Baird, Delavar part ways over bailout, Iraq War

Michael Delavar, a Republican, is running for Congress against Brian Baird. (The Columbian/Zachary Kaufman)

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., gives a history lesson to senior students at Hockinson High School. (The Columbian, Troy Wayrynen)

Democratic U.S. Rep. Brian Baird faces a challenge from libertarian-leaning Republican Michael Delavar in his bid for a sixth term representing Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

The nation’s financial meltdown and family responsibilities have kept Baird in Washington, D.C., more than on the campaign trail this fall,

Baird voted for the $700 billion bailout — twice. He co-sponsored language in the bill that would require financial firms to repay American taxpayers in full, through a fee or tax, if their investments make no profit after five years.

A “sweetener” in the final bill that will benefit all Washington taxpayers was a two-year extension of sales tax deductibility. Baird and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell have worked for years to pass legislation that would make sales tax deductibility permanent.

The bill also extends support for rural schools and counties and includes mental health parity provisions that Baird had pushed for in a self-standing bill.

Delavar, 35, opposed the bailout and says most voters he has talked to oppose it too. “Most people are very angry,” he said. “They’re concerned about what happens next.”

His own view: “What Congress should be focusing on is undoing the long string of causes that have led up to this point.” He said those include easy credit, low interest rates, and government policies that made home ownership possible to families who were unable to make their mortgage payments.

A supporter of maverick Republican Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Delavar lost the endorsement of the local and state Republican Party when he refused to pledge support to GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

A political newcomer, he won the right to challenge Baird by defeating two other candidates in the August top two primary.

After 10 years in Congress, Baird, 52, is a familiar face in Southwest Washington. A moderate Democrat, he regularly makes the rounds of the large district, which stretches from Morton in the Cascades to Cathlamet on the lower Columbia River and includes all or part of seven Southwest Washington counties.

But Baird is not well-known on the national stage. He serves on no high-profile committees. The nonpartisan congressional ranking service Know-legis ranked him 212th in power among the 435 House members this year, up from 305th in 2006. It rated him fourth most influential among Washington’s nine House members.

Rankings are based on a member’s position in Congress, actions taken to influence a legislative agenda, and legislative successes.

According to Know-legis, Baird has won $44 million in earmarks for his constituents during 10 years in Congress.

First elected in 1998, the former psychology professor has cruised to easy victories against a series of Republican opponents in recent elections, gaining support even from some moderate Republicans.

Baird built a formidable campaign fund this year after the left-wing organization Moveon.org attacked him for his support of the Bush administration’s troop surge in Iraq.

Although he voted in 2002 against the resolution that gave President Bush the authority to invade Iraq, his change of heart on the surge last year cost him the backing of many who oppose the war.

He still isn’t ready to support a timetable for withdrawal, especially with critical national elections in Iraq scheduled for next year.

“I still believe the war was a catastrophic error, but we have to do our best to make this thing more of a success,” he told The Columbian on Friday. “I think we need to get through this next election.”

Baird has endorsed Barack Obama, but for that reason disagrees with the Democratic presidential nominee’s call for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq over a 16-month period.

Delavar opposes the war and says it’s the wrong way to respond to terrorists. Like Ron Paul, he favors going after al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden with “letters of marque and reprisal,” as allowed under Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which authorizes military or paramilitary forces to pursue transnational threats outside the nation’s borders.

He began his campaign focusing on federal monetary policy (he favors a return to the gold standard), immigration (he opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants) and reduced federal spending.

“Now it seems the economy overshadows everything,” he said.

Anti-war sentiment is still out there, he said. “But the main thing I’ve been hearing is, it’s too much of a financial drain on our economy.”

As of Sept. 30, Baird had raised more than $565,000 in this election cycle and had spent nearly $379,000.

He gave $40,000 to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee in July to support its coordinated voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns, and donated $7,000 to individual congressional candidates in Washington and around the country.

His top contributors in this year’s race are Nierenberg Investment Management ($12,250), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ($11,300) and Weyerhaeuser Co. ($11,000). In all, 47 percent of his contributions came from political action committees.

Delavar has raised less than $33,000, none of it from political action committees.