So much for unity in the Washington State Republican Party. Teabagger favorite Clint Didier, who got 12% of the vote in Tuesday's primary, isn't going to endorse Dino Rossi, at least for now.
At a press conference in downtown Seattle today, Clint Didier said he will not endorse Dino Rossi unless Rossi meets three demands which he said shouldn’t “be much of reach for Dino Rossi. In fact, they are really part of our party’s platform.” Calling all three “necessary” he laid out his demands:
- Introduce the “Sanctity of Life” Act that U.S. Rep. Ron Paul introduced in the House. The bill would allow local jurisdictions to pass anti-abortion laws without interference from federal courts.
- Sign a pledge that he won’t support any additional taxes or increases in new taxes.
- Pledge to vote no on any bill that increases federal spending.
Didier said, “I want to endorse Dino Rossi, I really do. I want to beat Patty Murray in the worst way. I want to send her home with her pink slip in her hand.” But he says he’s gotten hundreds of emails from supporters who do not support Rossi. Noting that one-third of the GOP vote—”more than 150,000 people who gave me their vote and their trust”—was cast in his favor he said, “I know my endorsement is very important to my supporters. I know that my supporters aren’t going to automatically vote for Rossi. And a lot them told me they won’t vote for him at all.”
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He added that if Dino didn’t agree to his demands: “My people have said they will not vote for him, and they will not support him, so I’m only hoping and praying that Dino will give this serious consideration because I want to unite this party behind Dino Rossi.”
Rossi has assiduously refused to these kinds of hard conservative stands in his two previous failed statewide runs because running so far to the right is the kiss of death in Washington state, particularly on abortion. He's been notoriously unwilling to clearly take a stand on abortion precisely because of that.
This puts Rossi in a bit of a vise. He can't win without consolidating the Republican vote. He can't consolidate the GOP vote without running far to the right. He loses moderates and independents if he goes right enough to appease the Didier crowd. Rossi taking such extreme stands could also really activate Murray's Democratic base, who already hate Rossi, but might need that extra nudge to fill out their ballot in November.