I went to Moses Lake in Central Washington last weekend to watch Mike McGavick on the campaign trail. After his stump speechâit was literally about family, flag, and Godâhe gave me a brief interview.
When I asked him his opinion of our state's gay-civil-rights bill. He said: "I do not and will not talk about state issues. Because I'm working at the federal level."
That's clever. It's also pretty lame. I think someone who has the audacity to run for U.S. Senate should be forthcoming with the public about something that has dominated local headlines.
It's also not true. Earlier last week, on a campaign swing through Colville, McGavick talked about state Initiative 937. I-937 would "require large utilities to obtain 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources such as solar and wind by 2020."
Colville is in the northeastern corner of the state in Stevens Countyâhome to two hydroelectric dams.
According to a tape of his July 17 stop in Colville, here's what McGavick said just five days before telling me he doesn't comment on state initiatives: "I find it strange to have something put on the ballot that says we've got to work more toward renewable resourcesâthat won't include hydroelectric power as a part of renewable resources."
After my McGavick interview, Sherril Dormaier, a local Republican precinct committee officer, called to me from her car and asked what paper I was with. She clearly wanted to be interviewed. So I took out my notebook and asked her what she thought of McGavick. She got out of her car. She was wearing red pants and a white tank top. She had a thick mop of gray hair, a prominent gold tooth, andâthis turned out to be significantâshe was wearing a cross. She started out by saying she thought McGavick had "integrity," but soon she started quoting the bible, telling me she was pro-life and that "nations will be judged that don't defend the innocent." She told me that "our country was founded on God."
I reminded her that while McGavick said he believes in parental-notification laws and outlawing partial-birth abortions, he also said, beyond that, he was committed to choice. Dormaier said McGavick was "a little soft" on that.
She then told me that "God has already started punishing us." When I asked her what she meant, she said, "...the weather. Are people so dumb that they can't see that?"
I suggested that global warming might be at play thanks to all the cars we drive. She scoffed, "That's just political talk."
And a final note from my trip to Moses Lake. I ended up at a place called Sporty's Steakhouse, where I locked down with a regularâa conservative farm worker named Phil. My ally was Michelle, the 23-year-old blonde bartender with a small silver piercing just under her lip. She couldn't help overhearing usâPhil was drunk and talking about how the bible should be the law of the land and how great President Bush is. Michelle did a lot of eye rolling and broke into the conversation to tell Phil that Bush was "retarded." However, when I asked her what she thought about Senator Cantwell, she said: "I don't know her. Is she Hispanic?"
