Don Bonker is a former Member of Congress from Washington’s Third District and former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Trade. He now lives on Bainbridge Island and consults on international trade issues.
While the Moral Majority no longer exists, the religious right has seized control of the movement that definitely influenced the outcome in the 2016 presidential election. Evangelicals favored Trump over Clinton, 79-16%.
In his previous appearances, Donald Trump has stayed on script. Not so this time. Trump approached the podium waving a newspaper headline “Acquitted.” He proceeded with a fury of words that were strikingly political and partisan. This was unprecedented and shocking.
While both Trump and Democrats have been politicizing the trade issue, the President not bashing China and Democrats voting in favor of his USMCA are encouraging. I sense a growing realization that trade wars are not good for the economy.
Restaurants are reinventing themselves in this way, knowing that eating outdoors is healthier for resisting transmission of the coronavirus. Might Seattle reinvent itself broadly as an outdoors city, despite the mild and rainy winters?
Until very recently the King County suburbs were the state’s main battleground. Now the swing districts are in Pierce, Mason, Clark, Cowlitz, Skagit, Island, and Whatcom counties. There are ZERO competitive partisan races in King County this year.
The wearing and non-wearing of masks serves as a convenient statement in this rural county. Wearing one in town I definitely felt like I was signaling my tribal identity, which seems crazy, but there it is."
