusal clauses" I've heard him say this myself. For whatever reason, half of Washington residents dont know this about him.

[WorkingClass]

I find it interesting that this guy doesn't like the word REPUBLICAN. I don't blame him. If I was a REPUBLICAN I wouldn't want anyone to know. Mr. Rossi - are you now or have you ever been a member of the REPUBLICAN party?

[randyn11]

This frankly seems like a tempest in a teapot to me. So what if Rossi called a bunch of folks from the BIAW in advance of running - if they were his major supporters last time of course he's going to look to them for funding again this round. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

What I frankly don't get, though, is where the BIAW gets their money in the first place. Aren't they supposed to be managed a workmen's comp fund for homebuilders? Seems like they've figured out a pretty good system, one that lets them make hefty contributions to the politicians - including Dems, I bet - that keep their gravy train a-rolling ...

[racom]

From the link, "The evidence clearly shows that Dino Rossi contacted all of the top officers of at least one BIAW chapter urging them to contribute to the BIAW’s warchest for the Governor’s race—also known to BIAW members as their “Fund for Rossi.” These calls were part of an illegal fundraising campaign that is now being prosecuted by the Attorney General."
Sounds like a little more than just calling on some of his contributors, doesn't it?

[GlibReaper]

This channeling of public money by the BIAW into private and secretive campaigns is a corruption of an open and honest political process. Why isn't Dino Rossi being held to account for this abuse of our election laws? Can he be disqualified from the governors race over this transgression?

[mammab]

The questions are fair, and need to be answered.

The fundraising looks ANYTHING BUT fair, and needs to be investigated and taken where the evidence leads.

The foot shuffling of the "Senator from our neighbor to the East" continues to speak for itself.

Thanks for this.

[Sloane7]

This needs to be front page news in the Seattle Times and Seattle Post Intelligencer every single day. Rossi and the "GOP" (what a crock) are desperately trying to get their hands on Washington State. I do not want this great state ruined by the likes of him. And there also need to be ads explaining to voters that don't realize, labeling yourself as GOP means you are REPUBLICAN. Obviously they don't want voters to know who they are.

Maybe Obama could make a swing visit to WA and support Governor Gregoire and remind voters that the Republicans are labeling themselves as GOP on the ballots!

[andru]

This is a serious issue. If Mr Rossi is in fact coordinating his campaign strategy with BIAW he is breaking the law. If he did so before "declaring" for this election he is still violating the sprit of the law as he has known he would running for governor since he lost in 2004.

[lindsey42]

Rossi is terrifying, and Gregoire has been a wonderful governor and leader for education in the state of Washington. None of Rossi's education platforms support teachers or benefit students!

[BellevueDem]

The levels of corruption here are amazing! First, it's worker compensation premiums that are being skimmed and channeled into the nastiest, most partisan organization in the state. If that's not bad enough, Rossi, who has claimed again and again that he has NOTHING whatsoever to do with BIAW, turns out to have been making fundraising calls on their behalf. And his only excuse is that he wasn't technically running for governor at the time?!?!! Doesn't that mean he is admitting that he DOES have quite a lot to do with BIAW, but that it's none of our business? As a voter, I can see through him.

We're not that dumb! He's been running since the day he lost the last election.

[shrinkandhammer]

Dino Rossi is scary. He presents himself as much more moderate than he is and the BIAW has been supporting him for years. I still don't understand how basically taxes (money paid into workman's comp) can be used to fund political action.

[darcyr]

Very well said. I can't stand Rossi. Thanks for putting the article out there for us to read. I've heard bits and pieces about it on the radio and but now I have a clearer picture of how cheap and dirty he's being. I do not want a leader that brakes laws. I hope he loses!

[ValerieT]

I saw a T-shirt the other day that said, "The only Rossi I trust is Carlo." Kind of says it all. This guy is not only fundraising for the BIAW, he is owned by them. He owes his last campaign and this one to one special interest group.

[SeattleRabbit]

It's hard to believe that what the BIAW is doing is legal! The thought of having Rossi as governor is terrifying--especially if he is in the BIAW's pocket. We need to have the facts on this one--I hope the state investigates for all concerned.

[SeattleRabbit]

It's hard to believe that what the BIAW is doing is legal! The thought of having Rossi governor is terrifying, especially with him in the pocket of the BIAW. Somedays I just can't bear to open the newspaper when there is this sort of thing going on. Let's get the facts. Investigate.

[Biffmeister]

My family has lived here for several generations (greater Seattle-Olympia, Vancouver area). The second debate is going on as I write this. I'm watching Jeopardy because Rossi is so irritating. Smarmy is the word that always comes to mind.
Gregoire is the opposite of Palin, and eminently qualified for the job. The last four years have been great. it isn't easy for Gregoire to deal with our traffic and other problems without a lot of money to work with, but she's done just fine. She doesn't force things on us, but tries to find out what we want first even when we're not sure (the viaduct replacement for example).
I'm Glad to see you're writing about this. Rossi is very McCain like in my estimation. He uses a lot of babble-buzz words in his ads--will say anything to get elected (sound familiar?). Looks like he's very much in bed with the builder's group.