From the Oct 7 – Oct 13, 2004 issue

News

Counter Intel

Who's Afraid of Chris Vance?

by Josh Feit

Kerry wasn't the only Democrat who won the war of words last week. In another pleasant surprise, typically tepid Washington State Democratic Party Chair Paul Berendt outshined his counterpart, Republican State Chair Chris Vance, in a local showdown.

Berendt's success is noteworthy because the current script casts Berendt as a bumbler and Vance as a canny tactician who's put his party back on the map. (Vance's Rs have their best slate in years, headed up by charming gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi.) Berendt, in contrast, has been clumsy lately. He made a mess by spontaneously endorsing Howard Dean at a Town Hall rally; he caused an intra-party tizzy with his last-minute anointment of Dave Ross to run in the primary; and party activists know well that King County Democratic Chair Greg Rodriguez is set to challenge Berendt for state chair.

However, after last week, I'm starting to believe Berendt is underrated, while Vance is overrated and needs to pull it together. The pair faced off over a news story coming out of Bellevue: Sometime after 2:00 a.m. on Friday, October 1, burglars crept through the ivy off 112th Avenue NE, threw a rock through the corner-office window, and swiped three key staffers' laptops.

Local Bush headquarters intimated that the targeted thievery seemed odd (and police say they have no clues that it was politically motivated). Vance nonetheless pounced with a crazed press release, blaring over the phone: "This was political. This was the Kerry campaign and the Democrats, or more likely an overzealous Kerry supporter. The state Democrats should publicly denounce this." Vance added that 2004 has been a particularly ugly year, citing burned Bush yard signs, anti-Bush graffiti, and misleading telephone polls claiming Bush is reinstating the draft. Vance laid this all at his opponents' feet: "They should tell their supporters to knock it off. Lies, burglary, and vandalism are not acceptable."

With calm aplomb, Berendt made Vance look like a fool, spinning the whole thing as a desperate reaction to Thursday's presidential debate and to Republicans' dwindling chances in Washington State. "Over the years, we've had computers stolen, but I don't go and issue a press release," Berendt says. "I think Chris should check with the national Bush-Cheney campaign and make sure they didn't move the computers in the middle of the night to a state where Bush is actually contesting." Touché.

Look, I like Vance, and he talks good game (which I learned having late-night drinks with him at the Republican National Convention), but his hysterics vs. Berendt's poise in the final weeks of the campaign is eye-opening.

I think Vance's "revamped Republican party" might not fare as well as he's led us to believe, and all this talk about Vance rebooting Washington's Republican Party is Vance (and the media) believing his own press releases. Vance's temper tantrum was a sign it ain't going well. Berendt (whose decision to tap Ross is looking smart in hindsight, by the way) responded from a position of strength.

josh@thestranger.com