Posted by
Michael on Saturday, October 14, 2006 10:03:17 PM
Every two years a the local Republican Party in Seattle runs candidates with little chance of winning elections in liberal Seattle. For the 43rd district State House race, they've run Hugh Foskett, a sophomore at the University of Washington.
In a desperate attempt to somehow connect the dots between Mark Foley and Washington Republicans, local alt-weekly The Stranger stalked Foskett and peered into his Facebook account in order to put up pictures of him
behaving like (gasp) a 19 year old college kid!!
Let's start with the first paragraph:
As if the lurid instant messages of former Republican Congressman Mark
Foley weren't bad enough news for Republicans this year, now comes a
second Republican scandal, this one involving local Republican
candidate Hugh Foskett. Just like the sordid scandal in the other
Washington, Foskett-gate involves the internet, alcohol, and a bunch of
young, attractive men. And just like the Foley scandal, it's proving
embarrassing for a party that prides itself on buttoned-up behavior and
"moral values." But unlike the Foley affair, this one doesn't seem to
be producing any talk of resignations or investigations—yet.
Investigate what, may I ask? Other than Foskett getting a restraining order from the tabloid journalism folks at
The Stranger?One problem is the "moral values" thing. First off, from what I've read Mark Foley wasn't a Rick Santorum type, and seemed to toe the line of a more centrist Republican (even going pro-choice on abortion).
Foskett's own entry in the Voter's Guide shows no mention of "moral values:"
I’m Hugh Foskett. I am a sophomore at the UW, majoring in Mathematics
with a concentration in teacher preparation. My two main issues are
education reform and the environment.
Education –
There are many things that need to be addressed within our education
system. An example is text books. Many are poorly written and some have
already been retired by other states’ school districts.
Environment
– We must demonstrate responsible stewardship of this area. We need to
encourage environmentally safe construction in order to guarantee our
future generations the beauty that we have been fortunate enough to
experience.
Whoa, you wouldn't even know he was a Republican. Now this part of the Stranger article made me feel priveleged:
The state Republican Party did not respond to repeated requests for
comment on Foskett-gate. Neither did Foskett, nor did the campaign of
Mike McGavick, which has some experience in dealing with fallout from
youthful drinking binges.
I actually talked to Hugh, and he expressed that he generally views running for the State House as a learning experience:
Hugh Foskett
Running as a Republican for the first
position in the 43rd District is Hugh Foskett. Foskett is a sophomore
at the University of Washington, majoring in mathematics, which he
hopes to pursue as a teacher.
Foskett has plenty of other
priorities in his life, and he admits that the chances of a Republican
winning in our district are very slim.
"It'd be really nice to
win, but it's a really liberal district. I think it'd just be nice to
get 13 percent of the vote," Foskett said. "It's mostly about running
for the people that want someone different to represent them."
Foskett
sees the campaign as a positive learning experience. "I've met a lot of
great people. I might run for something down the road," he said.
The guys at The Stranger should also learn that they need to go looking for real stories and follow the real important issues in an election year, not follow college kids.
And a little advice to Hugh: Make your Facebook account private.