My chivalrous streak has been awakened following Ralph Nichols' recent columns picking on state Sen. Karen Keiser, Gov. Christine Gregoire, Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Of course, these eminent elected officials don't need me to defend their records.

As chair of the state Senate Health and Long-term Care Committee, Keiser from Des Moines is grappling with the difficult issue of health care.

In the last legislative session, Keiser helped pass a bill that would assist small employers in providing health care insurance for low and moderate-income employees.

From her own experience with her daughter's hospital stay, Keiser also shepherded through a bill that requires hospitals to provide information to discharged patients on the types of hospital and other bills they may receive.

Despite Ralph's tired refrain about "tax-and-spend Democrats," Washington voters have decided government should play a positive role in helping low and moderate-income residents.

Just as Ralph counsels me to move on from the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, he should also get over the disputed election of Gov. Gregoire. A judge in the state's most conservative county declared the election valid.

After initially low ratings because of the uncertain election, Gregoire's approval scores are rising.

State voters appreciate the competent way she hammered out a compromise between trial lawyers and physicians on medical malpractice premiums.

Maybe Ralph is upset because Gregoire's approval ratings are going up while President Bush's poll results are heading south.

Maybe that is why the Republicans are looking toward the Mexican border for poll redemption.

They're trying to re-energize the red meat, talk-show base with plans to build a giant fence and send in the National Guard.

Illegal immigrants are in this country not because of government services they may receive.

They are here because some employers figured they could lower wages on non-skilled jobs by hiring illegal immigrants.

These are jobs that U.S. workers used to hold.

The immigration debate is part of the larger issues of outsourcing, low wages, inflated CEO compensation and the war on the lower and middle class.

Unfortunately the balance between labor and employers has swung way to the right.

We're living in a Wal-Mart World.

Workers work at Wal-Mart for wages so low they can only afford to shop there.

If greed is good, then Wal-Mart is doing great.

In contrast, the Ford Motor Company isn't doing very well lately.

But back in 1913, founder Henry Ford had a pretty good idea. After opening his new Model-T factory, Ford announced he would pay his workers, the then-stunning sum of $5 per day.

Henry Ford got richer because his workers could buy his cars.

But they also became part of the middle class and could afford to shop elsewhere. That created an upward demand for goods that resulted in more jobs and more financially successful employers.

In today's Wal-Mart World, we watch the super rich get tax cuts and hope they trickle some of the leftovers down to us.

On immigration, I support a rational compassionate approach.

The bipartisan proposals would not issue a "Stay-in-America Free" card to illegal immigrants.

The proposals call for illegal immigrants to pay taxes, learn English, pay a steep fine and apply for citizenship. They would go to the back of the line and have to wait up to 11 years.

I assume that is the kind of reasonable solution our two U.S. senators support just as Sen. Keiser and Gov. Gregoire are working for rational solutions to state problems.

So despite Ralph's potshots, the four female officials should be saluted.

Eric Mathison can be reached at hteditor@robinsonnews.com or 206-388-1855.