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State Democrats are vowing to confront ex-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Dave Reichert on Thursday, when Gingrich appears at a Reichert fundraiser at the Issaquah Hilton Garden Inn.

Rep., Dave Reichert: The 2011 redistricting gave the 8th District Republican a much safer seat in Congress.

They may be biting off more than they can chew if either or both of the guests of honor encounter the demonstrators outside.

Gingrich used to relish arguing with Puget Sound liberals back in the mid-1990s, describing Washington as Ground Zero of the Republican revolution after the state elected six new Republican House members. He waded into a crowd of protestors outside the Space Needle for a brief and animated set-to.

Once a hostage negotiator in days with the King County Sheriffs office, Reichert specialized in disarming with cordiality liberal delegations from the group MoveOn.org during his first two terms in Congress.

American politics have, alas, drawn inward since then. Political handlers stress avoiding hostile encounters. Its especially wise strategy here. Washington Democrats work with one of the countrys most skilled trackers, who in 2012 filmed GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna in an embarrassing moment. (McKenna was set up.)

As well, event arrangers emphasize donor maintenance, giving of your time to those who give to you.

The Reichert event has various levels of givers. It will set back donors $2,500 apiece, or $4,000 a couple, to participate in a roundtable discussion with Gingrich. (Big Democratic donors paid $25,000 for an Obama roundtable in August.) A picture with Gingrich costs $500 or $750 a couple. General admission is $150 or $250 a couple.

Reichert has never been a confrontational conservative. He votes with Republicans in the House, but sometimes leaves the reservation on such conservation issues as funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Newt Gingrich, pictured at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference.

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Democrats vow to confront Gingrich at Reichert fundraiser