This Isn't Jimmy Stewart's "Mr. Smith"

At the Newcastle Library Grand Opening, I was just a couple of paces away from Newcastle's soon to be new congressman, Congressman Adam Smith, as I was about to shake his hand and say hello before a woman reached him just ahead of me and started a conversation. Smith, my likely future Congressional opponent in 2014, took off before I could make a greeting, but he probably didn't notice me.  Smith and I last met in 2004 at a different library, Federal Way's main library, where we were in a Congressional candidate forum with two other candidates (Paul Lord and Robert Losey).  As you can see a small sample, further below, Smith's votes over the years in Congress are not impressive, to say the least, and he's certainly no "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in the mold of Jimmy Stewart's famous character.  He is a "Blue Dog" Democrat, thus part and parcel of the Corporate Behemoth, and he marches in lock step with the Military Industrial Complex.  Even though he's the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, you would never find him questioning the generals or their strategy in these amorphous wars that our nation finds herself in.  My friends, the generals are suppose to follow the Congress and the Commander-In-Chief, not the other way around.

- by Mark Greene

[Revised on 12/23/12.]

"Blue Dog" Congressman Adam Smith voted for the following:

• 2001 "Patriot Act" and 2011 "Patriot Extension Act" ("Big Brother" as official policy)
• 2002 Iraq War resolution
• Gramm, Leach, Bliley Act (the law that dismantled the Glass-Steagall Act)
• Wall Street bail-outs
• Nuclear Energy Deal with India (Effectively, Congress and Smith undermining the Nuclear Anti-Proliferation Treaty, a treaty that India has never signed.)

[Updated on 6/1/15.]

Officially Running

Officially, I am running for the Newcastle City Council next year, Position No. 6, my first run for the council since 2007.  Going by the Public Disclosure Commission filings for the 2013 election, I believe I'm the first person to announce his candidacy, if not the only person thus far. This announcement will probably reach most of Newcastle through the January publication of the Newcastle News, but on the other hand they didn't say a word about my Lieutenant Governor run, in which I came in fifth of six places in this year's primary, a candidacy in which I received the endorsement of political activist and former strong candidate for Congress in the district that Newcastle is currently in (until Jan.), Darcy Burner.  I'm sure that the citizens of Newcastle will find out about this campaign before the August, 2013 primary through my own efforts and through the media, however.  I believe Newcastle should remain an independent city, therefore, I will never vote for merging with any other city, or even discuss the possibility of that any further than just saying no; therefore anti-annexation will be my number one platform issue.  I will stay with Position No. 6 throughout the election under all circumstances with the possible exception of an unlikely vacancy (meaning nobody runs) -- vacancy, not "open" seat -- in another position.  I will be going over my positions on other city issues on this blog and in the community as time goes by.

- by Mark Greene

[revised on 12/10/12]