Political Buzz

A team of experienced reporters keep you updated on what's happening in political arenas at the city, county, state and federal levels. From presidential campaign visits to who's running for city council, we've got it covered.

Contributors

Peter Callaghan is a local columnist. He’s covered the statehouse and state politics since 1981. Before joining The News Tribune in 1985, the Stadium High grad worked for newspapers in Everett and Lewiston, Idaho, and for The Associated Press in Olympia and Seattle. Email Peter

Joe Turner has covered state government and transportation issues since 1990. Since the Bellarmine grad’s arrival in the newsroom in 1978, he’s covered police, suburban cities, Tacoma City Hall, Federal Way City Hall and the Pierce and King county governments. Email Joe

David Wickert covers Pierce County government. Before coming to The News Tribune in 1998, he covered local government for newspapers in Illinois, Virginia and Tennessee. Email David

Ian Demsky is a general assignment reporter who specializes in database-driven reporting. He's been at the News Tribune since 2007 and has previously worked in Nashville, Tenn. and Portland, Ore. When he's not at work, he enjoys hiking and science fiction. Email Ian
Les Blumenthal has been covering Washington, D.C. for The News Tribune since 1990, focusing on issues and politicians involving the state. Before joining The News Tribune, he spent 13 years working for The Associated Press in Seattle, Illinois and Washington, D.C. Email Les

John Henrikson is a local news editor who oversees political coverage. He's worked as a journalist in the Northwest for 19 years, supervising coverage and reporting on local and state government, the environment and growth. Email John

Local politics links
Brad Shannon's The Politics Blog (The Olympian)
Adam Wilson (The Olympian)
Politics Northwest (Seattle Times)
Sound Politics
Horse's Ass
Richard Roesler's Eye on Olympia (Spokesman Review)
P-I's Strange Bedfellows (Seattle PI)
Crosscut
SoundInfo Databases
State Employee Pay
Statewide School Employee Pay
City of Tacoma Employee Pay
Pierce County Employee Pay
King County Employee Pay
Metro Parks Employee Pay
City of Lakewood Employee Pay
City of Puyallup Employee Pay
Pierce Transit Employee Pay
Other Resources
Washington Legislature Bill Lookup
How your lawmaker voted: WashingtonVotes.org

Calendar
November 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 << <   > >>
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30          
Archives
XML Feeds
What is RSS?
Misc
Who's Online?
  • artman77 Email
  • Guest Users: 379
Let's talk politics.
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 05:24:46 pm

Karen Cooper is the longtime executive director of the Washington state affiliate of NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League.

She sent a message out Wednesday to supporters, taking issue with the decision of the group's national Pro-Choice America PAC to endorse Barack Obama. It's not that the state group dislikes Obama, it is just that it thinks an endorsement now is an insult to Hillary Clinton. Both candidates have 100 percent voting records on abortion rights.

As you may have heard, today NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC announced its endorsement of U.S. Senator Barack Obama for president. I wanted to let all of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington's supporters know the story behind the endorsement.

None of us here, myself included, knew about it until a phone call this morning from D.C., and at that point it was a done deal. To be clear, we at NARAL Pro-Choice Washington remain neutral in the race between Senators Clinton and Obama. We strongly disagree with NARAL Pro-Choice America's decision to endorse at this time.

Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are 100% pro-choice and have been vocal advocates for the right to choose. Both are co-sponsors of the Federal Freedom of Choice Act, which would put the protections of the Roe v. Wade into federal law. To endorse Obama at this point in the race is an unconscionable slap in the face to Senator Hillary Clinton.

Furthermore, I want to make sure you know there is no transfer of funds between our affiliate and NARAL Pro-Choice America. We are separate entities. As I write this to you, our Board of Directors is planning a meeting to discuss our affiliate's next steps. We will keep you updated on what we decide.

Please read our press release on the endorsement. Thank you, Karen S. Cooper Executive Director

Categories: Campaign news, President