After two incredibly hard fought cycles in which GOP Rep. Dave Reichert eked out wins over Darcy Burner, his hold on Washington's 8th congressional district seemed cemented. But then chinks started appearing. The first really big one was the complete shocker of his losing the Seattle Times endorsement in the top-two primary. In the previous two cycles, the Times had been deeply committed to Reichert. So when this appeared:
On issues ranging from the wars to the economy, three-term Republican incumbent Reichert is unstudied and comes up short. After six years in office, this is unacceptable.
Reichert opposed financial reform, but was unable to explain what he did or did not like about the legislation. The 8th District deserves someone who is faster on their feet.
political watchers in the Seattle area took note. The Times gave their top-two endorsement to Democrat Suzan DelBene and to the GOP challenger to Reichert.
Reichert has never been the brightest bulb in the GOP firmament, but that's not stopped the Times from endorsing him previously, so it would seem that the editorial board meeting this time around was disastrous. This, and Reichert's almost complete absence on the campaign trail throughout the summer, now has people talking, but talking uncomfortably. Goldy delves in to the problem. At issue, a serious head injury Reichert suffered last year and the possible aftermath, which could explain the Seattle Times debacle and a painfully bad interview on a local television political show--where he completely flubbed the same question that caught him short with the Times. It could also explain why Reichert had just 11 events during the 42 day summer recess.
After his pantsing by the Seattle Times, Reichert goes radio silent for the next 14 days, emerging on Aug. 19 to talk to the Seattle P-I's Joel Connelly, who describes him as "vague, nonspecific." Thirteen days later the Puget Sound Business Journal corners him at the US-Korea Chamber event. And then there's Reichert's unsettling KING-5 interview on Sept. 10.
As far as I can tell that's it. So far Reichert hasn't sat down again with the ed boards at either the Seattle Times or the Tacoma News Tribune (I'm told he canceled the TNT interview at the last minute after he heard DelBene would be there), and he hasn't yet agreed to any debates. His pattern seems to be to not say "no," but not to definitively say "yes," only to cancel due to "scheduling conflicts" at the last minute.
Now, the DelBene campaign says that Reichert has declined its request for debates.
DelBene spokesman Scott Whiteaker sent out a press release Tuesday arguing Reichert refuses to commit to a debate because he is "too aloof to talk about his record and too entrenched to care."
With a little more than a month to go before Election Day, Reichert's campaign has not agreed to any debates, but spokesman Darren Littell maintains debates have not been ruled out.
"His schedule is very full, but we’re working to arrange things to accommodate a lot of different requests," Littell said. "Nothing has changed from yesterday. The schedule still is uncertain and that’s all."
As the Times notes in that piece, Reichert has made time for fundraisers, including one this week with Rudy Giuliani. For whatever reason, Reichert seems unwilling to appear before what might be an unfriendly crowd--one that requires he answer questions about his job.