Baird reverses course; will host town halls

Via Jon DeVore, it turns out that Brian Baird has changed his mind and will now host real, live, town halls this summer.

His constituents should look forward to the five town hall meetings and feel free to participate. And if the kitchen gets a little hot, as we editorialized before, Baird should "(w)ork with the concept that some rowdy crowd behavior will happen and figure out how to best manage it. These are, after all, Baird's meetings...."

Two other fumbles were recovered Wednesday, these of the verbal variety. In his written statement, Baird addressed two inappropriate analogies he had drawn in recent interviews. Last week he labeled as "Brownshirt" in nature much of the recent disruptive behavior at town hall meetings. The next day, Baird dug deeper. He compared the unruly town hall meeting participants with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Now, though, in both instances, "I regret that and apologize for it."

Good for him. Up until recently, Baird had a solid reputation for engaging his constituents. This is the Brian Baird we know and expect.

script-flipping, continued

If you needed more evidence that the Town Hall Shout-Ins of '09 are an example of Left and Right flipping the script, try Byron York's (classic?) article on Cindy Sheehan, notable for its unabashed mockery of the antiwar activist and her supporters. Of course, the title of his book on l'affair Bushitler is equally insightful:

The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy: The Untold Story of How Democratic Operatives, Eccentric Billionaires, Liberal Activists, and Assorted Celebrities Tried to Bring Down a President — and Why They'll Try Even Harder Next Time.

Right intuition; wrong team.

Oh, and... The Brian Baird saga gets weirder.

Brian Baird will stay in the frying pan, thank you

Local Democrat Brian Baird won't be hosting any town halls this summer, blaming protesters who've been interrupting town hall meetings across the country.

Baird said his decision to scrub such constituent gatherings was partly prompted by an atmosphere of intimidation and harassment from right-wing opponents of Democratic health care reform efforts who have disrupted town hall meetings in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin.

“It’s a lynch-mob mentality out there,” Baird said. “There is an ugliness to it.”

The article notes that Baird is "no stranger to town hall protests." Indeed, this blogger witnessed Baird take a lot of flak--much of it personal--when he came to Capital High School to defend his support for the surge back in 2007. So I'm inclined to grant Baird the benefit of the doubt, here, if he claims to see something more vitriolic than protests past. It's not like he's known for flaking out on his constituents. But the move still strikes me as unwise--if anything, it emboldens the fringe, and reinforces their paranoia.

Last, it's clear that today's health care rabble-rousers have borrowed their tactics from the anti-war movement. After all, they've had over six years to watch and learn.

Update: On a national level, more script-flipping, compliments of Rush Limbaugh.

Update II: Jon DeVore notes that Dave Reichert has been town-hall free for his term.

Update III: And now Baird has put his foot in it. This is turning out to be an entertaining, as in tragic, summer.

Update IV: A cryptic death threat for Brian Baird? Really? People, just stop.

Brian Baird Olympia Town Hall video

YouTube now has the video of Baird's recent visit. From Part One, embedded below, you can keep clicking.


Also, Emmett O'Connell has posted TJ Johnson's diatribe.

Baird visit exposes Democratic hypocrisy

Writes the Teacher / Ref / Poet. A sample:

Because I disagree with Baird, I'd look closely at anyone running against him from either party. But I am deeply saddened at how hypocritical my party has become. They want me to love their dogma more than I love evidence, analysis, and legitimate debate. But my dedication to cool, reasoned disagreement and careful consideration of issues has me defending Baird here.

My blog neighbor is referring to the Baird visit to Capital, which echoed an earlier trip to Vancouver. Both times Baird was met by vocal, strident, at times asinine opposition.

And the question I asked afterward still stands: if Baird is forced out by "sheer fury," who's going to replace him?

lessons of the Brian Baird visit

In case you missed it, Baird came to Capital High School this past Friday, defending his Iraq War conversion experience and taking flak from anti-war protesters. It took me a couple days to digest the experience. Here are some of my observations, distilled and purified.

1. The left seems ready to sacrifice one of the more reasonable members of Congress out of sheer fury. Who's going to replace Baird, though? Not someone from the Green Party, that's for sure. "Intuitive faith" won't get us out of this mess.

2. This debate coach was impressed by Baird's handling of the situation. He was almost unflappable in the face of unrelenting criticism and emotional tirades. Baird got a little heated, though, when comparing fired-up locals to those who actually have "skin in the game." Baird was merciless with one commentator, who had called him out for "not representing his constituents." The Congressman shot back, "So should I have voted to go to war back when it was popular?"

3. A whole lot of folks need a course in basic logic, rhetoric, and argumentation. I'm fully convinced that Debate should be a required class in high school. For the sake of democracy.

4. Speaking of democracy, it's hard to know exactly what was accomplished Friday night. People vented, which I suppose could be healthy, but Baird didn't appear about to change his mind. Maybe that's good for T.J. Johnson's political career, as Emmett O'Connell notes, but it's not changing the situation on the ground in Iraq, or in the halls of Congress. There were scads of choir-preaching, and strong feelings of solidarity, but precious few minds changed.

5. An open mike without a time limit is an invitation to disaster.

6. If you say you're not going to respond to hecklers, you just have to rein it in and absolutely refuse to respond to hecklers. Not even once. If you can't resist zinging in a quick comeback, the floodgates open.

7. Thank God the air conditioning worked.

Brian Baird comes to CHS: a decorabilia liveblog exclusive

Update 9/25: Now, with video!

Update 9/23: I've posted my recap.

Update 9/22: The Olympian was there, too. As were some of the folks over at OlyBlog.

Update: This is getting long. Click the title or the timestamp to see the whole thing. Also, here's a link to the opposition's Talking Points.

6:23
I have wireless, outlet power, a commanding view, and infinite patience. Welcome to the Brian Baird CHS Town Hall liveblog.

After watching the video of the last Baird meetup in Vancouver, I'm wondering exactly how much animus he'll receive in the hotbed of antiwar sentiment that calls itself Olympia. My prediction: less time for open mike.

So far, the crowd inside is small and aged and subdued.

6:37
Staffer Kelly approaches to make sure I'm not going to trip any elderly folks with my power cord. How did she know?

The Vancouver debacle lasted 4 hours, she said. I think my battery could last that long.

(Passing by, Baird steps effortlessly over the cord.)

6:43
Starting to fill up. Just heard that TVW's going to be broadcasting the Town Hall. Haven't yet seen Emmett O'Connell--but then, I haven't heard the flurry of trumpets either.

6:45
"Does anybody have any gum? We had some... onions."

6:56
Emmett is going to point out the movers and / or shakers. Toni Bailey photographs for The Olympian. "Really nice." Terence Knight of the Sitting Duck, one of our best local alt papers. Walt Bowen, former ThurCo Dem chair. John Cusick, the current chair. Baird himself. (I knew the last one.)

6:59
"Bring them home!" The chant begins and lasts about twenty seconds, scattered throughout the crowd.

7:02
Baird begins, remarking that this is around his 280th Town Hall. Microphones are set up on either side for questions and comments. Let's not all shout down me, please.

Starts with education, a "non-Iraq" issue. Regarding Iraq: "Seems to be misunderstanding about that"--"No, we get it," says a wag.

7:06
Applause line: career and technical education should be prioritized as much as college education.

Health care: has introduced a bill asking for a Congressional health care plan for all Americans. "Bicameral, bipartisan support." Supported by some unions and employers. General applause.

7:09
The Iraq discussion begins. Baird talks about his pre-war opposition, his anti-war cred. All in all, the Bush administration's handling of the immediate post-war situation: "A huge mistake. But what do you do?"

The crowd is generally respectful as Baird explains himself. Protesters are still filtering in. One holds aloft a sign reading "END THE KILLING." Another, dressed like a troll, which I guess means Death, holds another reading "Thanks for making my job easier."


7:19
As Baird continues talking about the complexities and potential pitfalls of pulling out too soon, Emmett O'Connell, seen at right, steals my laptop to link from WashBlog to this site. Thanks, Emmett.

7:23
On a visit outside the Green Zone: "I'm not going to say it was like an Iowa farmer's market. I don't wear Kevlar--maybe I should--but I don't wear Kevlar at a farmer's market."

7:24
As Baird continues describing "the conditions that our actions created in the country," a few start calling out "lies." Others shush them. "Don't shush us," they say. Then don't interrupt.

Baird says that we have seen success in Iraq. "I believe that if we pull out now we would lose that success." A young woman shouts, "We've heard all this before."

7:26
Baird wraps up, to polite applause, mostly, with a few jeers and one ape-like cackle.

7:27
Shariya (sp), the first commenter, talks about the growing problems of poverty and homelessness. Links to increase in military spending. "You're absolutely right," Baird says. "So end the war," a few in the crowd shout.

7:30
Henry Lamb, a "Korean-era veteran." Complaints about the VA mess. The same fundamental concern: the war is distracting us, destroying our VA system. The last call: "Impeach Bush!" That gets the crowd whoopin' and a-hollerin'. "Impeach Baird," shouts another wag.

Baird remarks that Democrats are fighting for veterans.

7:37
TJ Johnson, City Council. "People are asking us to take action, because you're not." As Johnson notes an irony--having this meeting on a day of peace--"I'm not defending the war of occupation," says Baird. "Yes you are!" shouts the crowd. Johnson leads up to a question: what is your definition of success?" (There's a lot more, but that's the gist. Johnson gets interrupted by someone with less patience than I.) "You no longer deserve the privilege of representing this country," Johnson says, and the crowd erupts in applause and shouting.

7:40
Baird responds coolly, though the color in his cheeks is rising. This is a hostile crowd, prepped to be hostile. "Where do we go now?" Every time he raises this question, the response is immediate and strident: "Bring them home!"

Baird notes an uncomfortable irony: "I see certainty on either side. It was certainty that got us into this mess."

The sporadic interruptions are shushed or applauded depending on--I can't quite figure out what. A strange brew of civility and raucous populism. This is democracy, I suppose.

Baird notes the lack of training, lack of equipment of the Iraqi forces; "They need some more time.... I think this if frankly, TJ, our last chance.... Success is a civil Iraq, relatively free of Iran. I don't support permanent bases there."

7:45
This crowd is ready to jump on any little thing: Baird says, along with conservative estimates, that 100,000 have died, and over 2 million have been displaced. The crowd shouts, "Millions!" Baird tries to give himself credit for coming here, and the shouts come again: "That's your job!"

Baird includes blogs in his list of untrustworthy media.

7:48
"You're very lucky and you're smug," says a commentator, "because we loathe the Republicans and have to vote for Democrats."

To a "corporatocracy" complaint that invokes Jon Stewart, Baird offers his support for a War Profiteering Act.

8:00
After a labored speech by a commentator about "pulling out" of a "hopeless" situation, Baird responds, "You have every reason to be skeptical," and attempts to point to successes in training US troops in Arabic, working with locals.

8:04
This is turning into a staff meeting. When no one provides time signals, you get an inequitable distribution of vocal resources. ("A staff meeting?" Emmett says. "Must be a teacher thing.")

8:09
A complaint about Big Oil. Baird doesn't like the original agreement, which didn't do enough to share the wealth with ordinary Iraqis. Progress is "frustratingly, agonizingly slow"--and won't be helped by the refugee crisis. Seeing progress in "venture capitalism" efforts.

8:12
Someone who "worked at the CIA and studied under Scoop Jackson" says that war is inherently evil, and that the occupation is sowing seeds of fascism in America. Another call for impeachment, to general tumult.

8:14
Green Party advocate says that the two major parties are both to blame. Brings up the Greenspan memoir: it's about oil. Starts citing from Baird's website, making it sound like Baird considers oil a "vital interest" in the region. Baird responds to his question, "What's our vital interest?" by asking, "If we left tomorrow, what do you think will happen?"

The Green Party guy says he has "intuitive faith" that Iraqis will "straighten things out" themselves. And you wonder why these guys never win elections.

8:20
Baird, despite interruptions, answers the question: our "vital interest" is our international reputation. We have an obligation to help fix the problem we created.

Growing frustrated with the chronic jumping-in, Baird fires back at a young man who mocks an Iraqi's anecdote: "These are people who have skin in the game. They are not in bloody Olympia Washington."

8:26
A "lifelong Democrat" accuses Baird of abandoning the Democrats, by arming the Bush administration with rhetoric and imagery of an "independent Democrat," backstabbing MoveOn and Nancy Pelosi.

Before Baird can launch into his plea for reasonableness and open-mindedness, the man walks away. Baird calls him back. "I don't want a response," says Cranky Dem. "I just came here to tell you to go to hell."

8:32
I see some folks trickling out. I think I can last another 28 or so minutes.

8:34
Finally, a clear, easy question: how long should we stay? Problem is, there's no clear, easy answer. Baird isn't Bush. He has this thing called nuance.

When Baird raises the specter of a nuclear Iran, the crowd responds with predictable skepticism. "What about our nukes?" one lefty asks.

8:39
Baird asks for one more question.

"You don't carry the sins of your government in your soul," says our resident Tim O'Brien.

8:43
As Evergreen prof Larry Mosqueda begins speaking, the previous commentator breaks into tears and leaves.

8:50
One gentleman asks the audience to raise their hands if they want to see the troops come home. Everyone raises their hand. "Anyone who feels the other way?" The Death Troll stands up and waves. He was waiting all night for that chance.

Baird asks people to check out George Packer's latest New Yorker piece.

8:58
I'm mentally packing it in. I'll recap and add some photos in a little while. Emmett will stick it out for me, right, Emmett?

anti-Baird talking points left at CHS

Update: By request, photos of the Talking Points added.

Someone took it upon themselves to broadcast (in the old sense of the word) leaflets describing "talking points" for tonight's Town Meeting at CHS featuring Brian Baird. (Administrators plucked them from various wall perches, since they didn't have the quite literal stamp of approval.)

They appear to be the work of (or affiliated with) Olympia's chapter of Veterans for Peace.

I've transcribed the talking points intro below.

This Friday (9/21) let us challenge and protest Congressman Brian Baird at the town hall meeting he has called at Capital High School's theater to justify his pro-war stand.
Banner holders, sign makers and pamphleteers will be out front starting at 6pm. Please join us.
Bring and make signs at 6:00. Help us hand out leaflets with questions to ask Baird that take apart his rationale. Come early to line up for questions.
Challenge him. He is getting national publicity for "his courage" for taking a pro-war stand. We have a responsibility to show that he is not speaking in our name.

It could be a fairly raucous meeting tonight. If I can get the right setup, I'll be there, liveblogging.

Update: And I was there.

Brian Baird coming to Capital

At 7:00 on Friday, to defend his change of heart, reports The Olympian:

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird said Tuesday he'll have a town hall meeting in Olympia on Friday, giving residents their first opportunity to quiz him about his position in support of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq longer.

The event is at 7 p.m. at Capital High School on Olympia's west side.

Maybe it was the only available slot in Baird's schedule, but I'm a little dubious that 7:00 on a Friday evening is the best time to host such a meeting. I'm not sure if I can attend, but I'll definitely give students extra credit if they go and report their experience.

Okay, back to my National Board / planning / post-Open House hole.

in which I meet Jed Whittaker

My wife and I are lounging in Sylvester Park, this time free of stentorian louts, when we're approached by a man with a clipboard.

"Would you like to end the war in Iraq?" he asks.

We laugh. What my wife is thinking, I don't know, but I'm thinking, If it's going to take an Amway purchase, so be it.

"I'll take that as a yes," replies clipboard toter, who introduces himself as Jed Whittaker, running for Congress against Brian Baird, but first collecting 1,000 mandatory signatures so he can put his name on the ballot.

After a brief discussion on the merits of pointless campaigns, protest votes, and the dubious status of the Washington state Libertarian Party (notice the website, suspiciously lacking upcoming events), I tell Mr. Whittaker that I don't give my personal information to strangers with clipboards, and he politely packs up and heads to the next park lounger.

My initial impression: nice guy, seems friendly, honest, principled, respectful, listens carefully, invites dialogue, doesn't have a chance of winning anywhere outside of downtown Olympia.

An examination of his past confirms my suspicions. Whittaker lost Alaskan bids for a U.S. senate seat in 1996 and a state senate seat in 2000, both as a Green Party candidate. (This year, despite his support for the Green party, the Greens refused to nominate him, hence his independent candidacy.)

Look at Whittaker's announcement on Olyblog.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jed Whittaker and I am an independent candidate for Congress in the third congressional district. My main platform is to end the war in Iraq, impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, balance the budget (because I am a fiscal conservative), and Univeral Health care [sic]. We are spending $120 billion a year on the war in Iraq, and that is money we could be using to provide free health care to all Americans. I am a graduate of Evergreen State College, and a member of the Laborer's Union Local 252. I have never crossed a picket line and I never will. I lived in Alaska for 40 years, and helped found the Green Party in Alaska. I have lived in Olympia for 4 years. I filed a lawsuit against the discriminatory election law in Washington state, which I lost last Friday (you won't read about it in the Olympian). I have challenged the incumbent congressman, Brian Baird, to donate $800,000 of the over $900,000 in his campaign fund to Bread and Roses to build a shelter for homeless veterans of the Iraq war. We already have homeless veterans of the Iraq war living on the streets of Olympia. Thank you for reading. Peace.

Futile but noble gestures aside, Whittaker's insinuation that The Olympian is ignoring him is disingenuous--his lawsuit was reported back in May.

Whittaker is a fighter. Back in 1996,

...Whittaker spent just $4,000 on his challenge of popular GOP incumbent Ted Stevens. Whittaker was so cash-poor he hitchhiked rides with bush pilots to get around the state. Stevens was returned to the Senate in a landslide, but Whittaker outpolled the Democratic candidate.

He was there to yell at Exxon when the Valdez spilled oil on Alaskan shores. He's even been arrested for protesting Bush. Even though he won't get my vote, I respect him for his community involvement and his attempt to bring fairness back to Washington's primaries.

I'm sorry, Jed. If only I had known who you were--if only you had told me about your accomplishments and your rap sheet, instead of assuming I was mostly interested in the Iraq occupation--I might have forgone my usual distrust of clipboards and signed your petition.

disappointed

Brian Baird, who was slated to speak to our sophomore class about the WASL (and other pithy subjects, I'm sure), canceled his afternoon appearance, leaving several teachers--myself included--scrambling to concoct a back-up lesson plan. Students were bummed.

Strangely, though, Baird was still able to make it to an evening Town Hall Meeting.

My question: Why are you so afraid of our sophomores, Mr. Baird?

I won't rest until the truth is known. Or until I get really, really tired.

talk, talk, talk

Today: a mandatory staff meeting to discuss the potential shift to semesters. How long will we remain one of six or seven high schools in the state with a trimester schedule? Not long, I surmise.

Tomorrow: Congressman Brian Baird comes to Capital to discuss the WASL with nervous sophomores.

I'll blog about both if I get the time.

the 2006 in-box

I somehow missed or forgot about this story, the upcoming major issues facing various Olympia school districts in the new year. Some that directly affect me:

1. The WASL counts. My sophomores, all eighty-eight, are required to pass all sections of the test in order to graduate. This is causing no end of consternation for a good number of students who never took it seriously before, especially when they were seventh graders more interested in the daily pimple watch. Congressman Brian Baird is coming to Capital to address student concerns. If I can go, I'll blog about it.

2. The Olympia tech levy. I had to ask for a special grant to get an LCD projector in my room on a full-time basis--and for only one year at that. The Internet (in the form of blogging) forms an essential part of my English classes, and a projector is critical for my teaching purposes. It's tough to teach students a simple technique by running around a computer lab explaining to one student so they can teach their neighbor. Capital's fairly well off, too, since our computer labs usually function (knock on silicon).

3. Capital slides down to 3A. We can't play with the big kids anymore, thanks to the impending WIAA reclassification. It won't affect my speech and debate team's regular season, since we'll still compete against the same powerhouses like Gig Harbor and Federal Way, but at state we won't face them. I'm not sure I like it. Beating the best is far more satisfying.

4. The hush-hush story that isn't mentioned. It involves massively destructive acts of vandalism, Crimestoppers, construction, and administrative angst. Can't say anything about it until it appears in The Olympian, due to the ongoing investigation. Only thing I can say for sure: I didn't do it.