Once upon a time, in the republic of Washington, the generally good and moral grassroots folks who claim a home in the Republican Party, those folks who know the difference between basic wrong and right action, would tolerate no less from their local party leaders. If they learned that someone who aspired to party office—whether PCO or a county leadership position—had deliberately lied about someone, spreading falsehoods that could and would damage the victim’s reputation, those decent grassroots folks would ensure that the perpetrator’s political career died right then and there. This moral position held true at least into the 1990s statewide. Things have changed. In the county of King and to a lesser degree across the counties of the state, the little people stopped caring, just like the big folks, the important folks, quit caring long ago. And slander and lies became entrenched behavior and ordinary Republican folks who had moved to believing everything their “leaders” told them, instead of wiping out the political aspirations of such immoral individuals, began to aid and abet them, either by walking away from the fray altogether, or by voting, again and again, for the leadership and their slates, for the “experienced” ones, the ones who “know what they are doing.”
Our best information is Lori Sotelo will again appoint Ross Marzolf as 37th district chair of the King County Republican Party, as she has a number of times in the past. If you, as a 37th District PCO vote to ratify Ross Marzolf’s appointment, you will be voting for the Sotelo-Young administration that has King County and the state in a death-grip of AntiConservatism, TeaParty activists notwithstanding.
We present here a letter with a history of Ross Marzolf’s lies about a fellow conservative from four years ago. Lies for which Mr Marzolf assumed full responsibility in that he remained silent when asked where he got the slanderous ideas. Lies that have continuing repercussions on the reputation of a good and decent man. This letter has not, to date, received a response.
December 20, 2006
(by certified mail)
Richard (Dick) Derham
524 W Comstock Street
Seattle, Washington 98119
WSBA Bar # 2078
Re: “had a problem with Jews”
Dick:
Republican Attorney Richard Derham
At the conclusion of the January 8, 2006 Washington State Republican Party Executive Board meeting, I asked Ross Marzolf, King County Republican Party Chairmen Michael Young’s and Lori Sotelo’s Executive Director, why, when I was the Republican Nominee for King County Council in a District that has a substantial Jewish presence, he told people that I “…. had a problem with Jews,” giving tacit support to my Democrat opponent by openly insinuating that I was anti-Semitic.
Mr. Marzolf apologized for making that assertion and asked me to forgive him. But when I asked Mr. Marzolf why he told people that I “…. had a problem with Jews,” Mr. Marzolf did not answer my question. Instead, Mr. Marzolf again asked for forgiveness. I told Mr. Marzolf I would forgive him when he told me why he said I “…. had a problem with Jews.” Mr. Marzolf became visibly agitated and upset and asked me why I wouldn’t forgive him. I again told Mr. Marzolf why – that he had not disclosed his reason for telling people that I “…. had a problem with Jews.” and again asked Mr. Marzolf why, at a time when I was the Republican Nominee for King County Council in a District with a substantial Jewish presence, he would be telling people that I “…. had a problem with Jews.”
Mr. Marzolf finally responded that he had thought the allegation to be true at the time that he had made it. I again asked Mr. Marzolf why he would think I “…. had a problem with Jews” and if that was still his opinion. Mr. Marzolf did not directly answer either question. Instead he told me he had talked with Steve Schulman
(Steve Schulman is the owner of the Leschi Food Mart and is a hard-left Democrat activist know for his dinners with the Democrat elite such as Greg Nickles, Ron Sims, Gil Kerlikowsky, Dave Reichert, Sue Rhur, etc.. Mr. Schulman is the person responsible for filing a false complaint against me for ‘trespassing’ at his mini-mart when actually he was using his connection to Seattle Police Department East Precinct to fabricate an incident to be used a ‘justification’ to prevent me from flying an American flag and displaying Support Our Troops signs in Leschi Park, which abuts his Leschi Food Mart.)
Mr. Schulman told Mr. Marzolf that “it” had nothing to with Mr. Schulman being Jewish.
“It” was the rancor between Mr. Schulman and myself after Mr. Schulman’s fraudulent attempt to use the Seattle Police Department East Precinct Community Police Unit of Gil Kerlikowsky, of which Mr. Schulman was a member, and the King County Sheriff’s Office of Dave Reichert to prevent me from displaying an American Flag and support our troop signs in Leschi Park in response to complaints from a few of his Leftist customers in the Leschi neighborhood.
Mr. Marzolf’s response to my question of why he thought I “…. had a problem with Jews” was that he had talked with Mr. Schulman raises several disturbing questions:
1) Why would Mr. Marzolf, evidently searching for the reason for his assertion that I “…. had a problem with Jews,” talk with Mr. Schulman?
2) And why would Mr. Marzolf ask Mr. Schulman if “it” was the result of Mr. Schulman being Jewish after Mr. Marzolf had made the assertion I “…. had a problem with Jews”?
Mr. Marzolf’s questioning of Mr. Schulman about what Mr. Marzolf alleges was my anti-Semitism raises these questions because Mr. Marzolf did not live in the Leschi neighborhood, did not shop at Mr. Schulman’s Leschi Food Mart, did not know Mr. Schulman and had no reason to know Mr. Schulman’s religion.
Suellen Roche (in yellow), acting as credentials Chair taking instructions (illegally) from State Party Attorney, John White
But Suellen Roche, a 37th District PCO, a good friend of Ross Marzolf and a staffer in the office of King County Republican Party Chairmen Michael Young’s and Lori Sotelo’s administration, knows Mr. Schulman. And Mrs. Roche frequently patronized Mr. Schulman’s Leschi Food Mart. And it was Mrs. Roche’s frequent patronizing of Mr. Schulman’s Leschi Food Mart while Mr. Schulman was trying to prevent me from displaying the American Flag and Support Our Troops signs in Leschi Park that led to the verbal confrontation with Mrs. Roche over her hypocrisy in saying she supported our troops in Iraq while patronizing someone who was trying to prevent me from showing my support.
Mrs. Roche’s argument was that “his wine is cheap and his sausage are so good.”
When I made the point that I thought it was despicable for someone who purports to be a Republican would choose “cheap wine” and “good sausage” over my Constitutional and Civil Rights to fly my country’s flag and support my country’s troops, Mrs. Roche become visibly angry, all but spitting that I was “despicable” and stormed out of the Downtown Seattle Republican Club meeting.
Mrs. Roche knows Mr. Schulman well enough to tell me, when I first told her of Mr. Schulman’s attempt to have me removed from Leschi Park, that she “…. would have to talk to that boy” and then refuse to discuss the issue further, leaving in an angry huff when I again brought up the subject.
Could Mr. Marzolf’s statement I “…. had a problem with Jews” have originated with Suellen Roche (Michael Young’s and Lori Sotelo’s appointed Chair of the Credentials Committee ) and be the reason that Mr. Marzolf has refused to divulge the source for his ‘reason’ he thought I “…. had a problem with Jews”? Could Mrs. Roche have made the statement that I “…. had a problem with Jews” as a self-serving justification for her continued patronizing of Mr. Schulman’s Leschi Food Mart for the “cheap wine” and “good sausage”?
Having observed Mrs. Roche’s mean spirited vindictiveness at 37th District meetings I believe Mrs. Roche could, and would, make such a statement and I can understand that Mrs. Roche, in an attempt to deflect criticism of what I believe to be her hypocrisy for patronizing Mr. Schulman’s Leschi Food Mart, twist the reason for the rancor between myself and Mr. Schulman from his effort to prevent me from displaying my country’s flag and Support Our Troops signs in Leschi Park into the assertion that it was because I “…. had a problem with Jews.”
And I believe that she could rationalize the rancor as not because of the actions of her friend and provider of “cheap wine” and “good sausage”, Mr. Schulman. But rather it would be more advantageous to Mrs. Roche to blame the person that Michael Young, Lori Sotelo and Ann Adams, in a vicious campaign of innuendo and slander, had already labeled a sexist and racist. Mrs. Roche could simply add anti-Semitism to their list in yet another example of their discrimination.
Discrimination as in when I criticized Michael Young for supporting my Democrat opponent in King County Council District 2 because he is Black and is a proponent of programs such as affirmative action, quotas and racial set asides, which Michael Young supports, I was labeled a racist. And when I made an issue of Mr. Gossett being an unrepentant Communist, an avid Socialist, who had made derogatory remarks about “Whites” and had publicly advocated the killing of “pigs”, Mr. Young made the assertion that I was the racist.
Discrimination as in when I criticized Lori Sotelo for being a proponent of open borders and illegal immigration I was labeled a racist. And when I made an issue of Mrs. Sotelo and her husband making millions of dollars from business associated with illegal immigration from Mexico, Mrs. Sotelo made the assertion that I was the racist.
Discrimination as when I criticized Ann Adams for coming into the 37th District and telling us we had a problem with women and other minorities and that we needed to recruit more women and minorities as 37th District PCO’s, I was labeled a sexist and a racist. When I made an issue of a white women from Mercer Island telling us that we should discriminate against people because of their and sex and race, that we were getting along very nicely accepting for people for who they were and not because of their sex, race or national origin, Ms. Adams made the assertion that I was the sexist and racist.
Discrimination as when I showed Mr. Marzolf a photograph of my house with a 6′-6″ x 8′-0″ banner displaying support for President Bush in the 2004 election, Mr. Marzolf, instead of focusing on the Bush banner, focused on the Star of David on the (5′ x 8′) Israeli flag that I fly alongside my American flag and in an accusatory, almost angry tone said “You’re not Jewish!”. Something, since I have never had a conversation with Mr. Marzolf about my religion or his, he was not in a position to know. But Mr. Marzolf made an issue of my flying an Israel flag, as if I had no right to support Israel, or [at] least show my support for Israel, because I was not Jewish.
Consequently, Mr. Derham, in your position as Attorney for the King County Republican Party Central Committee, of which, by my being an elected PCO, I am a member, I request you contact Mr. Marzolf, King County Republican Party Chairmen Michael Young’s and Lori Sotelo’s Executive Director, and obtain from Mr. Marzolf the reason Mr. Marzolf made the public assertion I “…. had a problem with Jews” when I was the Republican Nominee for King County Council in a district with a substantial Jewish presence.
And, Mr. Derham, in your position as Attorney for the King County Republican Party Central Committee, determine if Mr. Marzolf’s public assertion that I “…. had a problem with Jews” was simply a fabrication by Mr. Marzolf, yet another example of the effort by members of King County Republican Party Chairmen Michael Young’s and Lori Sotelo’s administration to smear my character in a District that has a substantial Jewish presence, giving tacit support to my Democrat opponent.
Or if Mr. Marzolf’s public assertion that I “…. had a problem with Jews” was the result of someone making the comment(s) to Mr. Marzolf that I “…. had a problem with Jews,” for their own personal reasons, obtain from Mr. Marzolf his source(s) of the assertion that I “…. had a problem with Jews” and the reason his source(s) made that assertion.
And then tell me.
A prompt response would be appreciated as I [am] concerned that my personal safety may be threatened as a result of Mr. Marzolf slanderous public assertion that I “…. had a problem with Jews” or in response to the recent attacks on members of Seattle’s Jewish community I could be put under surveillance by the same people in the Seattle Police Department East Precinct who attempted to fraudulently arrest me for trespassing at Mr. Schulman’s Leschi Food Mart, using it in an attempt to prevent me from displaying an American flag and Support Our Troops signs in Leschi Park, doing irreparable harm and damage to my reputation.
As an Attorney, I think you can understand the seriousness of the possible repercussions to the King County Republican Party and the administration of Michael Young and Lori Sotelo as a result of their Executive Director Mr. Marzolf making his slanderous assertion and the need for the King County Republican Party to ascertain it’s true source.
Sincerely,
Brian Thomas
Precinct 37-1915 Precinct Committee Officer
Delegate, King County Republican Party Convention
Delegate, Washington State Republican Party Convention
Republican Nominee King County Council District 2
Republican Candidate 37th District State Senate
Once upon a time, in the republic of Washington, the generally good and moral grassroots folks who claim a home in the Republican Party, those folks who know the difference between basic wrong and right action, would tolerate no less from their local party leaders. If they learned that someone who aspired to party office—whether PCO or a county leadership position—had deliberately lied about someone, spreading falsehoods that could and would damage the victim’s reputation, those decent grassroots folks would ensure that the perpetrator’s political career died right then and there. This moral position held true at least into the 1990s statewide. Things have changed. In the county of King and to a lesser degree across the counties of the state, the little people stopped caring, just like the big folks, the important folks, quit caring long ago. And slander and lies became entrenched behavior and ordinary Republican folks who had moved to believing everything their “leaders” told them, instead of wiping out the political aspirations of such immoral individuals, began to aid and abet them, either by walking away from the fray altogether, or by voting, again and again, for the leadership and their slates, for the “experienced” ones, the ones who “know what they are doing.”
We can say over and over again that PCOS are conservative (a good majority of them) and it sure seems like they are when you talk to them. But if that is the case, and indeed I believe it is then (except a few and present company excluded of course) you have to say they are cowards.
And I don’t care if they stormed Omaha Beach, because while of course that certainly takes a kind of courage it’s not the type of courage I am talking about. I am talking about not physical courage but the courage it takes to put your reputation on the line in defense of what’s right and just. It has always seemed strange to me that one can have the first type of courage but not the other, but that seems to often time be true.
You would think that risking one’s life would be much more difficult then risking ones reputation but indeed it is tough to stand firm, sometimes even alone or with all but a few.
Most of the PCOS I have met are indeed such cowards. They rather go along to get along than to stand up and speak out. We call them the greatest generation, and indeed their early contributions in their lives can never be forgotten. But we must also not forget that once they came home (and I am not talking about all, but most) they as one person from that generation once explained it to me “didn’t want any trouble”. They are also the generation who came home and raised a generation of BRATS known as the “baby boom”. I more than honor them for their early contributions in life – I revere them for that. But at the same time we can’t ignore their later failings and how these later failings and how their desire, an understandable desire after seeing the horrors of war to seek a quite life and “not want any trouble” led to capitulation after capitulation in the culture war.
Again, it is hard to understand how someone who was courageous enough to stand up against the Nazis and the Japs still lacked the courage to stand up at a city council, school board meeting, etc for what was right. But public speaking has been cited as people’s number one fear and it seems to take a different type of courage as I have said.
That said, there were some notable exceptions that I met coming from that generation. Exceptions that we have not been able to replace fully when they have passed away. I never thought time was on our side as conservatives and indeed year after year as these people fade away so does America.
Well, that wasn’t exactly on topic because most of the PCOS we face today come not from this so-called greatest generation (I will always say that the greatest generation was indeed the first generation of American). But if anything the PCOS today are even more cowardly.
Except for a noted few I have very little respect for PCOS. I didn’t go into it feeling that way. This disrespect has been earned. They are indeed cowards, fools, or both and it indeed embarrasses me that for some reason they happened upon the correct set of political beliefs. That is another thing that has amazed me. People can be so right about their political beliefs but still be as stupid as hell when it comes to being fooled by the political elite in the party.
By the way, I kind of hate even mentioning it because on everything else I am 100 percent on the side of Brian Thomas, but I am kind of against him displaying the Israeli Flag.
Not because he isn’t Jewish because I would be against American Jews displaying the Israeli flag too. I believe that no American should display the flag of any country but the United States of America because displaying flags are a sign of loyalty and no American should have any loyalty of any type to any foreign country. Their sole national loyalty should rest with the United States.
I understand and respect the spirit in which he displayed the flag, but still it has always been a strong point with me. Especially of course when it comes to immigrants but I feel it is important to be consistent in this matter.