Incredulous Sour Grapes

I have seen it all. Three veteran legislators who lost their primary races in June have sued in District court to get the election overturned. They say some non profit groups illegally used money to defeat them. The non profit groups are allowed under law to do 'voter education' on various candidates, but they can not expend money in favor of one candidate or another. I know who these groups are and they are very intelligently run outfits. They are not going to break any laws.

The three veteran Democratic legislators who bit the dust were Senator Shannon Robinson, Senator James Taylor and Representative Dan Silva. They all pretty much made their livings as part time legislators. Dan Silva retired as a city employee some years ago and was a good guy until his son became a lobbyist and Dan started voting differently. Now, some enterprising reporter should check out where they raised their money and which industry groups stand to lose now that they are gone.

None of them had faced serious opposition in years and frankly they just got their butts kicked because they had lost touch with their constituents. They all lost by huge margins. So, why not just walk into the sunset? Well, I have always said that some legislators feel they are much more popular and well known than they are. They are not used to opposition and get to feel they are invincible. Just look at the number of legislators that never draw opponents. These folks are also fawned over and cared for by lobbyists and losing that adoration is hard. But, suing to overturn elections that were blowouts seem kind of incredulous and desperate. Oh, and it seems silly too.

We are heading to Kona, Hawaii on Monday for a week of hiking, snorkeling and beach time. I will blog from the road.