McKenna Joins the Race

As I predicted Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna announced on June 7^th that he is a candidate for governor of Washington State.

          Over the last few years, McKenna has said and done a number of things that have impressed me.  The video of his announcement, embedded here, emphasizes government accountability, balanced budgets and promoting private business.  These are traditional Republican talking points and, in themselves, mean very little.  However, at a party gathering in 2010 McKenna declared, “The grassroots movement reflected in the Tea Party is exactly what this country is about.”  He went on to add, “Fewer regulations, fewer burdens upon our employers is what the Tea Party's about. It's an economic movement, a fiscal movement. We get that. The lefties don't get that.”  Such an unambiguous statement of support for Tea Party values got my attention.

          Also, he joined with over twenty other states to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare.  In a press release at that time McKenna asked, “The Constitution's Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate interstate commerce. But does it empower Congress to force you to engage in a certain kind of commerce? If Congress can order you to buy certain kinds of health insurance, what else can they order you to buy?”  McKenna is asking the right questions. 

          Earlier, I called Rob McKenna a Rising Star within the Republican Party.  It is early in the political season and I am not yet ready to endorse him, but I am glad to see that if our current governor, Christine Gregoire, runs for a third term she will be challenged by a solid candidate from the right.