Late yesterday I read a questionable Seattle P-I article titled, "Rossi on right? It's not that easy."

The article basically exposes that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has (gasp!) conservative social values. (No shit, Sherlock.) The article goes on to set the stage that, because of these values, Rossi has an uphill road ahead.

Apparently, his 2004 loss to Democratic governor Christine Gregoire by 133 votes (after two recounts) isn't evident enough that Rossi's social values may actually appeal to a good half of Washingtonians.

Now, even if you oppose Rossi's social views, you should not immediately oust him as an unworthy candidate. Why? Many of his views are non-issues in state government.

Many Democrats believe that Republican social ideals will immediately take hold as soon as the candidate gets into office, but this just isn't true. It has not been true during our past two decades of Democratic administrations. Is gay marriage legal yet? Is fetal stem cell research legal yet? The answers to these questions are no, and evidence that Rossi's social views shouldn't be a primary concern for voters compared to the more immediate issues at hand that a governor can impact -- transportation, education and the deficit.

Gregoire's had her term in office, and we've seen no tangible changes despite a surplus in spending. Democratic leadership in Washington is stale, and I attribute that to no political opposition from colleagues and constituents. We need checks and balances, people, and we can no afford (literally) to watch Democrats in office sit on their butts and do nothing.

Washington Democrats needs to swallow a bit of their own Obama medicine and vote for change. Go Dinocrats!