Republicans choose criminal to run

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Republicans choose criminal to run
18
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 7:45am
Republicans get what they asked for.....

GOP Picks 19-Time Inmate for State Race

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040808/ap_on_el_st_lo/candidate_criminal_record&e=5

TACOMA, Wash. - Republican leaders in Washington state were happy to have a contender for state auditor when they accepted Will Baker's last-minute offer to challenge a popular Democrat.



They didn't worry too much about who he was or how he spent his time — until they realized a considerable amount of his time was spent in jail.


Now party leaders are scrambling to remove him from the ballot, days after naming him as the Republican choice to oppose Democratic incumbent Brian Sonntag's bid for a fourth term.


"We didn't check him out," state GOP chairman Chris Vance said. "If I could, I would withdraw the letter putting him on the ballot as the Republican candidate — but it's too late."


On Friday, state election officials denied the party's request to remove Baker from the ballot, saying that would require court action.


Baker, a 41-year-old roadside flower salesman and self-styled political activist, has been arrested at least 19 times since 1992, mostly for refusing to stop speaking at Tacoma City Council and Pierce County Council meetings. He was last released from jail less than two months ago.


Baker declined to be interviewed by the Tacoma News Tribune, but when asked about his candidacy he said, "No one's asked me to withdraw."


When no Republican candidate emerged for the state office by the July 30 deadline, Vance said Baker called GOP leaders and volunteered.


In haste, the party accepted Baker's offer without thoroughly examining his background.


"He told us that he was a conservative activist," Vance said. "We did just a minimal amount of checking."

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-28-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 8:02am
Try this one too...

http://www.jameshartforcongress.com/

"Our cities are being destroyed by dysgenic welfare and immigration. Why does Detroit look like it was hit by a nuclear bomb and Hiroshima look like it was on the side that won the war? Everyone knows the answer but is afraid to say. Because genes have a more devastating effect on civilization than nuclear bombs, and the reason for Detroit's decline is that there are less 'favored races' in Detroit with an average IQ of 85 and more 'favored races' in Japan with an average IQ of 104."

To read more you'll have to visit the site.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 8:33am
It's not like they chose a known criminal to run. They chose a man who after a more thorough background check turned out to be a criminal. Though for that matter, refusing to stop speaking at city and county commission meetings hardly makes him a threat to society.

~mark~

Avatar for tmcgoughy
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 9:05am

I read about this in my local paper this weekend.

The first key to wisdom is constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.  -
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 9:39am
The point is he was still arrested numerous times, therefore, he has a criminal record. Do you think it makes a difference if a man is 18 and gets convicted for having consensual sex with his girlfriend who is 16? He is not a sexual predator, but yet he will have a record. I know there are different levels of this conviction, but most people do not care they will see sexual predator(not sure exactly how they word it). Some here on the board still refer to Kerry as a war criminal, and to date he has not been arrested once on any of those "charges". So the republicans(not all) go after Kerry on basis of him being a war criminal and no charges, but propose having a convicted criminal running for a state office.

It is not my fault this state was just looking for anyone to run. Before agreeing to anyone, they should do a thorough background check not after.



In your eyes, maybe, but it shows that he refuses to listen to authority. He maybe in a position to accept the answer no in his job, but would he truly accept it? Who knows, maybe next time he may threaten the meetings with a bomb or something. We do not know anything for sure, as day in and day out we are always surprised at what people could do. I do not think the unabomber woke up one day and decided to mail bombs. Didn't he have a problem with authority?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 9:45am
It is not his criminal record that is the problem. It is his theory of eugenics. Used to justify forced sterilization of U.S. citizens, the liqiudation of the Jews and other undesirables in Europe during the Nazi occupation, and "ethnic cleansing" in the post-WWII world, eugenics, a totally discredited theory of "racial superiority" and the need to "breed" a better human race by stopping the breeding of "inferior" people, is junk science at its' worse.

You are known by the company you keep, Mark.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 10:00am
And do people see "vehicular manslaughter" when they look at Ted Kennedy? Though not convicted he's pretty clearly guilty of killing a woman through neligence or recklessness, and "neglected" to inform legal authorities for some 10 hours after the accident. Yet Democrats keep keeping him in office. What's a certain degree of refusal to listen to authority when compared to that?

"Who knows, maybe next time he may threaten the meetings with a bomb or something."

Sure, lets see what we can come up with that him or someone else "might" do. We can play that game forever and resolve nothing.

~mark~

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 10:02am
Oh god, I can't believe this!!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 10:04am
News flash... we're talking about two different people Dude. You're referring to James Hart from the 2nd message in the thread, I was talking Wil Baker from the OP. I never commented on Hart at all.

~mark~

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 10:07am


Or we can overlook this, do nothing, and when/if something bad happens we could have said should of could of would of. Isnt that what we have been doing since 9-11?? If the warning signs are there, you proceed cautiously. I thought that was what the Patriot Act was about. As long as someone is coming from a Muslim country, they are to be treated as potential terrorists. If someone is speaking in Arabic, could be that they are planning an attack, so we must call the police. Or is that just another double standard?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 08-09-2004 - 10:11am
Where the hell did all that come from? We were talking about people running for and holding office having committed criminal acts, followed by your unfounded supposition on what Baker *might* do in the future because he may arguably have a problem with authority figures.

What does that have to do with Muslims, Arabic-speaking individuals and the Patriot Act?

~mark~

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