Campaign 2004: Murray foe stresses security, health (Nethercutt vs Usama)

The Columbian ^ | January 16, 2004 | GREGG HERRINGTON

[Pubbie]

Congressman George Nethercutt of Spokane is making this perfectly clear as he wages his campaign to unseat two-term U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Seattle:

The two biggest concerns facing the country are international security and the cost and accessibility of health care, and he and Murray are poles apart on how best to fix those problems.

Campaigning in Vancouver on Wednesday and Thursday, he said the best way to deal with both is President Bush's way, while Murray is headed in the opposite direction.

For example, Nethercutt cited Murray's opposition to limits on medical malpractice judgments. Consequently, malpractice insurance is sky-high, and that is scaring away doctors from performing some procedures, he said.

"Women are having trouble getting ob/gyn help in some places in this state," such as Mount Vernon and Spokane, he said. "Neurosurgeons are becoming inaccessible. Their malpractice insurance is more than $100,000 a year."

But "Patty has consistently supported filibusters" to prevent a floor vote on legislation to cap jury awards and limit lawyers' fees, he said. "She won't even let it come up for a vote."

Murray was on the winning side of a vote in July to block a Republican malpractice bill from advancing to the full Senate. Critics of the bill said judges and juries, not Congress, should decide how much a malpractice victim should be able to win.

Reasonable limits on liability judgments would reduce frivolous suits and ultimately bring down health care costs, supporters said.

Nethercutt also criticized Murray and the Senate Democrats for blocking some of the president's judicial nominees.

He said that if he were a senator and the president were a Democrat "I would be extremely reluctant" to keep a nomination from getting a vote.

But he stopped short of pledging never to filibuster against floor action.

"I've learned not to say 'never,'" said Nethercutt, 59. He cited his own controversial decision in 2000 to run for a fourth two-year term in the House of Representatives.

First elected in 1994, he earned a reputation as a "giant killer" by unseating Speaker of the House Tom Foley. At the time, Nethercutt campaigned against career politicians and pledged to run for no more than three two-year terms. He is now in his fifth term.

But Nethercutt's House career ends this year, at his choosing, and he is in an uphill battle to move to capture Murray's Senate seat. Murray, 53, is finishing her second six-year term.

Nethercutt is expected to beat Republican Reed Davis of King County in the GOP primary. But he has geography working against him. There hasn't been a U.S. senator in either party from east of the Cascades since the 1930s.

Nethercutt said he has no regrets about voting to give Bush authority to go to war in Iraq. He noted that Murray opposed the resolution.

But Nethercutt said he doesn't like the idea of a June deadline for turning over administrative control of Iraq to the Iraqis.

"Goals are good things; deadlines are not," he said. "They embolden the opposition. I hope we are able to make progress, but in terms of a do-or-die deadline, I don't think that's good foreign policy."

Nethercutt said he disagrees with the president's reluctance to improve relations with Cuba and his recent proposal to ease up on illegal immigrants who have jobs in the United States.

"I'm not a person who supports amnesty," Nethercutt said.

He supports allowing noncitizens into the country for temporary jobs, such as in agriculture, but then, he said, "We should have incentives for them to go back home."

On the question of whether there should be some form of gay marriage, Nethercutt said he believes "our national standard" should be that marriage is between a male and a female, but that in the end it should be left to the states to decide. He opposes a constitutional amendment to deal with the issue.

[Pubbie]

This will be the most entertaining Senate race of 2004.

This is a contest between a Resourceful, Clever Conservative in Nethercutt, running against an unmitigated blithering idiot in Murray.

[goodnesswins]

Well, there's lots of "blithering idiots" in western Washington, around Puget Sound, where the most population is......I pray Nethercutt CUTS Murray out of her senate position.

[Pubbie]

*Ping*!

[Pubbie]

Washington is winnable for Nethercutt.

I expect Bush to carry WA in November.

[goodnesswins]

You live in Connecticut don't you? What makes you think WASHINGTON, the State, is winnable for Nethercutt? And, MAYBE President Bush will carry WA in November.

[Pubbie]

Bush got 45% in Washington despite not spending anything to win the state in 2000.

And Slade Gorton got 48.5% in 2000.

The state isn't as Liberal as people think it is.

If Nethercutt can do better than Gorton did in Clark county, and do well in the Seattle suburbs the race is very winnable - hard but by no means impossible.

[JohnnyZ]

The two biggest concerns facing the country are international security and the cost and accessibility of health care, and he and Murray are poles apart on how best to fix those problems.

Excellent platform for Nethercutt to run on. Very popular, common sense, non-ideological positions. Keep it simple, draw contrasts.

I like it!

[Cicero]

I lived in Seattle for three years, but that was quite a while ago.

The question is whether Murray has been so outstandingly blithering over the past few years that her regular fans might have some doubts about her. Her comments about Osama and daycare were decidely counterproductive.

[Pubbie]

I told you that you this race is going to be a blast to watch!

[Pubbie]

The Tort Reform platform will have great appeal to the affluent Seattle suburbs which are fiscally Conservative and Socially Moderate/Liberal.

And the National security issue will help Nethercutt clean house in Eastern Washington.

[wylenetheconservative]

Has any polling been done on the Nethercutt/Murray matchup?

[Pubbie]

In a head to head matchup Murray is under 50% and 25% are undecided.

[Clintonfatigued]

It's true that Patty Murray is a blithering idiot. Even the left-wing magazine The Progressive calls her one of the dumbest members of Congress. But she has tons more money than Nethercutt, and a solid base in Seattle The race still leans 'Rat.

[Pubbie]

"But she has tons more money than Nethercutt, and a solid base in Seattle The race still leans 'Rat."

Her Money advantage isn't that big of a deal because Bush is going to try to win WA this time, so Murray will have to deal with Bush attack ads that Blast her and Dean, in addition to ads run by the Nethercutt campaign.

In a head to head matchup against Nethercutt, Murray only has 48%. Since she is under 50%, I would say she is vulnerable.

[Kuksool]

Nethercutt needs to really turnout his base in Eastern WA in order to have a chance. There are just too many DUmmies living in the Seattle Metro area.

[zbigreddogz]

As a Washington native, I'd like to believe you, but I think it's unlikely.

If Dean's the nominee, anything's possible, but I don't think it's likely that GWB will carry Wa.

Nethercutt can win, but again, I think the odds are at the very least 60/40 against him.

[zbigreddogz]

She is certainly vulnerable, and we have a fairly good canddiate running against her (nowhere near as good as Jennifer Dunn would have been), but face it, the odds are still in her favor.

[goodnesswins]

"As a Washington native..."

Oh My God....there's another one here?.....LOL.

[jagrmeister]

>Murray foe stresses security, health (Nethercutt vs Usama)

I like how the liberal media characterizes Republicans as "foes" and Democrats as "challengers". They also call conservative organizations "opponents" of a bill while liberal organizations are called "critics" of the bill.

[zbigreddogz]

At least one. Ha, ha. What area do you live in?