Sore Losers Lose Again In Washington State

On the first day of the legislative session, Senate Republicans made a rushed attempt to persuade lawmakers to put off Democrat Christine Gregoire's gubernatorial confirmation for two weeks while a court challenge to her slim victory is heard.

They failed, but the Republican Party said its case for nullifying the election and getting a revote gets stronger by the day. GOP Chairman Chris Vance said yesterday King County Elections officials had exaggerated the extent to which they could explain discrepancies between the number of votes counted and people credited with voting -- a key component of the Republicans' legal challenge.

Guess they didn't listen to their Republican colleagues in Washington DC last week:

"But apparently, some Democrats Republicans only want to gripe about counts, recounts, and recounts of recounts," said Rep. Deborah Pryce, an Ohio Republican.

"So eager are they to abandon their job as public servants, they have cast themselves in the role of Michael Moore, concocting wild conspiracy theories to distract the American public people of Washington state."

White House press secretary Scott McClellan dismissed the challenge as "partisan politics."

"The election is behind us," he said. "The American people now expect their leaders in Washington (State) to focus on the big priorities facing this country their state."