Seattle Blogging

Very nice portrait of Sam Reed, our Secretary of State and one of a small and declining number of sensible, moderate Republicans in Washington State in today’s Seattle Times. Note that Dino Rossi doesn’t make the cut; having the same opinions as John Carlson but being less visibly insane doesn’t qualify you as sensible. Reed consistently made fair and reasonable decisions during the recount process, which has, of course, infuriated the rest of the Republican Party. Reed, a protege of Dan Evans, is a throwback to an older, much more liberal Republican Party that once existed in both Oregon and Washington. In Oregon, the party included such luminaries as Tom McCall, Mark Hatfield, and Dave Frohnmayer. The sensible wing of the party, also known as the responsible wing, died during the 1990s.

Incidentally, today was one of the very rare sunny winter days in Seattle. Some people think that winter in Seattle is an endless succession of overcast 40 degree days with light rain. These people are right. However, one day out of every ninety or so is like today, cold, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. From the right place, you can look one direction to see the Olympics, another to see the Cascades, and another to see Mt. Ranier. Although I suspect I’m getting a bit sick, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to walk down to Gasworks Park and watch the sun set behind Queen Anne Hill. Absolutely lovely.