Vote Adam Smith (because his opponent’s supporters are fascist morons)

Recently there was some inane story about the removal of yard signs in support of  I-591, which supports weak or no background checks for gun purchases at gun shows, apparently by a former Bellevue city council member, Margot Blacker. Blacker one of those endangered species known as “liberals” in that Republican bastion. Blacker claimed that she removed some of the signs because backers of the initiative had apparently taken some of the yard signs supporting the initiative intended to close the gun show sales "loophole," I-594. Of course, unlimited gun ownership fanatics claim that it means "confiscating" your guns--when in reality it just makes it a little "harder" for someone (like a felon or psychopath) to actually obtain the gun anyways.

Frankly, I don’t blame Blacker for behaving in this manner. I have found few better means to get the juices of indignation flowing than taking a stroll through Kent.  It isn’t just that it is a Republican town like Bellevue, but that it is one of the lamest excuses for urban planning ever. I’ve already written about how this is the most pedestrian-unfriendly place I’ve ever encountered, the “popularity” of the police, its lack of a discernable “downtown,” no real community assembly area where a representative mix of the population can congregate (not even a shopping mall; Kent Station with its tiny crammed shops are rendered inhospitable by the presence of paranoid security guards); even if there was such a place, you could count on Kent police to be in full force to keep the white Republican provincials feeling “safe.” 

Of course, every election cycle, up pop the Republican campaign signs everywhere along the sidewalks and streets? Even in largely minority neighborhoods in the western portion of the city, where polling data showed a majority voted for Barack Obama in the past two presidential elections? Where instead of Republican Red being prominent on their campaign signs, Democratic Blue is used? Discerning voters will of course note the tiny “R” in the corner, but from a distance those who assume “blue” is the color of the Democrats only see the name of the candidate in large letters. If Republicans can’t win legitimately—as they have demonstrated time and time again—they make a play on what they assume to be the “illiteracy” of Democratic-leaning voters.

Another “tactic” Republicans and their supporters employ is your typical everyday Nazi Brown Shirt thuggery. In my excursions around Kent I have discovered four roadside campaign signs urging observers to re-elect Democrat Adam Smith to the 9^th U.S. Congressional district. Since the district includes parts of Republican Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kent and Auburn, Smith is more “moderate” in his policy positions—particularly concerning “national security” issues. However, the reality is that since the 2012 redistricting, the 9^th is technically a “minority-majority” district and has become a “reliable” Democratic district.

This obviously is a concern of Republicans, especially given the fact that its demographic make-up was initially intended to create a “competitive” district. So, what to do if you can’t win on the “merits” of your candidate? Try to “obliterate” your opponent. These four campaign signs I have seen have thus been rendered “obliterated” from view by being uprooted from their posts and left flat on the ground. Who would do this? Obviously people with extreme hatred for fair elections and Democrats. I admit I despise Republicans and most everything they “stand” for, but I wouldn’t go around defacing or removing their campaign placards. 

Two of these Smith placards still had their poles attached to them, so I rooted them back into place. The next day, I found them not only uprooted again, but the poles removed that they could not be “reinstated.” There must be some dedicated anti-democracy Brown Shirts out there, who roam the nights in search of means to defeat the Democrats unseen. Such are the desperate measures of fanatics out to undermine the democratic principles of this country.

If these Republican fascists have nothing but contempt for your right to vote, why should we expect them to have respect for any human right—save for the “right” to unlimited arsenals or the “right” not to pay taxes, etc. Come to think of it, why should we vote for anyone who doesn’t believe in government, or governing? You’d think Republicans are only in it to sit on their fundaments all day, occasionally expectorate something inane, and collect a paycheck. Bottom line: Vote Adams—or anyone else with a “D” next to their names; at least they actually know how to “govern.”