Posted on 07/19/2005 6:55:04 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Safeco CEO Mike McGavick yesterday announced he is giving up his job, which last year paid $7.3 million in salary, bonuses and stock awards — the clearest indication yet that he plans to run against U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell in next year's election.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
It's going to be Mike McGavick to be Maria Cantwell's opponent. And I think he has a decent chance.
What do we know about McGavick, other than the fact that he's loaded?
We know he's not Cantwell, which automatically gives him a head start in my book.
Not a great deal. I imagine that ideologically, he's similar (though not identical) to former Senator Slade Gorton, who is his political mentor.
I know you've been plugging this fella's candidacy all over the internet. I hope he's all you make him out to be and not another Pete "Mumbles" Coors... I still think McKenna is better and has a very important characteristic... brass balls.
If Slade hadn't gone and pissed off the Native Americans in his state, he'd still be in his Senate seat.
Rob McKenna has only held office for a few months, not long enough to run for the U.S. Senate.
Well, it's important to have a Republican AG in the state, but if this guy can knock off one of the twin twits...
Good question. He worked for Gorton, but we don't have a clue or record to judge what he believes or supports. Where is he on pro-life, Iraq, taxation levels, homosexual marriage, and a range of other public policies.
At this point, I have more questions than reactions to his impending candidacy. I also have real doubts about his ability to win this race and would prefer someone who has answered some of the tough questions on pending issues.
I haven't exactly been plugging him, I've just said that of the mentioned candidates, he seems like a strong one, probably the strongest.
Anyhow, he's a much better speaker then Coors, and has a lot more political experience. But don't be too hard on Coors. he made mistakes, to be sure, and he could have been a better speaker as you mentioned, but the Colorado R's had a horrible year (Bush won the state, and everything else went wrong) and he was going up against the most popular Dem in the state, who got 58% of the vote for his last AG race when Owens was geting 61% for Governor.
Anyhow, I expect McGavick to run a good campaign, and to make the race competitive. I can't promise any more then that, this state is too nuts and King County Elections is too corrupt.
I suspect McGavick will be similar to Slade and Dunn in philosophy. He'll be squishy on things like abortion, but will be rock solid on taxes, the war, government accountability, etc.
Anyhow, here's a link to a speech he gave that wowed a lot of local conservatives:
http://www.effwa.org/budget_taxes/safeco.php
Let's make this to everyone:
The speech that wowed local conservatives:
http://www.effwa.org/budget_taxes/safeco.php
Maybe it "wowed" a lot of local business folks who participate in the Chamber, but there is hardly anything in this speech that comes to grips with ANY conservative principles. Even his reference to Tim Eyman isn't exactly cordial. He only says the voters need to be convinced of the value of government's programs. That doesn't provide a darn thing in reaction to the spiraling out of control Washington State budget.
Yes, he has slashed Safeco by 1,200 jobs, sold off some major portions of the company to create large shareholder revenue (albeit temporary), and cut 15 lines of business. We've seen that in other corporations and we've also seen what it does to long term financial stability. He says that the riots in Seattle were deplorable, but what is his view on the World Bank and US subsidies to foreign governments that have assumed almost our entire manufacturing base?
In fact, I don't see him criticizing a single government program -- federal, state, or local -- in this entire speech, much less stating any positions that deal with values, appropriate taxation levels, or appropriate roles for governmental involvement. He mentions that fashionable word "efficiency" in government and alludes to freezing taxation levels, but in the next breath urges major investments in "people" and K-12 spending. Huh? OK, how about suggesting specific cuts in government or criticizing Governor Fraudoire and her democrat collegues in the legislature. Oh, not a word on that front.
Thanks, but I guess we'll have to wait for his published postions on issues of importance that might define his personna and views -- including on those difficult social issues that define him from Cantwell.
I just heard more related news. Rumor has it, ex-Congressman Rick White will support Mike McGavick.
Yah, I heard the same rumor.
I've always thought White would be roadkill in a Senate race. The only use I can see for him is if he wants to run for his old house seat, and I think he'd lose that. I'd rather King County Councilwoman Jane Hague (who almost ran last year and ended up not running because of some family issues) run for that seat in '06.
Doesn't matter much. If White is dumb enough to get in the race, he'll be roadkill. White might be a good man, but his image problems are far too serious to survive a primary AND a general.
That said, if the primary is a 3 way between McGavick, White, and Tebelius, I think Tebelius could actually win that way, because I think Tebelius could consolidate the right-wing of the party easier then either of them could. Both are seen as being a bit more to the left of her.
That said, I think a right/left primary would doom whomever got it in the General.
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