D.C. Notebook | Burner among 7 Democrats to benefit from fundraiser

WASHINGTON -- Darcy Burner is becoming a hot commodity in D.C.

Burner, the likely 2008 Democratic opponent of U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, was one of seven candidates hosted at a special fundraiser by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) at Johnny's Half Shell, a block from the Capitol.

The upscale restaurant, billed for its seafood and "strong drinks," is a favorite of Democratic power player Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.

Burner's fellow candidates for 2008 included the Democrat who is running for the seat in upstate New York currently held by Republican Jim Walsh. Walsh, a former supporter of the war in Iraq, made news last month when he changed his mind and called for redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq, after a two-day trip to Baghdad.

Sitting with Walsh on that trip was Reichert, who did not alter his position. Burner is against the war.

Neither Burner nor the DCCC commented on the fundraiser or its contributors but confirmed she had flown to the capital for meetings with the DCCC.

Going for the green

Meantime, Reichert is trying to bolster his "green" credentials in his swing district, which includes parts of King and Pierce counties. Last week, he wrote an op-ed in The Hill newspaper calling for Republicans to embrace environmentalism.

"Republicans should head for the hills. Literally," his article said. "Climb a mountain, go on an adventure, join the millions of Americans who enjoy the outdoors and want to take care of it." He continued, "The echoes of Teddy Roosevelt's green conservative movement can be heard in my state's Grand Old Party."

Correcting the record

One of the defendants of the controversial Fort Lawton military trials of 1944 was honored in D.C. last week at the conference of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Samuel Snow, then 19, was one of 28 African-American soldiers court-martialed by the Army after an Italian prisoner of war was found lynched on the fort's obstacle course.

A melee ensued; 28 black soldiers were found guilty of rioting, and two of them were convicted of manslaughter. They served time, and 27 were dishonorably discharged.

Snow, who may be the last surviving witness to the incident at Fort Lawton, was the subject of a 2002 Seattle Times article, which prompted the then-commanding Army general of Fort Lawton to publicly reach out and make amends; that helped get the cases of some of the convicted soldiers before Congress.

Some of those 1944 convictions are now under review by the Army Board of Correction of Military Records, in part because of a book, "On American Soil," by Seattle author Jack Hamann. His reporting alleges that racism wrongly affected the trials' procedures and outcomes.

U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, who has worked with Hamann and the Army to set the record straight on what happened at the fort, now home to Seattle's Discovery Park, arranged for Snow's trip to D.C. from his home in Florida.

In a speech to the Black Caucus on Friday, an emotional McDermott said, "Samuel Snow, it's about time someone said publicly that you served your country with dignity and distinction, but, regrettably, your country failed you."

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457