Discontent bubbles up on the left

A lot of hands are stirring the political pot this year.

Discontent bubbles up from the left, right and center, the Tea Party, then the Coffee Party, and now a small movement here.

The Washington State Progressive Electoral Coalition is running a candidate against Patty Murray for a U.S. Senate seat.

They vow to run against the current political system, to be civil, honest and open in the campaign and to be true to their word once elected. They are anti-war, pro-environment, against the war on drugs, and favor allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Richard Curtis, the candidate, is a 45-year-old philosopher whose current job is teaching at Seattle Central Community College.

He told me about the campaign over coffee in West Seattle where he lives.

"I got an e-mail, 'How would you like to be a U.S. senator?' I said no."

But the head of the coalition talked him into it. That would be Maryrose Asher, a Vashon Island peace activist and former chair of the Green Party of Washington State.

She'd gotten fed up with the way the Democrats and Republicans dominate politics and co-opt dissenting voices.

"I woke up one day and said to my husband, 'Would you like to be senator?' and he said no. So I had to start an organization," she said, laughing.

She and her friend, Dave Jette, talked about it and sent out letters about their ideas, which attracted enough interest to launch the movement in February.

At first they talked about the campaign as a way for more alternative voices to be heard. One of the reasons they chose to run against Murray is that they'd have a platform in a high-profile, statewide race.

But they have come to believe the coalition has a real chance to win.

First, Curtis said, "We realized the top-two primary has changed the dynamics."

He said maybe voters won't worry about taking a chance on him if they know Murray also will advance to the general election.

Second, new technology, Facebook and Twitter for instance, makes it easier to run a grass-roots campaign without a lot of cash.

Third, is the timing. Many voters are angry with the two major parties.

Of course, people will want to know what Curtis stands for. He gave me a draft of the list of positions he is preparing.

For each of 11 issues, there are two columns, one labeled the candidate's views, and the other the campaign's positions.

On the issue of broken government, the campaign says, "A democracy cannot function without a healthy exchange of ideas and the system excludes most ideas and most people."

Curtis' view is that, "The two corporate parties clearly represent only the interests of the wealthy and large corporations."

Whether on war, the economy or the environment, Curtis tends to be more clearly planted on the left.

The coalition wants to attract people across the political spectrum, assuming most could find enough to like in its platform.

Curtis said that even if you agree on only a couple of issues, you can trust him not to waffle.

Curtis said people are used to holding their noses and voting for the lesser of two evils, but, "You can't send the same people who broke it to fix it."

Politics-as-usual is leaving people unsatisfied, so maybe all these new recipes on the stove will spice things up.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.