Rossi's influence overstated?

Jennifer Morris, campaign spokeswoman for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi, found irony in a comment from her Democratic counterpart this week that Rossi could have influenced the outcome of an effort to win an extension of sales tax deductibility for residents of Washington and six other states.

On Thursday, in an interview with The Columbian, Julie Edwards, spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, called out Rossi for the refusal of Senate Republicans to support the one-year extension.

The three hours that elapsed between consideration of the extension and the Senate’s adjournment Wednesday night “was ample time for Dino Rossi to get on the phone and ask his GOP colleagues to get on board with tax relief for Washington state,” Edwards said.

“So let me get this straight,” Morris retorted Friday in an e-mail to political reporters. “Even Sen. Murray’s campaign believes Dino Rossi is a more effective advocate for Washingtonians than the sitting U.S. Senator who is number four in leadership – not a back bencher – they work for?”

Kathie Durbin