You’d think Madore would get tired of losing. But this relative newbie to politics has learned quickly how to absorb expensive defeats: He’ll smile and pretend it never happened.
Expect Madore to momentarily retreat. But if history is any indication, he’ll emerge quickly and get back to doing whatever it is he does.
This election will prove more costly than his past defeats. This time the power on the county council has shifted away from Madore and his sidekick, county Councilor Tom Mielke. There’s a new majority in town and the M&M boys ain’t part of the equation.
Only time will tell if Pike can heal the wounds she created within her party. She’ll go back to doing her thing in Olympia and — like Madore — will pretend nothing much happened on Tuesday.
Pike was warned by plenty of friends and associates not to get so close to Madore. Heck, I suggested as much myself. I get that she didn’t listen to me. But it was surprising she couldn’t hear the logic from her friends.
So what exactly went wrong with Pike’s county chair bid?
• Madore. Look, it really shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out when you’re joined at the hip with Madore, winning any race will be a tough slog. Madore has made a mess of this county. Too many are tired of his boorish behavior.
• Right-wing bloggers. If her association with Madore wasn’t bad enough, somehow Pike couldn’t figure out that hanging with caustic, right-wing bloggers was a poor political choice. Worse, she wasn’t just keeping company with them, she was actually discussing campaign strategy with one of them. One blogger likes to call us a cancer on the community (a line Madore stole from him) and labels Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler a “colossal waste of skin.”
I mean, really, Pike?
• Money. Big money — especially from a guy like Madore — looks unbecoming to voters. Pike calculated — wrongly — the bad impression would be overcome by the advertising the money would buy.
• Not campaigning. Pike admitted to me before the election that if she had one thing to do over, it would be her decision not to campaign. Pike is a tenacious campaigner. And it obviously would have helped her. Too many in the community said they could not vote for someone who wasn’t talking.
• The Columbian. In the end it was the community that deserves the credit for continuing to move in the right direction. But make no mistake, the power of the press is a key player. Without our bringing information to our community, no one would know what is going on. Our reporters kept reporting and — yes — this column kept voicing a strong opinion on the shenanigans that were at play.
Now what?
Clearly the Republican Party has been fractured by Madore. Pike and others joined in for this go-round. It’s difficult for me to imagine that Madore will ever change his ways. But I still have hope Pike will see the light and be a part of bringing the Republican Party and this community together.
And there is good reason to heal the wounds that have been created. It’s important for this community to have two strong political parties.
Still, there are consequences to elections. The Madore faction of the Republican Party will quickly call for unity. That’s what you do when you lose. I get that.
But if the local Republican Party is smart, its leaders will see Madore should no longer drive their bus. Some would argue he shouldn’t be on the bus at all. But that’s for the Republican winners to decide.
Remember, this is Madore’s third strike. He lost his attempt to get the county charter defeated. Then he lost his bid to win the county chair race. And now he’s lost his bid to get Pike elected.
Most people would argue three strikes and you’re out. But Madore has his own set of rules. He will not go down easily.
But we all have to move beyond Madore now. He’ll be in office for another year. But we need to begin healing. This election was a good start. Let’s hope we keep moving forward.
