Democrats exiting the sinking ship (III)?

George W. Bush carried the current 3rd district 48%-46% in 2000 and 50%-48% in 2004; Barack Obama carried it 53%-45% in 2008. In other words, it voted pretty much like the nation as a whole. Baird would certainly have been the favorite to hold the district in 2010, but might have faced a tougher contest than he has since 1998 and 2000. He turns 54 in 2010, not old enough (one would think) to contemplate retirement but young enough to cash in on 12 years of incumbency. In any case, this national-average district must now be considered very much up for grabs.

unfortunately, jerks like this are going to vote left and then the new Dem candidate can roll in next year as a ‘moderate’ giving them a better chance. The GOP needs to make sure they nationalize this election. A vote for a Dem is a vote for Pelosi San Franciso liberalism.

Does this district include a piece of a concentrated Democrat parasite nest (”city”)?

His district is a fairly large swath of Southwest Washington. It includes Vancouver which is in the 150k+ range of population and pretty liberal, but much of the district is rural, too.

But perhaps he sensed trouble ahead. His district has few of the urbanite left-wingers who dominate politics in Seattle or of the culturally liberal techies thick on the ground in the eastern and northern Seattle suburbs. It does include the government-loving state capital of Olympia, but it also includes heavily forested counties on the Pacific and the lower Columbia River and Republican-leaning Lewis County. Its biggest county is Clark County, across the Columbia River from Portland, the second fastest-growing county in Washington state this decade. One of the attractions of Clark County is that you can live there in Washington state this which has no income tax and then cross over the bridge and shop in Oregon which has no sales tax: historically blue collar country that is now taxophobic. Over half the 3rd district’s residents live in Clark County, and this seems likely to be tea party country—and Baird denounced the tea parties in vitriolic terms (“brownshirt tactics,” reminiscent of the anger that led to Timothy McVeigh) earlier this year.

Baird is the guy who got shredded by a US Marine at a town hall meeting this past summer. It was one of the more famous town hall videos on the ‘net. Since Baird was taking so much heat, he must have been speaking in favor of Obamacare; however, Barone’s article says he voted AGAINST it when it came up recently in the House. That would seem to indicate that he perhaps sees the democrats driving this country into the ground and doesn’t want to be a part of it, which is why he’s not running next year.

Vancouver may be moving a bit more rightward. They just tossed their 16-year lib Dem incumbent Mayor in October in favor of a supposed DINO (with Republican support). Perhaps that is a good indicator of things for next year.

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