And in a democracy, when we say we're mad at what's going on, what we need to be saying is we're mad at ourselves.

His principal policy initiative was enactment of a statewide system of health insurance with premiums based on ability to pay. state of Washington from 1993 to 1997.

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Washington's Seventh Congressional District in 1978 where he served until 1989. He chose not to run for re-election to a second term due to a sexual harassment scandal in which his deputy press secretary Susanne Albright accused him of making inappropriate remarks and fondling her. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Commissioner of Public Lands[disambiguation needed] in 2000.