• "I did my duty. I was honorably discharged." -George W. Bush commenting on his National Guard duty at a press conference in New Mexico, May 31, 2000.
• "I think that people need to be held responsible for the actions they take in life. I think that's part of the need for a cultural change. We need to say that each of us needs to be responsible for what we do." -George W. Bush during the first Presidential debate, October 3, 2000.
• "I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well‑placed.. . managed to wangle slots in the Reserve and National Guard units.. . Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created and owe equal allegiance to their country." -Cohn Powell, Secretary of State to President George W. Bush, in Powell's autobiography, My American Journey at page 148.

SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL
"Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form." -Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States. (Hey, George W., see the lesson there?)

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Deanna Zieske, Chair of the Lewis County Democratic Central Committee announced that Ken Norberg has been appointed to fill the position as First Vice Chair of the Central Committee, a vacancy created by the resignation of Jerry Berry. The appointment is awaiting confirmation by the Central Committee Precinct Committee Officers.

Norberg nearly toppled incumbent Dennis Hadaller in the 2002 race for Lewis County Commissioner. Ken and his wife, Joan, live in Toledo where he serves as PC O for the Cowlitz Precinct. Berry, who commutes to downtown Seattle to work daily, expressed regret in having to resign, stating that the time constraints imposed by that commute make it difficult for him to attend required Central Committee and Executive Board meetings. Berry will remain as PCO for the Klickitat Precinct.

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Lewis County Democratic Central Committee Executive Board Members

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STATE'S SYSTEM FOR NOMINATING CANDIDATES UNDERGOING DRASTIC CHANGE
by Paul Schlossman and Lew Zieske

Last year law suits filed on behalf the Washington State Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Parties led to a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision declaring our open primary system unconstitutional. Recently the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from the State of Washington to review the decision, leaving the 9th Circuit Court's decision the final word on the issue of an open primary.\

The court ruling said, in effect, that the open primary abridged the Constitutional right to freedom of association that political parties are guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution's 1st Amendment. Political parties successfully pointed out that Washington's open primary, which allowed voters to cross party lines and vote for whomever they wished in primary elections, deprived the parties of their right to choose their own candidates for public office.

Heated debate has been taking place since the court's ruling about how Washington should now conduct its future primary elections. The Washington State legislature considered several bills during this year's session to find a replacement for the invalidated primary election process. The leading contenders for a replacement primary system were the "Louisiana" style primary and a "Modified Montana" style primary. In the "Louisiana" style primary the top two vote recipients, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election. The "Modified Montana" style primary allows independent voters to participate in a party primary and gives the parties authority to regulate who may run under the party label.

In its infinite wisdom, the legislature again ducked the issue, sending to the Governor for his signature a bill that adopts the Louisiana style primary but provides as a default option the Montana style primary in the event that the courts throw out the first option. The courts may well decide that issue, absent a gubernatorial veto, since all three political parties have vowed to challenge the Louisiana style primary in the courts.

On March 12, 2004, Governor Gary Locke suggested that he may exercise a partial veto and strike the "Top 2" Louisiana style primary option presented to him in the bill passed by the state legislature. "I keep telling you, I don't like the Louisiana system," Locke told reporters at a recent news conference. "It's interesting that the House legislation was written in a way that deliberately, I think, consciously, knowingly, gives me the authority to veto out those (Top 2) sections," he said. "They could have written in it a totally different way."

The Washington State Democrats, anticipating enactment of a new primary election system that precludes party control over who may participate in a party primary, have set into motion a process for implementing a state‑wide party caucus system for selecting Democrat candidates for elective offices. A special State Democratic Central Committee Meeting has been set for Saturday, April 3rd, in Ellensburg at which time the State Democratic Central Committee will adopt rules the State Party needs to ensure its right to approve or nominate individuals with the Democratic Party label to the September Primary ballot.

Democratic State Party Chair Paul Berendt, in announcing the special meeting said: "(w)e worked closely with State Senators Jim Kastama (D‑Puyallup) Ken Jacobsen (D‑Seattle) and Dan Swecker (R

Centralia) to draft legislation that we could agree to. We agreed to a modified Montana Primary system that allowed Independents to vote in the party primary, implemented voluntary party registration and gave the parties the authority to regulate who could run under the party label."

The matter is further complicated by the threat by the Washington State Grange to file a court challenge to any primary system that does not restore an open primary process in Washington state.

Stay tuned, folks. This issue is not yet settled.

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DEMS NEED TO HANG TOGETHER, OR WE WILL SURELY HANG ALONE
Editorial by Lewis H. Zieske, Jr., Demogram Editor

By now every political analyst is claiming that John Kerry has sewn up the Democratic nomination for President. All other contenders for that nomination have either withdrawn or are now so far back that the most they can hope for is some delegate representation at the NATIONAL convention as a way of influencing the Democratic Party platform.

Kerry may not have been your first choice for the nomination (I, for one, was elected as an Edwards delegate to the County Convention). But if he is to be our party's standard bearer, we must all hop on board to make sure John Kerry gets elected.

Those of us who attended the February 7th caucuses couldn't help but feel the excitement and positive energy that everyone brought with them that day. We saw faces we've never seen before. And many more of them! An absolutely clear message came across that day -- "Anybody but Bush" permeated the caucuses.

Right now pollsters have Kerry leading Bush if the election were to be held today. But we are still more than 7 months away from the November election. Huge changes in the mood of the public can take place during that interval. We must not sit back believing that the public mood is so certain that a Democrat victory in November is a sure thing.

Like it or not, George Bush is and will continue to be a formidable adversary. Democrats are facing an incumbent who has shown the ability to raise far more for his campaign chest than any other person has ever been able to garner. The Cash Cow that Bush will be milking will pour tens of millions of dollars into his reelection campaign.

That cash advantage is already apparent. Bush's issue and image ads are already flooding our TV screens. He is already supplementing that effort with negative campaign rhetoric and ads.

While you and I may deplore what Bush is doing, it is taking place. It is you and me who must man the battlements and beat back that attack. And it is us who must also be the ground troops who gather together voters who will join with us and send Bush back to Texas.

We no longer have the luxury of debating among Democrats who best will represent us as our Presidential candidate. That debate is now decided. NOW WE MUST ALL JOIN WITH JOHN KERRY AND HIS CAMPAIGN TEAM TO WORK FOR A DEMOCRATIC VICTORY IN NOVEMBER. The future depends upon us uniting as Democrats. Join with me in that union today!

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Pay Your Dues Today!

Please click on the image below to print a donation form, fill it out and then mail it to the LCDCC Central Committee, P.O. 765, Chehalis, WA 98532 (or bring it to our next meeting/event.) Treasurer Norma Schanz will provide you with an LCDCC Membership Card for 2004, and with her strong "THANKS." Put your money to work Help us build a strong Democratic Party and elect Democrats!

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ERIC JOHNSON SEEKS 2nd TERM

Eric Johnson recently announced that he is seeking reelection as Lewis County Commissioner for District No. 1. The Centralia Democrat is completing his first four‑year term on the County Commission. For the past two years he has been the only elected Democrat in the Lewis County Courthouse.

Democrats in Lewis County are justifiably proud of the excellent work Johnson has done as our Commissioner. He has gained a solid reputation as an effective leader in county government. For the past two years he has been elected by his fellow Commissioner ‑ both of whom, by the way, are R's ‑‑ to serve as Chair of the Board of County Commissioners.

Eric Johnson was a virtual political unknown four years ago when he announced his intent to run for the seat then held by Republican Russ Wigley. Johnson won that seat handily, drawing broad bipartisan support. He has continued to be viewed with respect by all those close to county government and expects to draw on that bipartisan support in his reelection bid.

Johnson and his wife, Carrie, have two children, Jordan and Cooper.

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