The Gortons and Slades - Washington Secretary of State

A duBious honoR 333
46 percent to 44 percent among women, and respondents who followed
politics on the Internet favored Gorton by 4 percent. They set out to push
her negatives even higher. Crucially, with Washington a battleground
state for the presidency and Congress, Gorton had raised enough money
to stay on TV down the stretch, even though they’d be outspent $10 million
to $7 million. 29
Their third debate, a week from Election Day, was the most contentious
and clearly Cantwell’s best showing. She had been hitting him hard on the
gold mine rider with a TV ad featuring a picturesque view of Buckhorn
Mountain, birds chirping serenely in the background. Then a black cloud
covered the screen. The next image was a child drinking from a faucet. 30
Gorton said the ad implied the mine would poison kids. “It’s totally
false. The people overwhelmingly want the mine. They don’t think their
children will be poisoned. . . .Maria Cantwell thinks she knows better.” It
wasn’t the first time she had played fast and loose, he charged. Seeking
re-election to Congress in 1994, she ran an ad suggesting that her Republican
opponent backed oil drilling in Puget Sound, which was untrue.
Gorton complained that she had accepted money from political-action
committees in the past, but now that she was rich she was making a holier-than-thou
show of swearing off PAC money. “The hypocrisy of Maria
Cantwell is breathtaking.” 31
Cantwell defended the ad, asserting that the company had been cited for
mining violations in the past. Gorton’s rider was a perfect example of special-interest
politics that represented “the worst of our political system.” 32
The moderator asked Gorton if the company had asked him for the
rider. “Of course they did, as they have every right to do.” He accused
Cantwell of “stiffing” the people of Okanogan County and said Election
Day would be a referendum on the mine. 33
“Let me make one point clear,” Cantwell said, jaw set. “I will listen to
people over special interests.” Dotzauer grinned. 34
While one of Cantwell’s recurring themes was that she had the savvy
to bridge the digital divide and bring the New Economy to rural areas,
O. Casey Corr, a Seattle Times editorial columnist, found Gorton’s grasp
of the issues “far more impressive.” He wrote:
Given her five years as an executive with RealNetworks, Cantwell should
be able to talk circles around Gorton. He’s the suit. She’s the geek. But if
you ask about telecommunications policy, anti-trust issues affecting the
software industry, mergers affecting online content, and rural-economic
development, she’s short on specifics. . . . Take Microsoft. That company
is hugely important to this region and by far is the most powerful player