One of the old reliables in any political spokesman's toolkit is this: "Well, you wouldn't really expect them to admit that straight out, now, would you?" It's quite handy when your candidate makes an unsupportable claim that's denied by her opponent.

Morton Brilliant (nomen non esta omen), is the spokesman for likely Washington Democratic gubernatorial nominee Christine Gregoire. And he had a chance to use this old chestnut in today's Seattle Times, after assumed Republican nominee Dino Rossi scoffed at Gregoire's charges he'd be getting an astronomical $9 million infusion from national Republicans.

"They're going to come at us with $9 million," (Gregoire) said, urging more than 1,500 delegates to "show them Washington state will not be bought."

...Morton Brilliant, Gregoire's campaign spokesman, said it's no surprise the Republicans are denying the $9 million rumor.

"I would have been stunned if they had said, 'Yep, you found us out; we're going to buy this election,' " Brilliant said.

This handy retort can be used in all kinds of ways. For example:

"I would have been stunned if they had said, 'Yep, you found us out - we're woman-hating pro-lifers;'"

"I would have been stunned if they had said, 'Yep, you found us out - our regulatory reform shtik actually masks our intent to rape the environment;'"

"I would have been stunned if they had said, 'Yep, you found us out - performance audits are just a venal plot to rip asunder the social safety net.'"

The possibilities are almost infinite. We look forward to more such cagey strategems from Mr. Brilliant.

Who, it should be noted, must know a bit about trying to buy elections. That's because Brilliant is the former spokesman for former South Carolina (Democratic) Gov. Jim Hodges. Incumbent Hodges outspent opponents 3-to-1 in 2002, and still managed to lose.

As the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper observed:

Even incumbents who spent money hand over fist weren't assured a victory. In South Carolina, for example, incumbent Gov. Jim Hodges lost, even though he spent 75.8 percent of the total for the race.....Just goes to show you that money might buy happiness, but it won't buy the governor's mansion - even if you already live there.

Republican challenger Mark Sanford's defeat of Hodges was historical. Two months after the election, the University of South Carolina's student newspaper, The Gamecock, noted:

Sanford will be sworn into office on Wednesday, marking the first time since Reconstruction that Republicans control the House, Senate and governor's office.

Washington has been a long time without a Republican governor. Perhaps the time has come. I think that would be be just Brilliant.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at June 10, 2004 11:12 AM

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