Richard DeBolt

Shakespeare's Juliet once pondered, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet." But in politics, does the same rule apply?

Washington's new "top two" primary is giving candidates a chance to find out whether or not the Republican Party, by any other name, would smell as sweet.

By and large the party preferences statements have been very predictable. Most candidates say that they "prefer Democratic Party" or "prefer Republican party", along with a few Greens and Constitution Partiers. The most common variation on the filing list is between Republican and GOP, two terms that are synonymous for the same thing.

The Washington Federation of State Employees released its list of endorsements for the state this weekend after its delegates met to decide upon their candidate of choice in each race. As the press release states, "They primarily endorsed incumbents."  read more »

On the heels of a heated back and forth between state Democrats and Dino Rossi over Lewis County flood relief policies in the last week, the bickering continues today on the pages of The Olympian. In an editorial today, the newspaper highlighted the relief funding efforts by three Democratic legislators in the 22nd District, Sen. Karen Fraser (D-Thurston County), Rep.