Dino’s New Direction: Fashion First

I’m sorry, but I’ve lost my patience! The election is mere days away; the mail-in ballots have already been mailed out; Dino Rossi’s campaign has been making history; and this website hasn’t done anything to promote or even recognize it!! Spackman missed it altogether! I’m as mad as a hatter (or a wet hen) and I don’t care who knows it!

So I got Doug Parris to agree, as he often does when  I lose my patience, to give me the space to do justice, here, to what is, clearly, not just one, but TWO revolutionary moves by my Italian Stallion. Yes.

Two.

The first part, the New Direction, has had me excited since September. You know how it is when you have to go to the bathroom so bad, but you just have to hold it for a long time for some reason? It’s been like that for me with this Rossi news story. And here it is three weeks into October. Just imagine that, sometime.

 Dino Rossi is so far ahead of the rest of the Republican Party he isn’t even close! He is the first to take the New Direction. Let me explain.

 BACKGROUND OF THE NEW DIRECTION

You know how Karl Rove (goddess bless him) had it all figured out back around the turn of the century. Well, he did. He reigned supreme from 2000-2006 by verbally stroking the Religious Right (but, intelligently, giving them nothing) and intelligently expanding Government. Bush owes him everything. Had the rubes in fly-over country accepted Mexican Nationals as equal citizens we’d still be in power! But they didn’t and the Dems have won from 2006 forward. Why? Because the American People don’t know what the hell they’re doing or how government works. Like the rest of us they’re sick to death of hearing about taxes and spending policy and abortion and immigration and all that political crap. They wanted something New. Obama understood that and so did McCain. They agreed on the bailout, for goodness sakes! After that, it was all about imaging. The “war hero” versus the “first Black President.” “Hope and Change” versus “Country First.” Both men had the same underlying principle right: “Just forget about all that policy mumbo-jumbo and trust me!” But Obama had the better imaging. (I blame Palin, BTW, and all those nuts who kept mentioning Obama’s marxist ties and bringing it back to policy). Obama assumed the image of a cross between Julius Caesar and Martin Luther King. We pictured him liberating the gladiators. McCain was the aging war hero we were supposed to picture being tortured for America. Would we vote for our hopes… or because we owed it to the war hero who was crucified for us?

“COUNTRY FIRST”

But it was McCain’s slogan that finally did him in: “Country First.” I thought it was good at the time, showing government as a higher priority than “god” or “family,” but the Achilles heel was that it reminded people of politicians. People are sick of politicians and Dino is the first to realize it. He built the New Direction on that understanding.

Since he agreed to Slade’s proposal and announced he might announce for the Senate, Dino has followed the game plan he constructed by watching McCain fail. And this is the key: He refuses to engage in politics. Dino realized from the Obama/McCain race that Americans want style over substance. (In fact they hate substance.) And that is what he has given them: style. He calls it:

“FASHION FIRST”

Dino says Americans want leaders that look and act “cool.” That’s why Kennedy beat Nixon. Kennedy looked way cooler and there was no comparison between their wives. And Reagan was way cooler than Carter. What do you want a movie star or a peanut farmer? Obama was as cool as McCain was clumsy, if you want to know the truth. When will all Republicans learn the Rossi lesson?

Here is the “Fashion First” blueprint:

THE BASICS

1. Never talk about policy.
2. Never answer a question that deals with policy.
3. Give “Stonewall” stock phrases that convince interviewers they won’t ever get an answer about policy and will quit trying.
4. If you absolutely have to do an interview, change the subject to your feelings about outcomes,
5. Stiff-arm Republicans that have “issues, ” and most importantly,
6. Look cool.

I’ve reviewed everything Dino has done for the campaign and he has stuck to this six-point game plan with great discipline. He is phenomenal! For instance, he was directly challenged on abortion, but got away by simply saying “I looked right in the camera!” and repeating the two words, “my conscience!” and pointing out that he protected social spending on DSHS! Wow! Are conservatives stupid or what? It was like watching a great matador befuddling a bull!

But that is only what the campaign didn’t do. The New Direction has gone way beyond that.

While lesser candidates just dug themselves deeper and deeper talking about principles and policy and their philosophy of government in endless forums and speeches, even criticizing the Stallion for not joining them, Dino went direct to the people. Borrowing from the Clinton/Gore “hunk ticket” strategy of 1992, Dino did fashion and lingerie shows, instead of speeches or candidate forums. He passed the old paradigm politicians like passing a stray dog in a Dino Ferarri. And the chicks went wild. I know I did!

Here are some photos and news coverage excerpts from the 2010 Fashion First Strategy:

The event will showcase designs from Lizzie Parker, La Ree Boutique, The Finerie, Sway and Cake, Wyattorr, Clutch, Asher Anson, Chez Chic, Ragamoffyn’s, Zovo Lingerie and others.

The women in the crowd were treated to an impressive selection of clothes that ran the gamut from casual to clubby and flirty to formal, from local designers as well as ones from well beyond the northwest.

Runway walkers included politician Dino Rossi…

Joan Kelly… has been one of the tireless organizers in rallying the community to support each others’ dreams with fashion and social awareness.

 

“He rocked the runway, that’s why we invited him back,” Kelly said, adding she doesn’t know any Democrats, but she’s willing to include them in the show upon requests.

Seattle has risen slowly through the fashion ranks from practicality to individual style…

This is basically the last event I’d expect to see Dino Rossi attending, though–but apparently, he’s a staple of the Fashion First runway.

Okay, so it’s kind of an OK thing to do to maybe look a little silly for your friend’s charity event–but he did kind of luck out getting this opportunity to try to charm the pants off Seattle and make them forget some reallyunfortunatedetails about his record.

Rossi is also supported by some big-name Republican moderates, such as former secretary of state Ralph Munro and former Gov. Dan Evans. Evans and U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona… praising Rossi for his role… in writing a state budget that slashed state spending but protected many human-service programs. “The other side wants you to think Dino is too conservative,” Evans said in a 60-second radio spot. “Well, let me set the record straight: Dino Rossi is sensible and practical. He balanced the budget and preserved money for the truly needy. Only a mainstream problem solver could accomplish that.”

“I was sitting next to someone who didn’t know who Rossi was until I told him.

He [Rossi] smiled and walked the runway briskly, pausing to sling his jacket over his shoulder. Despite his short runway presence, and the fact that he was in Seattle, the crowd ate it up.”

“Most conservative Republicans generally consider human-services social spending to be pouring water on the desert,” said J. VanderStoep, former chief of staff to Republican Sen. Slade Gorton and one of Rossi’s campaign advisers. “Not Dino.”

John Carlson… says, “Dino has adapted to the reality that Washington is a moderate state.” Former Gov. Evans agreed.

But, of course, that’s not all. I promised that I’d tell you about TWO revolutionary campaign moves. The second began as soon as Dino entered the race. While the other candidates were out talking to forums and letting voters know where they stood (boring and irritating the average citizen), but before he started the Fashion circuit, Dino was raising money. Money. There you have it. This is where Midstream and the Republican Establishment  has the advantage. We want the money. We aren’t afraid of taxes or spending like our “highly principled” idiot Republican opponents. We want to be in office and MAKE MONEY. That’s the whole point of politics, dummies! But, of course there’s nothing “new” or “revolutionary” about that. But while some in our own camp worried because Dino has no grassroots base, the Stallion himself lost no sleep. No “Dino” signs on the roadways? “Who cares?” said Dino, “I have five million dollars.” And he did.

The second Revolution was just announced this week.

In the past, Campaign volunteers have been people who believe enough in a cause or candidate to roll up their sleeves and work for it or him. No longer. The Rossi campaign announced this week that a “New Volunteer” is someone who cares enough about money to work for the campaign for a visa cash card. This, and the recession, is changing everything. We are buying a grassroots campaign! There is even talk that Patty Murray’s illegal alien canvassers are crossing over to work for Dino’s cash cards. Some are doing both. More rumors? Mike McGavick’s gardener moonlighting for Dino? ¡Si! The mother of Rob McKenna’s anchor baby sneaking off during the day to make GOTV calls? ¡Si! Lori Sotelo’s kids studying English so they can get Rossi jobs? ¡Si!

So Godfather II is no joke in Washington. Dino’s doin’ it with style. And soon we’ll be strong enough to push “Conservatives” out of the Party altogether, just like in the ’70s. Chris Vance will be our “conservative.”

Doris Grupa is Executive Director of Midstream Republicans of Washington.

About these ads