Jerry Cornfield at the (Everett) Herald gets to the questions of how the candidates ended up in the parties they chose in the race between U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. and Republican Dino Rossi.
Cornfield points out that both had influences in their lives that could have pushed them in different directions. From the story:
Patty Murray, 59, and Dino Rossi, 50, are not party ideologues and neither engaged fully in partisan politics until comfortably in adulthood.
Both come from large, middle-class families. Each has six siblings; Patty and her identical twin, Peggy, are the second and third eldest while Dino is the youngest.
Both grew up in small suburban cities Murray in Bothell and Rossi in Mountlake Terrace. Their fathers are World War II veterans and their families each hit by hardship that tested their will.
While there are parallels in their lives as youngsters, by the time each reached college, their life’s journey was driven by very different political values.
I continue to periodically point out stories worth reading in the block of stories above, but this one deserves special mention. It confirms to me that the embracing of any political philosophy is not exclusively an intellectual exercise or a response to self interest.
This was pretty interesting . Thanks Steve . Really liked the part about Patty Murray, it certainly helped me look at her as a person . I think politics often makes us look at individuals as ideologues , when its our own ideology being projected on them.
Could not help but notice how the comments on the blog that this article was taken from got so politically cut throat about Murray and Rossi . I like to think i got potential because I got the message of the writer .
Perception and politics do not dictate character or integrity of the candidates . Be careful when people project that in blanket characterizations .