Final Thought

It’s pretty safe to say that this election has been one of the most follow in quite some time. Throughout most of the election Patty Murray was in the lead with at some points 50% of the votes. She went from 48% down to 47% but then she went up to 49% and then 51% as the votes were counted. After that she declined to 47% and then she went up to 48% with Rossi ahead at 50%. However she went up to 48% and he went down to 47%. This election caused a great deal of tension amongst the supporters of each candidate. The advertisements have been getting more and more personal as the elections have passed. What does Washington have to look forward to in the upcoming elections; more obnoxious advertisements or change?

And The Winner Is...

The winner is…. PATTY MURRAY! Yes indeed another win for Patty Murray who has now keeping her seat in senate for a fourth term. The race was a close one and at one point the voter were 51% Murray and 49% Rossi. Though the race was close it became almost impossible for Rossi to make a comeback. After votes came in from king county it started to look grim for him. It is reported that he has called Murray to concede the race. It was a much closer race then many thought and republicans had made quite an impact on the polls this year. Though Rossi has had some big losses in the past he has been going strong and put on a strong and valiant campaign this year. Rossi stated that “"I ran for the Senate because I believe we need a basic course correction from where Washington, D.C., has been taking us and to make sure this country is as free, as strong and as prosperous in the future as it has been in the past to preserve the best of America for future generations.” He put forth his best hand and might of fallen short but no one can deny including Murray that he put up a good race. They both had great campaigns that focused on areas including taxes and the recent economy issues. Now we get to wait and see if Murray fulfills the needs that Washingtonians were looking for. Though Murray has been victorious yet again over her republican competition, other democrats were not as lucky.  Republicans have gained seats in both the Senate and House and have started to even out the parties. Murray had definatly helped the democrats in teh senate giving them more of a "cushion".  It is going to be quite the political term and will be interesting to see how it plays out.

The Compaining

            In one of Dino Rossi’s Radio ads he talks about how negative Patty Murray’s campaign  is. He talks about the fact that while she is busy in the other Washington, families here in Washington are losing jobs. This campaign also talks more about how she has lost touch with the people here in this Washington.  He also reminds us that she voted for the Job Stimulus Package which she claimed would provide more jobs, however more than 30,000 jobs have been lost just in Washington alone in the Job Stimulus Package.

             

            In one of the campaign ads for Patty Murray she claims that she saved Wenatchee hospital. However when KING 5 news examined this claim and found that this ad lead people on to think that the hospital in the ad was the only in the area and that she had saved it from closing. All that she did was give the doctors the ability to bill Medicare at a greater rate.

            The candidates now are using everything that they can to get ahead in this election. They are criticizing political decisions that the other candidates have made and dramatizing the effect that they have had without factoring in all the different things that have happened.  Groups that support the different candidates are posting statements all over the internet, the radio, and the television. But now as the election gets closer supporters of the different candidates are calling at nearly all hours of the day. Many people that I have talked to said that they already know who they are voting for and they are tired of all of the ads that have been going on for months. These ads show up between our favorite shows that we watch on TV and where ever we look, there they are.

            

            Wouldn’t it be nice if we could sort out the truths from the lies and deception? These elections get messy and it would be nice if they did not have to.

Hanging in the Balance

There is defiantly more to this race then everyone had previously perceived. It started out just like any other election, but there is more in this race then what meets the eye. The winner of this race may determine whether Republicans or Democrats are in control of the Senate. What might have seemed an easy win for Murray has turned out to be a race to remember! Democrats and Republicans have been pulling out all the stops for this race. The President of the United States had recently visited Washington State, trying to bring more support for the Democrats while different commercial have been made by the republicans trying to get more supporters for Rossi. Any way it is a big race that will impact not only Washington but also the rest of the Nation. This is such a big deal because whichever party controls the senate will influence the different decisions that are made in the future and how they are handled. Though we have a democrat as a president, having the senate be more republican can greatly affect these decisions that will be made in government. This race has turned into a power struggle not only between Rossi and Murray but the entire republican and democrat parties. Rossi and Murray are both great candidates and both have the background for the job, but now it has turned into a power struggle and it is neck and neck. We will have to wait and see what the results will be.

The Advertisements...

  

Everyone knows when its re-election time even if they don’t follow politics. Why is this?? Well because of the constant advertisements. These ads are all over television, radio, and the internet. No matter where you go you can’t escape them. Different candidates use different methods whether it is to bash you opponent, or get you ideas across. Now let’s see the different approaches that Rossi and Murray take on advertisement. Murray has a new commercial out called “The Gamble” which talks about Dino Rossi being a part owner of a bank and gambling with the American citizens hard earn money. She took two approaches to this. She did put Dino Rossi under the bus but she also used the idea that she is just like everyone else and is working for the American people. She did not use it in her advertisement but she has often used the saying “Mom in tennis shoes” to explain herself. She likes to use this because she is showing that she is just like everyone else, and can relate to the common citizen.  She shows this through her advertisements. Dino Rossi took different approaches in his commercial called “Olympia blame game.”  Though he has made many advertisements where he did put Murray down this commercial was all about defending himself. He took this chance to defend his stance against domestic violence. He also restated his stance on stopping tax raises. This is big part of his campaign this year and uses his stance against tax raises to relate to the common people. They both want to show that they relate to the common people, and that they are not looking out for themselves, but for the citizens.  These particular commercials are very different. Other commercials have a lot of the same type of advertisements, either defending themselves, putting down their opponents or restating their stance on certain issues. No one can deny that advertisements are a big part of campaigning and the whole election process.   

Who Has More Experience as a Senator??

ROSSI

Let’s take a look at Rossi’s past experience in the Washington State Senate. He served from 1997-2003 before resigning to run for Governor.  What he is most remembered for is his work on closing a 2.7 billion dollar deficit without raising any taxes on the American Citizens. This was a great success for him that brought him a lot of popularity. He created this budget while being chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. During this time he also sponsored bills that had to do with child molesters, drunk drivers, and Hit-and-Run accidents. He was very successful in his run on Washington Senate and still is a good candidate for this election. Many of his stances are for the common people, and he seems to understand how the common people think especially when it comes to taxes and money.

MURRAY

Now let’s take a look at Patty Murray and her run as a Senator. Patty Murray has also been a successful senator who has sat on many committees that include Committee on veteran affairs, Committee on the Budget, and Committee on Rules and Administration, along with many others. She has been a part of Washington State Senate 1989-1993 which is the same amount as Rossi. Along with being on the Washington State Senate she has been a part of the US Senate since 1993. She has made many efforts in areas of schooling and education. Along with this she has been active in the efforts to conserving land especially when to comes to Washington State. She has also been controversial in some areas such as her speech at a Vancouver school that had some perceived that she was a supporter of Osama Bin Laden.  She has been a very successful Senator, and has qualifications that would make her an excellent choice for this election.

Both candidates have good background and experience and both are qualified for the job. It is going to be a close race, we will just have to wait and see who wins.



The Great Debates

On October 14^th 2010 the first debate began between Murray and Dino for US Senate. One of the big subjects of the night was money, funding, and taxes. The big subject of the night was defiantly money, taxes, and funding. Whether the subject was environmental health, Government’s role, healthcare, or social security, the subject of taxes kept coming back and this was due to Rossi. Rossi had taken a strong stance on how he wanted to lower taxes for the Washington people.  This seemed to be his only rebuttal to everything that Murray said. Rossi had made it clear that he believed Murray was voting for the big government plans that would not benefit the American Citizen. A common phrase that night from Murray was “Though I didn’t hear an answer to the question…” Though Rossi did try to approach the questions and answer them he always seemed to bring back the idea of Murray and her raising taxes for Washington citizens without answering the question straight. Though Rossi makes a great point on taxes he didn’t seem to have anything else ready for the night. He came across a little frustrated, and stammering.  Murray on the other hand had made her points very concise and straight to the point. She did a great job answering the question, and went straight to the heart of the questions.

Three Days later on Sunday the candidates both got another chance to prove their points. In this debate Rossi did a much better job getting to his points rather then what seemed to be avoidance to the question. He got to his points and so did Murray. They both did a great job answering questions about the federal stimulus plan, creating jobs, federal taxes, and tariffs. All these points were argued very nicely. Even after these two debates the candidates seem to be neck in neck. Though Rossi has not always been successful in the past with his candidacy for US Senate, he is hoping to come up successful this time around. He wants to help lower taxes and create jobs for the Washington citizens. It is going to be a close race, We will just have to wait and see who wins.  

According to Rasmussen Reports Murray has %49 of votes while Rossi has %46. These numbers were found thourgh a phone survey of 750 potential voters in Washington on October 17th. Might I state that these numbers were found before the second debate took place. Though these number are not completly accurate, most polls and surveys are coming up with around the same number. Murray and the democrat party is leading by a very few percent. It looks like no one will be able to predict the out come of this race it will be very close.

Lets Take a Look at Our Candidates

Who are our candidates this year? What do we really know about them? Where did they grow up, who are their family, what are their qualifications, where do they stand on the important issues? These are all questions that need to be answered to make a choice of who we want representing us. So for the first post let’s take a look at the candidates. This is Rossi vs. Murray.

Dino Rossi

Lets take a look at Dino. He was born in Snohomish county along with his six siblings. He is a successful business man who made his name known through the commercial rel estate market. From 1997 to 2003 Dino served in the Senate under the 5th district of Washington state. Though he is a business man he also is a family man. He and his wife, Terry, have four children. Now lets take a look at his life now. He is running for the US Senate as the Republican candidate. His qualifications include being a part of senate in the past, being on the Dean's Advisory board at the school of business at Seattle University, and being a commercial re-estate agent.

Patty Murray

Patty Murray was Born in Belvue Washington into a family of seven children. She then went on to get her Bachelors degree in Art at Washington State University. She has been a Representative since 1992 and would like to continue this honor. She is a business woman who is proud of her role. Along with being a business woman she is a proud mother of two children and grand mother of one grand child. Lets take a look at her life now. She is running for US Senate as a democrat. Her qualifications include hacing a bachelors degree and having first had experience in the Senate.