Camden: Campaigns are heavy on merch

Tim Eyman offers a slightly smaller range of swag, possibly from the same source as Sakharov because it's displayed on the same models with that familiar "far away" look.

Former Bothell Mayor Joshua Freed's site also boasts a "merch store," with his and hers T-shirts, with or without a front pocket, a cap and a mug.

By comparison, Gov. Jay Inslee has a relatively paltry offering of merchandise — one unisex T-shirt, a couple of vinyl bumper stickers and a pair of buttons. But Inslee's campaign website is also among the least engaging, with a studio headshot, a place to provide an email address, a button to click to get to the store, another to click to donate and a banner to click for a COVID-19 update.

The merchandising of candidates hasn't spread further down the Washington ballot, yet. But there may come a time when political activists will have a drawer full of campaign T-shirts, or set a table with a complete set of coffee mugs from a particular race or particular year.

Or much of this merch may end up at Goodwill, particularly if the candidate loses.

There was a time when candidate campaign buttons were given away free, mugs with candidate logos were on the counter in the campaign office next to the coffee pot, and T-shirts were given to volunteers to wear when out and about as walking billboards for the candidate. But then, I may once again be showing my age.

R we or R we naught?

You may hear a phrase with increasing frequency in the coming weeks, as the state slowly reopens its economy, that may sound like "Are not" — half of an argument between two toddlers.

Are too. Are not. ARE TOO. ARE NOT!

This is actually R-naught, sometimes represented by a capital R and a subscript 0. It stands for the number of people a person with COVID-19 reinfects (the R) after contracting the virus, or the virus's basic reproduction ratio.

If each newly infected person is passing the virus on to three or more people, we've got a full-blown epidemic on our hands. If the average reinfection rate is at one, the curve is leveling off and, as it gets down toward zero, Washingtonians could theoretically go back to bellying up to crowded bars and hanging out in mosh pits. Not that they should. But they would be at minimum risk of contracting the virus.

So expect more talk about the R-naught numbers in the coming weeks.

"Maybe the reason they have not asked for a special session is because they're afraid to be the dog that caught the car." — Gov. Jay Inslee on saying that legislative leaders are not yet demanding an immediate special session.

It may go over the heads of people not familiar with an old "dad" joke suggesting dogs that chase cars wouldn't know what to do if they caught one.

Camden: Defeat and Destruction | The Southern Campaign