War sharpens race in 3rd District

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published August 10, 2008

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"The Real News said just a week ago that Iraq is just a powder keg, waiting to explode," she said. "Brian is only repeating what he's heard from military generals."

Compare that assessment to Webb's view.

"The media can no longer ignore that the surge is working," said Webb, the economic-development director for the South Lewis County Chamber of Commerce.

While she may agree with Baird's assessment of Iraq, she takes issue with his economic efforts in Washington, D.C.

"I think he's been there so long that he's lost track of what our needs are back there," Webb said. "Making sure our jobs are here, instead of overseas, is huge."

But there's something else that's huge in the 3rd District, and that is Baird's network of support. Since first being elected in 1998, he has developed a reputation as the tireless host of town hall meetings from the Columbia River to Budd Inlet.

In 2004, when the district favored Republican George W. Bush for president, Democrat Baird won with 62 percent of the vote, a margin he boosted by 1 point in 2006 against Republican Michael Messmore.

And he has raised $538,000 in campaign funds this season. That's nearly nine times the money his opponents have raised, combined.

Even so, Baird was publicly berated by many of his former supporters over his support for the troop surge. And his challengers are talking to the voters, too.

"I think they still count votes, rather than dollars, on Aug. 19," Crist said.

On the economy, the Democrats and Republicans do find themselves on teams in this race. The Democrats, Baird and Crist, are reluctant to allow offshore drilling for oil, saying it will do little to reduce the price of gasoline.

The Republicans, Webb and Delavar, support the idea.

Webb and Baird clash on transportation. Baird says new sources of tax dollars, possibly increased gasoline taxes, will be needed to meet the demands for road improvements. He says money for Interstate 5 work, such as bridge improvements, has to come from somewhere.

"People really don't want their tax dollars paying for that, which I can understand," Webb said. "They really can't afford any more taxes for that."

She suggests cutting spending elsewhere, starting with waste in mismanaged agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to pay for more road projects.

Crist wants major health care reform, going to a single-payer system in which all Americans would have government-run insurance.

And Delavar wants to end deficit spending by the federal government, which amounted to $400 billion in this budget year.

"The market will rebound, and rebound quickly," Delavar said.

Baird says Congress, taken over by Democrats in 2006, has been working on the issues, including passing a housing bill aimed at stemming foreclosures. But his latest prediction isn't rosy. He says government programs such as Social Security, the taxes people pay and the U.S. economy all will have to change.

"I think all three of those need to happen, but I think we're going to be in difficult times for a while," he said.