Monday, August 28, 2006

Ride with Peter Goldmark (WA-05)

It’s not exactly “local”, but I am increasingly enthusiastic about the Democratic candidate for Congress in Washington’s easternmost district.  And I’m not the only one.  Today, Rachel Kapochunas of Congressional Quarty Online calls the candidate a “credible threat”.

Though I’d been hearing about rancher and molecular biologist (yes, you read that right) Peter Goldmark for several months on DailyKos—regular dKos diarist teacherken was his classmate at Haverford in the ‘60s—it wasn’t until I met Peter at the Democratic state convention in Yakima that I became a believer.  Whatever it is that constitutes authenticity, Peter Goldmark has it.  I mean, he has it.  On top of that, Goldmark has developed a straightforward, pragmatic approach to the important problems and difficulties facing rural Washington under the Bush malAdministration (aided and abetted by the rubber-stamp first-termer in WA-05) ... read through his Issues pages for ideas and solutions that cut right to the core.

As the fundraising quarter winds down—Washington candidates have to report to the FEC earlier than usual this quarter, due to the upcoming September 19 primary—Peter really needs our attention (spelled $$$) right now.  He’s generated a tremendous amount of good will throughout the Washington blogosphere, so you needn’t take only my enthusiastic word for it.  By all means, read more about the superb candidate in what was, for many years, Tom Foley‘s district:

• Newly added to my blogroll, Gerald at EWPolitics has written a series of posts about his Eastern Washington neighbor Peter, including links to Goldmark’s diaries on dKos.
• Filling in for Jimmy at McCranium, Douglass presents an extended, in-depth interview with the candidate.
• While extolling the above-referenced interview on HominidViews, Darryl reminds us that Goldmark has earned a PhD and has published several research papers in peer-reviewed journals.
• As is his wont, Goldy analyzes potential political implications of Goldmark’s rising stature, and also links to a CQOnline interview with the candidate.
• There’s a nice round-up of the Goldmark phenomenon, with lots of links to campaign ads and videos, Goldmark’s dKos diaries, a heartbreaking story about the farm economy (and Goldmark’s thoughtful solutions) from Spokane’s The Inlander, and more, at Daniel Kirkdorffer’s blog On The Road To 2008.
• Mollie, the (Liberal) Girl Next Door, looks at the big picture of campaign expenditures.  By building up Goldmark’s (more than) credible candidacy, we’re forcing the GOP to spend big bucks in places they used to take for granted (I wrote that last word without realizing how it plays into the name of the newest netroots candidate, Larry Grant in neighboring ID-01).  The Republicans will eventually run out of money, won’t they?  Won’t they?
• At Washington Outsiders (not yet on my blogroll), CitizenSteve talks about others who have begun paying attention to the Goldmark campaign.  Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, whose 2004 election may have been the opening salvo for the surging influx of Western Democrats we’re now seeing, will headline a September 9 fundraising luncheon for Peter in Spokane.

And that’s just the recent stuff!

If you possibly can, please send a campaign contribution right away to Peter Goldmark, the Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives in Washington’s 5th District.  Whether you do it directly through his website (by clicking either here or on the button in my sidebar), or through one of the several ActBlue Goldmark pages created by regional bloggers (including, by the way, The General), it will be well worth it.  And remember, a dollar goes quite a bit farther in Eastern Washington than it does here in large-market Seattle.

I enthusiastically endorse Peter Goldmark.